With Great Power...

is the ninety-fourth episode of the second campaign of Critical Role. The Mighty Nein take stock after their tangle with a dealmaker but their arrival at a new destination holds unexpected answers...

Announcements

 * Professor Sam Riegel teaches us how to be online corporate shills, a skill you too can learn on Skillshare, an online learning community offering thousands of classes. Get two months of premium membership free at this link.
 * Tonight's second sponsor is D&D Beyond, the amazing online tool set for playing and running your own D&D game.
 * Out of the blue, Monsterhearts 2. Angsty teenagers meet (or are) monsters. There will be a Valentine's Day one-shot on Twitch at 7:00 pm PST with Ashley, Taliesin, Matt, and several guests.
 * All Work No Play is back with Sam, Liam, and chainsaw sculpture, now available on Twitch and YouTube. Next episode is 18 February 2020 at 4:00 pm PST.
 * New merch alert! Fabulous spinning Critical Role keychains and Bailey's Dice Bag of Hoarding are both now available at the U.S. and U.K. critrole.com stores. CR merch will also be available through the C2E2 merch booth.

Previously on Critical Role
''So, last we left off: The Mighty Nein discovered that the curse that still holds Nott in her goblinoid form, after her initial transformation years ago, remained and apparently was still held by the same magical woman that had originally imposed this curse upon her. You traveled your way through Kamordah, had a tense experience meeting the Lionett family, who also has attachments to this entity you came to discover was named Isharnai, the Prism Sage, who lived in the northern forest marshlands amongst the base around Mount Mentiri. You traversed this dangerous landscape, dealing with various pockets of unleashed acidic moisture and steam bursting forth from the geothermal ground itself. You lost a few horses and let the others wander. You made your way through swamps and got lost, got exhausted, dealt with fighting a few gorefeather harpies, and then eventually found your way to the base of Mount Mentiri to the exterior of the abode of Isharnai, just as the sun set.''

''Upon looking around, you eventually discovered this creature invisible on the roof, watching you all as you were investigating her homestead. After which, you had some conversations with her, discovered that she could offer many things, just like she has in the past, in exchange for a touch of your own fortune. Seemed to thrive on misery for those who asked for too much. And after some very emotional conversations and thoughts about what some of you were willing to sacrifice, to trade for this curse that still remained on Nott, Jester bamboozled her (and me) through a clutch combination of Dust of Deliciousness, a random magical item I made up and gave you back in like Episode 30 [] and used it to modify the memory of her, to convince this crone-type creature that she had such an amazing time, and you guys bonded so quickly, that in this time she just was happy to release it for your companionship, and you left, walked outside into the dark night as you were all tired and wondering what happened, to have Jester go, “Go! We have to go, now!” So as you all were quickly ushered off this somewhat moss-covered darkened hut, the dull interior candlelight glow that pours through the partially ajar doorway, you all spearhead downward, back into the swampy valley that awaits you, as night has just begun. And that is where we left off.''

Part I
Having prepared their spells while expecting a fight, Caleb doesn't have Teleportation Circle and Jester doesn't have Find the Path, so the party hurries along through the night while continuing to press Jester for details of what happened and what deal she made with Isharnai. Keeping a close watch on the path behind them, Jester tells them she gave Isharnai a cupcake sprinkled with the dust that makes food taste really good. Fjord and others are skeptical that it was that simple, but Jester finally says she'd rather not talk about it until they're somewhere safer, and as they pass into the swamp they begin looking for higher ground on which to cast Caleb's hut for the night.

When they find a spot, there is a large dead tree trunk taking up a lot of the space. While Caleb begins his ritual cast, Jester and Yasha team up to lift the trunk and throw it into the swamp. Unfortunately the noise attracts the nighttime inhabitants of the swamp: a multitude of shambling husk zombies that, while not well-armored and with relatively weak attacks, explode on death spraying a powerful damaging poison in all directions. All of the party take gradually accumulating damage during the fight. Finally, Jester uses Incite Greed to draw almost all of the zombies towards her, then Dimension Doors out and Caduceus hits them with a Turn Undead, wiping out nearly all of them. More are coming, however, attracted by the noise of combat, but Fjord is able to distract them with a Major Image of a young blue dragon thrashing noisily off in the swamp (freaking out Jester a bit with the memory of their past encounter with one) while Caleb completes the dome and they all settle quietly inside.

With good history rolls, Beau recalls that during the time of the Julous Dominion, this area was occupied by a cult of the Twilight Phoenix that the cult believed to be responsible for the local geothermal activity. The cult was eventually wiped out leaving the husk zombies to inhabit the swamp at night. Fjord remembers the phoenix pictured in the Temple of the False Serpent on Urukayxl, but they are unsure if the two birds are connected.

Now that they are relatively safe, the party once again presses Jester for details of her deal with Isharnai. She admits that she used Modify Memory on the hag and that she's unsure of whether Isharnai will realize what happened and come after them. Nott asks Beau if this will affect her family, but Beau tells them not to worry about that. They speculate on the price her father paid, and Jester wonders if the price was simply the misery created in his life by his single-minded pursuit of wealth and fear of impending retribution.

Nott points out that while Beau was willing to sacrifice everything she's achieved and her new-found family with the party, Nott selfishly offered to rekindle the war. The others, though, argue that Beau's leaving would have hurt them as well, and gradually convince Beau that she needs to stay with them, that there is much more for her to achieve and experience in the world. They assure her that they all care about her, and she reluctantly admits it and that she cares about them as well, and agrees not to do it again.

When Nott is asked about her own now-possible transformation back into her halfling form, she again expresses her fears and concerns about what would happen afterwards. The others assure her that it's possible to be a good parent and give love to a child even if the parent can't always be present. On the other hand, if Nott decides when she changes back that she wants to return to her family, that would be fine as well, as long as she chooses it for the right reasons. Caduceus suggests that Nott take some sober quiet time to think about what she really wants, and Beau volunteers to lead the group in guided meditation. At its end, the exhausted party is all asleep except for Beau, Caleb, and Jester.

As they are going to sleep, Jester quietly apologizes to Caleb and assures him she would never modify a memory of him or Yasha or anyone that they know because she realizes what it means. Caleb assures her that it's all about what is done with it and that she did a good thing, and continues looking at her for long moments after she has turned away and gone to sleep.

Break

 * D&D Beyond animation.
 * Cinderbrush: A Monsterhearts Story one-shot, will be broadcast 14 February 2020 at 7:00 pm PST on Twitch.
 * All Work No Play video season two returns with chainsaw sculpture, now available on Twitch and YouTube. Next episode is 18 February 2020 at 4:00 pm PST.
 * Clips from.
 * Sam Riegel just QB'ed the Marquet Meatmen to victory in Superb Bowl LXIX (nice), and he's celebrating with a Twitch subscription.
 * Critters' art montage.

Part II
The party wakes to a chilly (but zombie-free) morning, and they briefly discuss where to go next and if there is anything they still need to do in Kamordah. Nott admits she's been drinking a lot, and gives Yasha permission to knock her flask out of her hands if she sees her drinking, so she can maintain sobriety in which to think about her choices. Jester uses Stone Shape to create a flat surface for Caleb's Teleportation Circle back to Rosohna after Essek confirms via Jester's Sending spell that he's willing to Teleport them to near Caduceus's next destination on his pilgrimage.

The Xhorhaus is as they left it. Caleb tries to go shopping for scrolls, but is unable to find the magic shop after repeatedly being given bad directions. Yasha gives a reluctant Sprinkle a bath in the hot tub and survives thanks to her barbarian rage, returning him to Jester looking fluffy but disgruntled. Nott hires Vedalla, a drow stablehand from the Corona District, to care for their house in their absences, and brings her back to the party for a group interview. Jester then casts Zone of Truth on everyone and although it's clear Vedalla is over-charging, they agree to hiring her. While the spell is up, Jester asks the party if anybody has a crush on her, but an unaffected Beau heads off the question by replying that everyone does.

They head to Essek's home and he successfully Teleports them to exactly their intended location, the Whitedawn Lagoon, then uses Teleportation Circle to take himself back to Rosohna out of the painfully bright sunlight, after Jester uses her magical paint to create a parasol for him. The party is left on a green hillside with a glimpse of the Lucidian Ocean to the south, and to the north, a dense jungle leading to a distant mountain range and a deep ravine. Caduceus uses Commune to confirm that his destination lies before him and that it is dangerous.

They walk into the jungle. Caduceus uses his perception to find the clearest path, but Fjord fails to intimidate the jungle into letting them pass and is promptly swallowed by a mantrap (a large carnivorous plant), from which Yasha is able to quickly extricate him. She then is successful in investigating a path forward, hacking through the jungle with Fjord, and as sunset approaches Beau is able to climb a tree to locate a clearing in which to camp and set up the dome. While Caleb is ritual casting, Nott tries to sneak a nip from her flask and Yasha knocks it away, confiscating it. Once in the dome, Caleb changes Frumpkin into a capuchin monkey. Jester takes first watch, staying awake to paint a card for Molly's tarot deck of the Maiden reversed with the Hag. When everyone else is asleep, she notices a figure in a familiar green robe beckoning her to join him. He asks if she trusts him, and she replies, "With everything in my being." He then leads her to a small serene and private corner of the jungle, pulling back his hood to reveal elf-like features with elongated curled ears, almond-shaped emerald-green eyes, and a mane of orange-red curling hair down his back. He asks her if she is ready for the absolute truth, and she assures him she is.

He tells her that he is the Traveler, but when he first traveled here he was without burdens, responsibilities, or limitations. For a time he simply enjoyed playing with the lives of fools, but one day he met a little girl with the same joy in exposing subtle hypocrisy, who saw him as a god. For her, for Jester, he donned the mask of a god, and found joy in finding others who also found themselves in their shenanigans, becoming more godlike with each new follower, until their demands for his attention became too great and he realized he had constructed himself a new prison of responsibility which he was unable to meet. He thought to bring them together to unify their causes and forge community under his banner, but now, weeks away from that gathering, he has no idea what he's doing and he needs Jester's help.

After the conclusion of the episode, Matt confirmed that the Traveler is Artagan.

The Mighty Nein

 * Beauregard Lionett
 * Caduceus Clay
 * Caleb Widogast
 * Fjord
 * Frumpkin
 * Jester Lavorre
 * Nott the Brave
 * Yasha Nydoorin

New

 * Vedalla

Returning

 * Essek Thelyss
 * The Traveler

Mentioned

 * The Twilight Phoenix

Quotations
Caleb: What’s done is done. You can’t turn back time. Beau: Well, I mean, this isn’t going to last forever, right? So it– Caduceus: That doesn’t mean you pull the pin on it. Caleb: Follow your own advice. Don’t go. Jester: If you could. I don’t know what’s going on in that hut, you guys. Fjord: And why would we have come running in at the first yelp? Your delts are crazy. Beau: Thank you. Fjord: Why? Why would we have come running in? Beau: Because we care about each other. Fjord: Oh, fucking shit, we do? Amazing. Does that apply to you as well? Beau: I dunno. Fjord: I think you do. Don’t do that again. Beau: I think it’s a little different. If you’re talking about yourself, it is 100% different. Do not fucking compare yourself to my parents. Nott: Well, I’m totally absent right now. Beau: But there’s a difference between pursuing the things that make you happy and showing that, and being an example to your kids, and then just totally fucking being so self-absorbed in your own damage that you just transfer all of that and neglect them. Nott: Yes and no. I mean, yes, I want to be with my family. They need me and I need to be with them. That’s all I’ve wanted for so long, but– to go back and to be a supporting player in my story doesn’t seem– I don’t know how I would feel about that. We’ve had so many amazing adventures together. You tried to kill me. That’s crazy. Exciting. Nott: That was a test, and you passed. Yasha: Okay. Well, do you want a sip for being good? (Yasha holds the flask out and as Nott reaches for it, Yasha snatches it back) That was a test, and you failed.
 * Beau: Maybe the price has been paid.
 * Caleb: Don’t go.
 * Beau: Yeah, we would have come running in at like the first yelp.
 * Nott: What about when your mom’s not around? Is that okay?
 * Caduceus: Absence isn’t the opposite of love. There’s plenty of ways to show someone you don’t love them that don’t involve not being there.
 * Yasha: Does thinking about going back home and having a family life, is that an exciting thought to you?
 * Fjord: (attempting to intimidate the jungle) Listen, you fucking jungle! I'm a paladin of the Wildmother! You're gonna move or we're gonna bust you wide open! We're gonna wreck this place. Don't make me fuckin' tell you twice!
 * Yasha: (after knocking the flask away from Nott and grabbing it) We're keeping you accountable. We're a tribe now.
 * The Traveler: "I am the Traveler, but it was not always this way, for when I traveled here it was a world before me where I was without burdens, without responsibilities, and without limitations. [...] And one day I met a little girl who sought that same spark, a little girl who found joy in exposing life's more subtle hypocrisies, a little blue girl who lived a life so small but felt in her heart there was so much more to see. This little girl and I found a kinship, in that childlike wonder of youth so untempered by the sanctimonious morality of man, and she saw me as a god. So for her, for you, I donned the mask of one. I found that with such pure, absolute faith granted towards me, I was exhilarated. I began to seek others that might be waiting for such guidance to bring a bit of necessary chaos into the world. One by one, I traveled and found more souls that needed direction, who found themselves in our shenanigans. It was beautiful. Eons living for only myself, I found a new joy in helping other find themselves in a world cruel and painted in dull divided pigments. With each new faith I could find myself, I could feel myself becoming what you believed. Then more came. Playful pranks turned into demands. Prayers fighting for my attention. Freshly freed from previously imposed boundaries, I'd managed to construct my own. While such faith granted me power beyond what I thought possible to achieve, I was being spread too thin across those who I'd taken under my wing. I thought to bring them all together to unify the causes and perhaps forge community under this banner. My banner. Our banner. We are weeks away from the gathering of my lost children who have wound their lives around my boons and counsel. The truth, Jester, is that I have no idea what I'm doing and I need your help."