Independent Witches

is the fourth episode of 4-Sided Dive, discussing up to and Exandria Unlimited: Calamity with guests Laura Bailey, Aabria Iyengar, Ashley Johnson, and Marisha Ray. Laura served as the night's Tavern Keeper, and the guests played "Cuppa Questions", a version of beer pong without alcohol in which they answer questions on the coasters underneath the cups.

What the fuck is up with that?
Gnarlrock shard shatters witches' friendship
 * Laura and Marisha both found it really sad! They checked in with each other after the game and both thought it was sad but also a great dramatic development.
 * Laura points out that Erika also showed up very quickly after, so Imogen and Laudna didn't get a chance to really talk through it before Dusk showed up, and Imogen's having a rough day re: being bald.
 * Aabria agrees that it's both a heartbreaking scene and also a really interesting hook, and that Imogen losing her hair feels appropriate as a breakup haircut.
 * Ashley notes that she has no poker face and her face during that scene was very expressive. She says it's one of her favorite moments at the table.
 * Ashley's reaction is shown as a picture-in-picture. This was shortly after a similar picture-in-picture of the 'Omar Cam' which shows the point of view of Omar, who is in the studio.
 * Laura asks Marisha if she knew where Matt was going with the scene as Delilah and Marisha says she didn't, and she's not sure what Delilah's trying to do.
 * Everyone else wonders if Delilah is trying to come back to life.
 * Aabria and Marisha talk about how difficult it is to fight with friends and how terrible it feels, and Laura agrees and says that Imogen's response was very different from what she'd have done in reality.
 * Marisha really liked the "You lied" line and how it underscored Imogen's feelings about the gnarlrock shard.
 * Marisha and Laura compare the fight and everything else going on with having a fight with a friend just before a sleepover and having to act as if everything's fine.
 * Aabria agrees and says the worst part is how they're both being quiet and not talking about it with each other.

Calamity!
 * Aabria feels it helped her realize that Exandria is a post-apocalyptic setting, and how advanced society was during the Age of Arcanum.
 * Marisha agrees and notes that Travis had mentioned that prior, the cast had always seen the Calamity as a far-off bad thing that happened without it feeling real, and now it does.
 * Laura agrees; Ashley does too, especially after seeing the ruins of Aeor in Campaign 2 but she's not entirely caught up yet with Exandria Unlimited: Calamity!
 * Aabria notes that Laerryn made a very "anti-Ashari" choice.
 * Laura brings up Brennan's GM-ing and how she's sorry she wasn't able to be at that table. She and Marisha discuss the process for Patia; Laura had only come up with the vague outline of a politically connected wizard. In some ways it was freeing to Marisha to not have to pick a class but in other ways it was intimidating to play such a political character.
 * Aabria points out that in a way, the Ring of Brass in most campaigns would be NPCs: the cast was specifically asked to play very important and connected characters in Avalir. She played Laerryn specifically as someone who did not keep notes on all the arcane engines. She also notes that as the first Exandria Unlimited GM, she felt a little protective of Brennan, but he started off incredibly strong.
 * The lore documents for Calamity were HUGE.Laura adds that this happens for the main campaigns as well - once the cast has a backstory for their character, Matt will send them information they'd know.
 * Ashley found what she has watched incredibly compelling, and agrees that in most campaigns you start off as a nobody and work your way up, but that wasn't the case.
 * Marisha shouts out Lou's work as Nydas.
 * Aabria meanwhile shouts out the moment where Patia repeatedly rewound Cerrit's statement about selfish choices. She also mentions that the lore of the Calamity until then had always been that one wizard made a bad choice, but the series showed it was an entire cultural attitude that led to it.
 * Marisha brings up Niirdal-Poc as feeling like it answers the question of what sorts of cultures could have survived the Calamity, and Aabria agrees that this was the idea behind the city and specifically the idea of balance, as the other campaigns in Exandria all feel as though they've been attempting to restore a balance.
 * Aabria also talks about how the short length of the miniseries pushed them all to make intense character choices because there was no time to slowly discover a character.

In what kind of apocalypse would you thrive?
 * In discussing Children of Men, Aabria reveals she isn't terribly fond of babies and then the subject of Omar comes up; Dani reveals he's been asleep on her feet for several minutes.
 * Aabria would do well in a Waterworld scenario.
 * Marisha would do well in the world of Mad Max, and Ashley considers this as well.
 * Laura doesn't feel she has good apocalypse skills but the others say she'd make a good mysterious matriarchal leader.
 * Ashley does not like zombies. This turns into a brief discussion of zombie, and Aabria invites Ashley to Waterworld.

The Tower of Inquiry: Round 1
@surpriseimbored, Twitter: If your character got turned into a potted plant as per the Wild Magic table, what plant would they be? - pulled by Aabria
 * Laerryn would not be a plant as she is very anti-plant, but she might enjoy an artificial, futuristic LED plant.
 * Laudna would be a venus fly trap or a pitcher plant (both carnivorous plants).
 * Imogen would be a violet: small, purple, and likely to die if you don't care for it properly.
 * Ashley would be a Chinese Money Plant, which likes shady areas and has strange lily-pad like leaves, but Fearne would be oleander, belladonna, or another poisonous plant.
 * Patia would be an orchid.
 * The group discusses how difficult it is to care for orchids, and how Marisha's father saved one using mayonnaise. Aabria's not a huge plant person and only has an air plant.

@lenlaegrim, Twitter: What would be your character's go-to karaoke song? - pulled by Marisha
 * Laerryn: Criminal by Fiona Apple
 * Fearne: Kiss from a Rose by Seal
 * Imogen: Sweet Dreams by Eurythmics
 * Laudna: The Chain by Fleetwood Mac (after considering Sorcerer)
 * Aabria recommends Bring Me to Life by Evanescence for Laudna, and the group talks about their go-to karaoke songs in real life: Marisha likes You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette; Laura does the theme from The Neverending Story; Ashley does Toxicity by System of a Down, an unnamed Johnny Cash song, and Lovin', Touchin', Squeezin' by Journey.

The Deep Dive

 * Laura: What was the skyship like for Imogen? It was cool and she likes flying.
 * Aabria: How do you feel about Laerryn's final moments? She felt it was the best resolution of her arc: saving the world, dying having remarried Loquatius, and having helped Cerrit escape. It was devastating, but good.
 * Laerryn and Loquatius's relationship as a divorced came up in the initial character planning sessions as something Sam had wanted to do.
 * Marisha: What was it like to have two death scenes for Patia? The first time, she assumed it wasn't permanent given how soon it was into the episode, although she had her doubts for a while. For her second one, she was really happy she could preserve the legacy of Avalir through Cerrit and Maya.
 * Ashley: Tell us more about Nana Morri Calloway! She raised Fearne, but what kind of person is she? Are she and Fearne close? Ashley based Morri off her own mother, and specifically her mother as a grandmother to Ashley's own nieces and nephews - her mother is mischievous and very permissive; cooks and bakes a lot; stays up late; and is artistic, and this felt appropriate for a fey character.
 * How does Imogen feel about choosing to chase Armand instead of learning more about her constantly changing powers? She feels good about it - her own powers are a little overwhelming so she wants to take a break.
 * Aabria: Laerryn was trying to master planar travel. What was your inspiration behind this dream? It references Patia and Laerryn's friendship, which didn't have a lot of screentime, in which they both wanted Avalir to surpass the other flying cities of the age. Because Avalir had to follow the ley lines, Laerryn wanted to move a ley line to improve Avalir. She also feels it was worth it: the Calamity was to an extent inevitable, and she did both hasten it in some ways and prevent it from total devastation. Laerryn also definitely did not learn from her mistakes because she did save the world and because there are other things to blame, and would do it all again.
 * Marisha: What is the relationship between Laudna and Delilah like? Has it changed or grown over the years? Laudna is aware Delilah is the person who killed her and put her on the Sun Tree, but is also aware Delilah herself is dead, so her attitude is irreverent and flippant. She thinks of Delilah as a ghost and unable to affect her beyond granting her magic, although that is currently changing. Initially she was scared, but after so much time it's become normal.
 * Aabria asks if Laudna in a way likes what happened to her because it makes her special, and Marisha's honestly not sure if Laudna's processed that, because she does enjoy being weird.
 * Ashley: What is it like to play a character as chaotic as Fearne, and where does the inspiration for her mischief come from? As Ashley said earlier, some is from her mother, and some is from the rest of her family; one of her relatives put truck nuts on her pickup truck as a joke and she didn't notice for months. It's really fun to play a character who doesn't have a filter.
 * Laura agrees; she and Travis have talked about this regarding Jester and Grog.
 * Laura: Imogen flew for the first time. How does she feel about this new ability? Laura is playing Imogen's spells as something she doesn't entirely understand, so she didn't want to use it without cause, so it was fun to be able to use it.
 * Aabria: What was that moment of casting Blight on the Tree of Names like, as well as the realization of what that spell unleashed? It was scary as a player because it was such an important choice, and it was both very fun to make that decision and also terrifying because of what Aabria knew about the tree but Laerryn did not.
 * Marisha: How did Laudna feel about traveling by skyship? Did she use a skyship or a boat to get to Marquet from Tal'Dorei? She used a skyship; she's done it before.
 * Marisha: What is Patia's hope in sending her knowledge to Cerrit's daughter, Maya? Patia's role as Keeper of Scrolls was in part inspired by Marisha's fascination with the Library of Alexandria story, and so she feels as though she sent the age's knowledge to Maya and in doing so preserved it. She chose Maya because Cerrit's children were the only people she was sure were safely elsewhere. It might come up in a future campaign!
 * Aabria wants to see what the Agrupnin descendants are like given the orb and their experience with mages.
 * Ashley: What drew you to the Circle of Wildfire subclass for Fearne? It made sense for a fey creature, and she didn't want to repeat what Marisha had done as Keyleth.

The Tower of Inquiry, Round 2
'''Olivia: What is your character's favorite thing about the world they live in? What is your favorite part of the world as a player? Are they the same or do they differ?''' - pulled by Ashley
 * Laerryn loves Avalir because it's her city; she loves the culture of the Age of Arcanum in which unchecked magical experimentation and endless discovery is encouraged. Aabria also thinks it's funny that Avalir and other flying cities are above the clouds and don't experience weather.
 * Marisha relates this to the endless discovery the cast and other GMs have in Exandria.
 * Imogen's favorite thing in the world is Laudna.
 * Ashley's favorite thing is Aeor and the concept of the Calamity and fallen civilizations. She also likes Jrusar and Niirdal-Poc and wants to go to both of them. Fearne is so curious about the entire world and loves all of it.

Matthew Foxcroft: What do your characters get up to when they find it hard to fall asleep?
 * Laerryn and Loquatius "bang weird".
 * Imogen goes into other people's dreams and sees what they're dreaming about.
 * The group digresses to talk about their dreams.
 * Fearne, as we have seen, just gets very close to other people and investigates them out of curiosity.
 * Laudna crafts and plays with Sashimi and Pâté.
 * Ashley asks if Laudna's dolls are named after the last foods she had. They are not; Laudna just names them after fancy foods that are also dead animals because she thinks it's funny.

Cuppa Questions
Laura and Marisha played against Aabria and Ashley. Getting the ball into the cup from a direct throw meant the other team had to answer the question on the coaster under that cup; bouncing the ball and getting it into the cup meant the other team had to answer two questions. Aabria and Ashley won, with two cups left on their side of the table.


 * Laura: Wild Magic gone haywire made Imogen go bald, tell us about your worst hair day ever. Laura had the Rachel as a senior in high school, and it is in her senior pictures.
 * Laura: If you had the ability to read people's minds, would you use it all the time or only in certain situations, but caveat, what situations would you definitely use it in? Laura self-admittedly looks at people's medicine cabinets and is generally nosy so she would use it all the time.
 * Marisha: Delilah lives inside Laudna's mind, and gives her boons of magic, true, but what if Grey Griffin, the voice of Delilah and legend of Vox Machina lived inside your mind, what boons would Grey give you? Marisha has been a longtime fan of Grey and would love to have her incredible singing and musical ability.
 * Marisha: If Pâté and Omar went on a date, where would they go and what time you would want them home by? Omar loves the beach, so they'd go to the beach and run on the sand. They'd have to be back by 9 or 10 pm though because the coyotes come out around then.
 * Laura: Imogen is plagued by nightmares of that red storm, do you have any weird re-occurring dreams or nightmares, if so, tell us about one. Laura talked about this earlier, and she lucid dreams as well.
 * Ashley: How would Fearne have greeted Chetney if he hadn't overslept? She'd have given him a good time! Fearne is open to all kinds of experiences and finding enjoyment wherever she is.
 * Aabria: If you could plane-shift you and your friends, to any plane and have a party, what plane would you pick and why? The Feywild! It's weird and rainbow and it's not hot like the Elemental Plane of Fire, or the studio in which the AC has broken!
 * Aabria: If you could invent a machine that had one specific, but ultimately selfish purpose, what would it be and why? Something to make her hair shiny.
 * Aabria: If Patia and Laerryn were Thelma and Louise-ing around Earth, where would Laerryn want to go first and why? It would be an opulence tour: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai; Singapore; Japan.
 * Laura: Due to scheduling, you had to drop out of EXU Calamity, and Marisha took your place. Patia was a riff on the character concept. What were your impressions of Patia and how is she different from the character you had in mind? Laura only had the outline of the character, as mentioned earlier (a politically connected wizard) but she did have art planned and was going to have curly strawberry blonde hair, and lodestone earrings and hairpieces that floated. Marisha used this as inspiration for Patia's floating necklace.
 * Aabria: Okay, Aabria, tell us about your clutch ass Arcane Ward/Eldritch Initiate power gamer move that Laerryn had. Aabria took the Calamity as a challenge and wanted to make the hardest possible to kill wizard, so she was an abjuration wizard with Arcane Ward, and then Eldritch Initiate gave her Mage Armor as an at-will spell (via the Armor of Shadows invocation) so she could repeatedly cast it to refill her Arcane Ward (as it's an abjuration spell), granting her 33 extra HP. She also took the Tough Feat, so between that, her 18 Constitution score, and her nearly-always-full Arcane Ward, she had effectively 175 HP.
 * Ashley: If you could steal one thing on Earth and get away with it, what would you steal and why? Ashley likes fashion, but also loves things with sentimental value and memory. She'd want to steal an architecturally important house, like Fallingwater. She'd also steal a rainforest to prevent deforestation (plug for the Critical Role Foundation!)
 * Marisha: Being partially dead can't be all that bad. What's one aspect of being a Hollow One that you think would come in handy in real life? Laudna is aware she's living on borrowed time, and so she tries to experience things to the fullest and not stress out too much, which is a good philosophy to have.
 * Marisha: If Patia and Laerryn were Thelma and Louise-ing around Earth, where would Laerryn want to go first and why? She'd visit Ashley's stolen rainforest!
 * Aabria: What do you imagine Laerryn and Loquatius's wedding was like? Close friends and family? A big lavish event? Did they elope? It was a massive, lavish wedding that Patia helped with. It started raining halfway through, but because weather is a novelty to those in Avalir, Laerryn liked it - Aabria thought of this when she came up with Laerryn's perfume of Issylran violets.
 * Ashley: All right, can you tell us anything about why Fearne detests fairies? Is there a story there or was Fearne calling them bitches and rats just Ashley Johnson being a comedic legend? It was Ashley being funny. She thought that since most people think fairies are cool, it would be funniest if Fearne thought the opposite and that they were vermin.
 * Laura: If Vex had to give a eulogy at Bertrand's funeral, how would she start it? "Bertrand. What can one say about Bertrand? He was...Percy?"
 * Marisha, tell us about your first crush. Who is your Whitestone Andy? Josh Hartnett.
 * Ashley, what major celebrity would you cast to be the voice of Mister if he were capable of speech and why? Chris Pratt.

Quotations

 * Laura, as Imogen: Oh, I'm haunted by the moon? Cool, cool, cool, let's make up something else. Let's find something else.
 * Aabria:And if I could go back and do it again, I'd be even better at it. So I'd do it again! Yeah! Laerryn's learned nothing from this experience! Let's go! I just have to be better at this choice next time! Just be better. Yeah. Yeah. Don't get distracted by your ex-husband and go to a party and maybe this would have been dope and nothing bad would've happened. Laerryn learned all the wrong things from this.

Trivia

 * The drink special on the chalkboard during the Twitch countdown was "The Boom-Boom Replenishment". It references both the fireworks throughout Exandria Unlimited: Calamity and American Independence Day the day before the episode aired.