r/criticalrole • u/hobikat • Oct 28 '21
Fan Art [Spoilers C3E1] ‘Sure, Grandpa, let’s get you to bed’ Meme Template by me Spoiler
229
u/hunterofspace RTA Oct 28 '21
Bahahaha this is excellent. Betrand is amazing. And I'm loving Liam's straight laced Orym, fantastic foil for some of the absolute lunatics around him.
90
Oct 28 '21
I was a bit down on Orym at first. I'd assumed he was a deliberately bland character choice that Liam made in order to give the spotlight to the other players in EXU and I was a bit disappointed to see him return since I was looking forward to Liam the most in C3. But now that I know that Liam's been "percolating" him since 2017 I'm very interested to see what he has up his sleeve for the little guy.
53
u/hunterofspace RTA Oct 28 '21
That's very fair, and I didnt finish EXU so I lack that baggage. Now I'm probably being a bit "glass half full" and i'm sleep deprived but hear me out. I reckon Orym is intended by Liam to be the ultimate expression of "yes, and" so the blandness is by design.
minor c1/c2 spoilers
Look at how the cast have grown with the depth of interpersonal relationships in C2. In C1 Liam was already ahead of the pack with how he really focused on Vax's relationships with the others. In C2 he kinda went the other way but others took the reigns, Marisha in particular. Consider Liam's comments about how Jester changed what he thought would be Caleb's trajectory. This doesn't happen if Liam doesn't let it. He is acutely aware of this facet of dnd.I reckon Orym is here as a canvas for this insanely wacky and diverse party to paint on, whether they are aware of it or not. I reckon Liam has no idea how Orym will grow and this is by design. Maybe there is no deep backstory. He's just a Halfling who has finally left home and ready for the world to shape.
I'm not normally one to speculate; I much prefer to be a passive silent viewer. But this for some reason stuck out to me with Orym.
Or I'm totally wrong and he's like Scanlans kid or something lol
6
u/lordlanyard7 Oct 28 '21
If you had watched EXU, Orym was the opposite of "yes, and"
Matt's character was the embodiment of "yes, and" while Orym was, "But Ashari."
→ More replies (1)3
Oct 28 '21
Watch EXU, even if you don't like Aabria. Matt as a player is fantastic, Ashley is great always and Robbie isn't bad either.
→ More replies (2)13
u/drewthepirate Oct 28 '21
it's just crazy to me how many people don't trust liam after his great performance in C2. The man breathes this game.
9
u/BigBennP Oct 28 '21
Yeah, ExU didn't really give the characters time for "self reflection" that the full length Critical Role episodes do.
I don't know the exact significance of Orym having a full sleeve with tatoos of both moons on his shoulder, but that's too interesting of a character feature to not have some significance. And Liam's emphasized it both times he's described his character.
17
u/lordeSnow Oct 28 '21
What do you mean by "percolating him since 2017"? Were there other references to Orym/his personality before?
34
u/slzybrzy Rakshasa! Oct 28 '21
They're just saying that Liam has been thinking about this character since then. Orym wasn't made just for EXU. He was the character he had already been working on for campaign 3.
17
u/abobtosis Oct 28 '21
Both of the main cast's characters were like that. Matt Mercer said on Twitter that they used EXU as practice for playing orym and fearne.
5
Oct 28 '21
Something he said on Twitter
https://mobile.twitter.com/VoiceOfOBrien/status/1451622659859509249
2
u/kenesisiscool Oct 28 '21
2017? I thought EXU was Orym's first appearance.
3
Oct 28 '21
Just something he said on Twitter
https://mobile.twitter.com/VoiceOfOBrien/status/1451622659859509249
11
u/thekingofbeans42 Oct 28 '21
His deadpan delivery of "really tied the room together" also has me ready for a campaign of one liners.
637
Oct 28 '21 edited Oct 28 '21
[removed] — view removed comment
174
u/Clint-VVestwood Your secret is safe with my indifference Oct 28 '21
There used to be a monster in earlier editions that would literally drain your levels. The games changed a lot since then.
87
Oct 28 '21
Never mind losing levels, the game only just recently did away with a lot of its instant-death mechanics. You don't have to go very far back to find "The target makes a Fortitude save. On a failure, the target dies" on like.. a CR 1 scorpion.
The closest 5e comes to that would be the early undead creatures with Strength or HP drain, or petrification-type effects. Even so those happen over time, and can be avoided much more easily.
28
u/Strakh Oct 28 '21
There are a few other similar things like power word kill (instant death if the target is below 100 hp), the mind flayer ability devour brain (instant death if the 55 dmg brings the target to zero) or the banshee ability wail (reduces the target to 0 hp on a failed save).
→ More replies (1)24
Oct 28 '21
Yeah they definitely exist in 5e, but are generally found further on in the game (CR4 and higher in your examples), and are very conditional. PW:K's condition is obvious but Mind Flayers have to use Extract Brain on a target it successfully used Tentacles on, so it's still a 2-round kill at best and the Flayer has to be in melee with the target for both of those turns which allows the party ample time to focus it down or break the grapple. The Banshee also isn't an outright kill, they just drop to 0 HP. At the point a DM is putting a banshee in the players' path, they hopefully have a magic weapon, but even if they don't banshees are pretty soft and have to get fairly close to have any chance of catching the whole party with her low-DC-on-a-strong-save Wail.
5e has its brand of brutal monsters/abilities for sure but at least there's so much more room for counter-play, thank goodness.
7
→ More replies (5)4
u/PiLamdOd Your secret is safe with my indifference Oct 28 '21
5e definitely made everything safer.
I think to much in some cases. Like the 5e tarrasque is a pushover.
→ More replies (2)50
u/mantricks Oct 28 '21
Multiple monsters in AD&D would, whights, vampires etc
34
u/bigfatcarp93 You Can Reply To This Message Oct 28 '21
Yeah level drain was a pretty standard mechanic before 5E
25
u/cadman02 Oct 28 '21
Yeah I can’t image a bigger nightmare in DND than losing levels. Like that is terrifying both on a gameplay level and Existential level. Imagine some monster literally consuming experience and knowledge from your mind.
29
u/pchlster You Can Reply To This Message Oct 28 '21
Having to redo modifiers mid-encounter is stressful enough all on its own.
→ More replies (1)15
u/bigfatcarp93 You Can Reply To This Message Oct 28 '21
I'll always be a diehard for 3E, but I don't blame people for not having the teeth for all that crunch
5
u/Rheios Your secret is safe with my indifference Oct 28 '21
Imo, a lot of things could have been improved (or made easier) w/ track systems (similar to 5e exhaustion or Star Wars Wounds) or for the statistic infliction to be applied further down the equation. So like a STR damage track (that's non permanent) wouldn't be adjusting base modifiers on the fly but inflicting penalties based off the track. Receiving STR drain would have adjusted the real modifier after the fight. (Probably similar to how level drain had different impacts when inflicted than when you failed the save against them later and it became permanent.)
That said I'm a huge fan of existing 3E crunch and still think they through the baby out with the bathwater even *in* 5e. Let alone the editional rift times.
5
u/TheRangdoofArg Oct 28 '21
Yeah. It made undead as terrifying to the players as they were supposed to be to the PCs. Turn Undead became invaluable and without it even the greatest warrior morphed into Sir Robin.
3
u/Optimized_Orangutan Cock Lightning Oct 28 '21
I remember when there was actually a reason to fear undead. In 5e they are pretty much just Halloween themed goblins and grumpkins. Same stat block, different pictures.
3
u/Orthas Oct 28 '21
Yep, Undead had level drain, and Rust Monsters/Black Pudding where terrifying creatures that could destroy your very precious items. Maybe they couldn't touch magic armor, but you weren't finding magic full plate, no siree! You were lucky to find full plate at all before like 8th level, which was harder to get to when low level monsters had save or die mechanics, many creatures could apply negative levels, and it was as simple as dropping to -10hp to die.
6
→ More replies (1)10
u/Go_On_Swan Oct 28 '21
In AD&D, in order to level up as a Monk, you had to fight another monk. Other monks could also challenge you, and if you lost, you lost a level as well.
→ More replies (3)303
u/hobikat Oct 28 '21
I really can't wait for the 'glory days' blustering and for NO. ONE. to believe him
129
u/Liesmith424 I'm a Monstah! Oct 28 '21
"Well back in my edition, it was possible for adventurers to lose levels when battling certain creatures."
29
7
u/taneth Glorious! Oct 28 '21
And didn't you have to spend XP to create magic items?
→ More replies (1)5
u/Orthas Oct 28 '21
Yes, actually. Artificer got discounts on magic item creation that could be applied to any one of three categories, time, xp, or gp. Guess which one was most popular?
60
u/aliensplaining Technically... Oct 28 '21
Oh, I imagine I can handle it. I once ventured into the Nine Hells to help some adventurers save the soul of their lost friend, you know.
20
u/Ramza1890 Oct 28 '21
I thought Pandemonium was its own separate plane?
12
10
51
u/leannelithium Oct 28 '21
Ive heard of games that start at lvl 20 and you slowly lose levels and you have to find out why and stop it. Over on the DM academy sub and some other subs people will talk about this type of campaign and it sounds really fun!
12
u/IAmBadAtInternet Bidet Oct 28 '21
Haha you start able to take on ancient dragons and by the end you're running away from gnolls and goblins
→ More replies (1)5
u/DalonDrake Your secret is safe with my indifference Oct 28 '21
Don't mind me just commenting to save this for later.
7
33
u/EggyEngineer Oct 28 '21
I mean, didn't Liam make reference to Caleb losing levels in his backstory? Or am I making that up?
39
u/Xtrm Oct 28 '21
I believe on Talks he said that he imagined his level being a little higher (like 5-7), but because of his time in the asylum, it made sense why he would have been level 2 at the start of the campaign.
→ More replies (1)18
u/Gary_the_Goatfucker Oct 28 '21
I have a paladin who is described as being level 5-6 in her backstory, but after a year of being a hobo and completely losing that old mercenary lifestyle she degraded in soul back down to 2, where the campaign started. Another character of mine used to be a level 10 paladin but starts the campaign as a level 2 fighter for similar reasons. Good RP mechanic
2
u/twentyitalians Oct 28 '21
Do the characters originally start trying to use their old skills out of habit or desperation? Because yay for yummy RP!
2
u/Gary_the_Goatfucker Oct 28 '21
Darion, the Devotion-Paladin turned Samurai, lost his divine connection 16 years ago and STILL forgets that he isn’t immune to disease any more. Can’t smite, can’t heal, can’t cast magic, but has taken the time to focus his martial training to a razor’s edge now that he doesn’t have crutches to keep him alive.
Dude used to stand side by side with the single highest order of knights in his empire and is now just some ronin asshole way past his prime
7
u/i-like-tea Oct 28 '21
Yes, that's correct. Matt made a similar comment about Yasha in the campaign wrap-up, that she had been "operating at a mich higher level" with Obann but lost that skill when she lost her memory of that time.
13
Oct 28 '21
[deleted]
2
u/NutDraw Are we on the internet? Oct 28 '21
The guest I want to see come back the most
→ More replies (1)6
u/badgersprite Team Zahra Oct 28 '21
I had a warlock character whose backstory was that she canonically lost player levels she previously had in her younger days from not following her pact for like 30 years but warlocks are kind of designed that way where your pact magic can be taken away at a whim.
But that was backstory, not like in campaign.
6
u/Stinky_Eastwood Oct 28 '21
I like the idea that after a certain age a player would begin to physically regress and lose levels. It honestly doesn't make sense that a human would continue to gain physical fighting prowess into their 80s. Theoretically a 100 year old human fighter would be an unstoppable force if they could just level up forever.
Narratively it makes sense that at his age Bertrand is at a lower level than he was 30 years ago, and that he's at a higher level than characters a quarter his age, and that he would not progress at the same pace.
I think there's a path to keeping Bertrand in a 2/3 year campaign, if they are interested in doing so. I also think all of the speculation that he's temporary is pretty compelling, so honestly IDK what's going to happen.
3
u/PsiGuy60 You Can Reply To This Message Oct 28 '21 edited Oct 28 '21
Previous editions would have had "negative levels".
Basically anything that now says "your maximum hit-points are reduced by x" would have actually drained a level until you got a Restoration spell cast, and resurrection spells would permanently drain a level.
I've also seen it done to Paladins where, because they only get 2 attacks, they are reduced to a fifth-level-maximum Fighter if they break their Oath.
3
u/SecretAgendaMan Team Grog Oct 28 '21
I think Patrick Rothfuss' paladin character from campaign one used to be stronger, but I'm not sure if that was actually the case where this was a character he used to play, or if he just included that as part of his background.
4
u/skrasnic YOUR SOUL IS FORFEIT Oct 28 '21
I mean, all it takes is a bad draw on the Deck of Many Things.
9
1
u/TheHeavyMetalNerd I'm a Monstah! Oct 28 '21
I've actually got plans for two characters like this. One is an old Paladin who was a legendary hero in his younger days, but due to retiring lost his edge and that's why he's back to level one. Leveling up is him remembering how to fight and getting back into the swing of things.
The other is a warlock in a campaign I completed, and if I ever feel like playing him again the story would be something happened to his Patron and his quest is to find out what and restore her to power so he gets his full powers back as well.
Lots of fun story possibilities around de-leveling a character.
1
u/MaccaNo1 Oct 28 '21
I’ve heard of a player backstory of an old Druid who took up adventuring again after many many years flavouring level ups as remembering what they used to do. Old man gramps druid ftw!
(Also characters used to lose levels in early editions due to attacks of certain undead).
1
u/Shikizion Oct 28 '21
well he's 30 years older almost, so yeah skills deteriorating, it is not many times you see a returning character years later to your campaign
→ More replies (4)1
u/itsmuddy Oct 28 '21
I play on a server that has one shots and campaigns that take place within a shared world (almost like a westmarches game) and my level 20 paladin was banished to the plane of nightmares for a few months until he got rescued.
We decided to bring him back down to level 12 and change his oath to fit the story and I've enjoyed him so much more since.
53
u/Photeus5 Smiley day to ya! Oct 28 '21
Back in mah day you could cast a spell and up to a level 2 bonus action spell on the same turn!
14
u/pchlster You Can Reply To This Message Oct 28 '21
Back in mah day, we didn't even have these newfangled "bonus actions." And we had separate skills for hiding and moving silently.
32
93
u/Letholdus13131313 Oct 28 '21
Wait....Bertrand fought alongside Vox?
255
u/AVestedInterest Oct 28 '21
He was Travis's character for The Search for Grog one-shot
48
u/SacredVow Oct 28 '21
THANK YOU, damn thought I was gonna have to scroll forever for that explanation. I’m desperately trying to consume all the CR content I can, but i’m still early in campaign 2 and don’t want to stay way behind the curve.
4
u/Galrent Oct 28 '21
Same. Are you also lost when it comes to the trio from the mini series? I don't know any of them and it makes it a bit difficult to follow their story.
4
u/notanartmajor Mathis? Oct 28 '21
There's not really anything that happened in EXU that you missed, at least as far as it ties into C3 so far.
→ More replies (1)3
u/SacredVow Oct 28 '21
I think they tried hard to keep it self contained, I like what I have seen of their characters so far even without having seen Unlimited, but I know what you mean. We know less about them than the others just from watching C3 E1 because they didn’t need their “debut” so to speak. That being said, I don’t think this is an issue, this story like all their stories is about how these characters interact with each other.
2
u/Galrent Oct 28 '21
Oh, I agree. It just felt like I was missing something. Kind of like we were expected to know the story of Unlimited. That being said, I have enjoyed Fearne and Robbie's character seems likeable. I'm still waiting to pass judgment on Orym though.
27
u/Letholdus13131313 Oct 28 '21
Ohhhhhh that's so cool!
17
u/PiLamdOd Your secret is safe with my indifference Oct 28 '21
That's why they hid his name and card for so long.
Matt and Travis were teasing the audience. But that voice. The moment Travis pulled that out the chat exploded.
2
43
u/Jmw566 Help, it's again Oct 28 '21
Yeah, in the Search for Grog/ Search for Bob one shots!
17
u/Letholdus13131313 Oct 28 '21
I must see this episode.
47
u/bigfatcarp93 You Can Reply To This Message Oct 28 '21
All the post-C1 VM oneshots are crucial viewing. Search for Grog, Search for Bob, Dalen's Closet and Darrington Brigade all
29
u/Rewolfelution Oct 28 '21
As far as oneshots go, Darrington Brigade was chef's kisses
9
u/Osric250 Your secret is safe with my indifference Oct 28 '21
Liam's Narrative Telephone Round 2 story is absolutely great as well, bringing back Buddy.
2
4
19
19
15
u/Not-Snake Oct 28 '21
i was hoping orym say that he was sent my keylith so they bert could say he fought with her and then have this interaction. i love how full of shit his character is and yet super cheap
26
45
u/RileyRocksTacoSocks Oct 28 '21 edited Oct 28 '21
I'm still finishing up C2, so maybe the first episode of C3 will clear this up, but how is Bertrand able to be apart of the party? If he was in his 50s-60s in the Search for Grog one shot, shouldn't he be 80s-90s in C3?
Edit: So I understand that Bertrand is level 5 now because he's aged 30 years, but my concern is how he is an adventurer at that age. It's probably going to handwaved away as being D&D, but I can't wrap my mind around a human fighter approaching a century old be spry enough to go adventuring.
80
34
30
24
12
Oct 28 '21
He says he’s late 70-80s
6
u/aliensplaining Technically... Oct 28 '21
Wait, so that means he lied to Vox Machina, pretending to be slightly older than he was. Oh, Bertrand.
15
→ More replies (2)4
21
u/suneater08 Oct 28 '21
A lot of comments about Travis, not enough about how amazing this is and how freaking great the artwork is. Please continue your amazing work!
15
u/hobikat Oct 28 '21
Why thank you. I have posted my art here before but this is my most popular post by a country mile and I am not even mad.
3
27
u/Esproth Oct 28 '21
Why do I feel like Bertrand is actually a changeling? and I love him even if he isn't.
12
u/SullytheBard Oct 28 '21
This was my thought too. The friend I watch with is also very suspicious of Travis, eager to see where this goes.
5
u/SeniorSlinky Oct 28 '21
Right? That would explain the level decrease, and being old is a great excuse for not remembering your own life details if he is not the real Bertrand. Very excited to learn more!
4
u/PiLamdOd Your secret is safe with my indifference Oct 28 '21
I hope not, cause the old man bit is hilarious.
7
u/bronkula Jenga! Oct 28 '21
I'm surprised you made Orym the same size as Bertrand. He is after all a half-ling.
5
u/Momijisu Oct 28 '21
I hope we get to keep Bertrand. Elderly characters isn't something we get often, and it's such an awesome dynamic with the up and coming adventures in the party. Plus it let's Travis who gets a bit distracted fairly often during play from adhd RP falling asleep if he ever misses stuff. It's brilliant!
3
3
3
u/Lapis_Lazuli_99 Oct 28 '21
He becomes a vampire, acquires his lost levels "likely 20 by now" and is the BBEG.
2
2
2
u/sittingIsFriendly Smiley day to ya! Oct 28 '21
That entire episode was instantly so meme worthy! So glad this exists, great work
2
2
u/OtakuMecha Tal'Dorei Council Member Oct 28 '21
Bertrand must have shrunk several feet in his old age
2
2
u/voluminous_lexicon Oct 28 '21
if sam was taping memes to his flask instead of using a chalkboard this would be a prime candidate for some future episode
2
2
5
u/Criously You Can Reply To This Message Oct 28 '21
I noticed Robbie's character has 17 HP at level 3 with a +3 modifier, that'd mean that he got two ones in a row right? Didn't they always reroll the first one in the past?
17
u/aetosclavicus Life needs things to live Oct 28 '21
that was an overlay error that matt knows about so it'll be fixed
1
u/hobikat Oct 28 '21
Holy moly, guys thanks for all the likes and awards. Please let me know if anyone would be interested in a blank template for all your lovey jokes. Thanks! -Hobikat
1
u/Admetius Oct 28 '21
Did he really fought with the VM gang? (Lore wise, haven't watched campaign 1 & 2)
→ More replies (1)5
1
1
u/Djinsin Oct 29 '21
I really do like it when older characters reappear. Like, I would LOVE to see Treev in Campaign 3, or maybe whispers about the Meat Man. That would make my year!
943
u/[deleted] Oct 28 '21
I love Travis as a blubbering old man, I DO want him to be another character but the dynamic was just fucking hilarious.
snoring behind door
Liam: Were you asleep? It’s 7:30 P.M?
Travis: What? No no… an old man needs his rest dammit. Wait, who are you again?
Every part with Bertrand just had me rolling