Critical Role (campaign three)
The third campaign of the Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role premiered on October 21, 2021; it is set after the conclusion of the second campaign and Exandria Unlimited. The series stars Marisha Ray, Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, Liam O'Brien, Taliesin Jaffe, Sam Riegel as the players with Matthew Mercer as the Dungeon Master. Campaign three airs each Thursday at 7 p.m. PT on Critical Role Productions' Twitch and YouTube channels except for the last Thursday of each month.
| Critical Role | |
|---|---|
| Season 3 | |
 The Draw of Destiny by Ian MacDonald. The official art print features Dorian, Imogen, Orym, Laudna, Fresh Cut Grass, Fearne (with Little Mister), Chetney, and Ashton. | |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 76 |
| Release | |
| Original network | Twitch, YouTube |
| Original release | October 21, 2021 – present |
| Season chronology | |
The campaign is an actual play which follows the Bells Hells,[1] a party of adventurers, in their travels across the continent of Marquet. The campaign begins two months before the Apogee Solstice, a celestial event which influences the ley lines of Exandria and magnifies magical abilities. The party gets drawn into the mystery surrounding Exandria's second moon Ruidus and the superstitions around the Ruidusborn, people born during spontaneous flares of the red moon. They eventually discover that the gods crafted Ruidus to imprison an ancient evil and that the Ruby Vanguard – founded and led by Martinet Ludinus Da'leth – seek to free this entity during the Apogee Solstice. The Bells Hells have attempted to prevent this by targeting the Malleus Keys, magical devices built by the Ruby Vanguard to aid their ritual.[2][3][4]
Cast
Main
Campaign 3 has maintained the previous Campaign 2 main cast members, consisting of seven players and the Dungeon Master.[5][6][7] The characters met in the city of Jrusar and later named their adventuring party the Bells Hells after a fallen member.
- Marisha Ray as Laudna, a human (Hollow One[8]) warlock/sorcerer who was killed during the massacre that began the Whitestone Rebellion in 810 PD and was resurrected by necromantic magics; she has since occasionally heard the voice of the deceased Delilah Briarwood. She wandered for decades before meeting Imogen in the Taloned Highlands; the two later travelled to Jrusar in 843 PD. Laudna was killed by Otohan Thull of the Ruby Vanguard during a battle at the Paragon's Call fortress which led the Bells Hells to go on a successful quest to magically resurrect her. Later in the campaign, Laudna forms a romantic relationship with Imogen.
- Ashley Johnson as Fearne Calloway, a Ruidusborn faun[lower-alpha 1] druid who travelled to the Material Plane from the Feywild to explore and find her parents. She can summon a wildfire spirit which appears as a fiery monkey named Little Mister. She met Orym and Dorian, along with other adventurers, in Emon and they formed the group known as the Crown Keepers. In the summer of 843 PD, she journeyed to Jrusar with Orym and Dorian to support Orym's mission.
- Laura Bailey as Imogen Temult, a Ruidusborn human sorcerer with psionic magic who has reoccurring dreams of a red storm. She and her companion Laudna travelled to Jrusar to investigate the origins of her psionic abilities and Laudna's necromantic abilities. Her mother, Liliana Temult, left when she was a child; the party's investigation into Ruidius leads them to discover that she and Liliana are Exaltant Ruidusborn who get power from the red moon. Liliana, as a general in the Ruby Vanguard, is working with the powerful elven archmage Ludinus Da'leth toward mysterious ends involving Ruidus. During the campaign, Imogen forms a romantic relationship with Laudna.
- Travis Willingham as:
- Sir Bertrand Bell,[11] a human fighter who travelled with Vox Machina to the plane of Pandemonium in 812 PD and in the following decades, exaggerated his accomplishments. After an encounter with animated furniture in Jrusar, he introduced the group to Lord Ariks Eshteross. When he was separated from the party one evening, the dwarf Dugger ambushed and killed him – the party avenges him and later names the group the Bells Hells in his honor.
- Chetney Pock O'Pea, a gnome[12] blood hunter[lower-alpha 2]/rogue[lower-alpha 3] who is also a woodworking artisan. He left Uthodurn in search of aid for his lycanthropy. He approaches the Bells Hells to ask for help searching for a man; following this, he joins the group as a full member.
- Liam O'Brien as Orym of the Air Ashari, a halfling fighter on a mission from Keyleth of the Air Ashari to investigate an attack in Marquet. This attack was similar to an attack on Keyleth in 837 PD which left Orym's husband Will dead. He travelled to Jrusar with other members of the Crown Keepers.
- Matthew Mercer as the Dungeon Master, who organizes the gameplay, describes what effects the player characters' actions have on the world and narrative, and plays the non-player characters (NPCs).[16][17]
- Taliesin Jaffe as Ashton Greymoore,[lower-alpha 4] an earth genasi barbarian who attacked Jiana Hexum's home in Jrusar with a group called the Nobodies and was gravely injured; they were abandoned by the group and have been paying off their debt to Hexum since. On a job, they discovered Fresh Cut Grass and helped the automaton bury their companions. They later convince the Bell Hells to take a job from Hexum which pays off their debt to her.
- Sam Riegel as Fresh Cut Grass (FCG),[lower-alpha 4] an automaton cleric with ancient Aeorian design who was reassembled by the tinkerer Dancer in 838 PD. They are the surviving member of the party known as the Division of Public Benefit. They initially believe that they were built by Dancer but the party learns FCG was a pre-Divergence Harmonious Aeormaton named Faithful Care-Giver. While they don't have memories of this time period, FCG fears that they participated in an assassination attempt known as the Care and the Culling after learning that they repressed memories of killing the other members of the Division of Public Benefit during a panic attack.
Guests
Additionally, the following guests have made appearances:
- Robbie Daymond as Dorian Storm, an air genasi bard[19] who travelled to Jrusar with Orym and Fearne and helped form the Bells Hells. He later leaves the group to help smuggle his brother out of Marquet and rejoins the other members of the Crown Keepers in Tal'Dorei.
- Erika Ishii as Yu Suffiad,[lower-alpha 5][22] a changeling warlock/paladin[21] who works for Sorrowlord Zathuda, Grove Captain of the Unseelie Court. They were tasked with hunting down Fearne's parents and recovering an object which they stole.
- Christian Navarro as F.R.I.D.A. (Far Ranging Integrated Defense Aeormaton), an automaton fighter/rogue/cleric with ancient Aeorian design who is an companion of Deanna. Similar to FCG, they were brought back to life by a mysterious figure known as "D".[23][24]
- Aabria Iyengar as Deanna Leimert, a gnome cleric of the Dawnfather. She and Chetney are exes; after they broke up, Deanna married, had a family and died. Her husband went on a quest and found a cleric who brought Deanna back to life two hundred years later.[23][24]
- Aimee Carrero as Deni$e Bembachula, a dwarf barbarian/rogue from Tal'Dorei who was mysteriously teleported to Issylra during the Apogee Solstice at the same moment that she found her ex-fiance Dariax, a character played by Mercer in Exandria Unlimited.[25][26] After discovering that Dariax is desolate in Westruun, she acquires transportation there.
- Utkarsh Ambudkar as Bor'Dor Dog'Son, a half-elf sorcerer of the Ruby Vanguard who was teleported to Issylra during the Apogee Solstice near the other party members. He murdered a farmer, burned his body, and stole his clothes to delude the party into thinking he is a simple sheep farmer. After his lies are discovered, he is killed by Laudna in revenge.[25][26]
- Emily Axford as Prism Grimpoppy, a shadar-kai wizard originally from the Shadowfell who was an apprentice mage at the Cobalt Soul. She was tasked by the Cobalt Soul to do a survey on experiences during the Apogee Solstice; the Cobalt Soul knew she would be transported. She also has a raven familiar named Mother in honor of the Matron of Ravens. After travelling with members of Bells Hells for a time, she decides not to return to the Cobalt Soul and steal books for Bells Hells.[25][26]
Background
The story takes place roughly 10 years after the events of the second campaign, shortly after the events of the limited series Exandria Unlimited.[27] It is set on the continent of Marquet, which was briefly visited during the Vox Machina campaign.[28][29] SyFy Wire highlighted that Marquet is "home to massive deserts, mountains, and even a volcano" and that it is "uncharted territory for the series".[28]
Multiple characters in this campaign are returning characters. Dorian, Orym, and Fearne premiered in Exandria Unlimited while Bertrand premiered in the one-shot "Search For Grog".[6][11] Mercer noted that both Johnson and O'Brien brought character concepts they were toying with for Campaign 3 over to Exandria Unlimited, where they had the chance to develop them with Aabria Iyengar. There was no expectation to carry the characters over to Campaign 3, but the two players enjoyed the characters so much, they decided to keep using them moving forward. Daymond was brought in a special guest to help carry them forward over into Campaign 3.[6] Willingham's second character, Chetney, was inspired by a character he had previously played in the non-canon one-shot "The Night Before Critmas".[12] Additionally, Mercer has brought back several player characters from previous campaigns as NPCs such as Vox Machina's Keyleth and Pike and The Mighty Nein's Caleb and Beau.[30][31][4][32]
Production and format
The format is largely unchanged from the second campaign, with videos of the cast and any battlemaps presented in 3-5-hour episodes. Technical changes introduced during the second campaign such as subtitles, character information and pre-recording were maintained.[33] Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show had broadcast live, but has been pre-recorded since Campaign Two Episode 100.[34][28][35] A new set, designed by professional amusement park designers Shaun Ellis and Polly Hodges, was built for the third campaign. The cast are no longer divided into socially distanced individual tables, but returned instead to a common table as had been the case prior to the pandemic.[36][37] The campaign features "enhanced set designs, music, lighting and effects, along with improved sound (each actor will have an individual mic)."[38]
The way in which guest players were scheduled changed for Campaign Three, moving away from single-episode appearances as had been common before. In the first two campaigns, the longest continuous appearance was Ashly Burch's four-episode run in Campaign Two, while Bailey and Willingham were absent following the birth of their child.[39][40] All guests in Campaign Three have been present for a block of at least five episodes. Notably, Daymond portrayed Dorian for the first 14 episodes of the campaign. Shortly after his departure from the main campaign, he appeared in Exandria Unlimited: Kymal for a further two episodes as Dorian. He has been absent in person since, however he did pre‑record an audio piece for episode 41.[40][41] Until Daymond; the guests with the highest episode count had been Will Friedle and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, who appeared in a total of seven episodes over the course of Campaign One.[40]
The show airs each Thursday at 19:00 PT on Critical Role's Twitch and YouTube channels.[42][43][35] In a change from the previous campaign, campaign three of Critical Role will not air new episodes on the last Thursday of every month; instead, other content by the studio will air in its time slot.[28][35][44] The third campaign's premiere was simulcast live in Cinemark Theatres along with the regular Twitch and YouTube livestream.[5][45] Similarly, the 17th episode of the third campaign was simulcast in Cinemark Theatres, Landmark Theatres, and Cinépolis alongside the regular livestream as part of their 7th anniversary celebration.[46][47] The show went on hiatus from the end of May 2022 until June 30, 2022.[48][49]
Episodes
2021
| Episode | Title | Run time | Original air date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Draw of Destiny" | 03:58:25 | October 21, 2021 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. Was simulcast in Cinemark Theatres alongside the regular Twitch and YouTube livestream.[5][45] | |
| The episode opens in the Oderan Wilds' capital city of Jrusar with Imogen and Laudna on a cable car heading to the Starpoint Conservatory where they discover their request to access the libraries has been denied. Meanwhile, Ashton and Fresh Cut Grass head to the Spire by Fire Inn to seek work. Orym, Fearne, and Dorian arrive in the city via airship; they have been tasked by the leader of the Air Ashari, Keyleth, to find a man. Everyone is drawn together by an arcane incident outside the Spire by Fire where they group up to fight animated objects. They are assisted by an elderly Sir Bertrand Bell who then offers to introduce them to a well paying man, Lord Ariks Eshteross. The next day everyone regroups before heading to Eshteross's manor. Eshteross challenges the group to prove themselves due to Bertrand's boasting – the episode ends as the lord himself rushes the group. | |||||
| 2 | "Trial by Firelight" | 04:07:40 | October 28, 2021 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. Aired on the last Thursday of October as an exception.[36] | |
| 3 | "The Trail and the Toil" | 04:08:42 | November 4, 2021 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. | |
| 4 | "On the Trail of a Killer" | 03:52:12 | November 11, 2021 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. | |
| 5 | "The Threat Between the Walls" | 04:25:35 | November 18, 2021 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. | |
| 6 | "Growing Bonds and Teasing Threads" | 03:54:57 | December 2, 2021 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. | |
| 7 | "Behind the Curtain" | 03:49:38 | December 9, 2021 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. Introduction of Willingham's new character. | |
| 8 | "A Woodworker's Quandary" | 03:23:00 | December 16, 2021 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. | |
2022
| Episode | Title | Run time | Original air date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | "Thicker Grows the Meal and Plot" | 04:14:35 | January 6, 2022 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. |
| 10 | "Ghosts, Dates, and Darker Fates" | 03:16:29 | January 13, 2022 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. |
| 11 | "Chasing Nightmares" | 04:52:18 | January 20, 2022 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. |
| 12 | "Make It Fashion" | 04:36:53 | February 3, 2022 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. |
| 13 | "A Dance of Deception" | 04:01:00 | February 10, 2022 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. |
| 14 | "In Too Deep" | 04:45:08 | February 17, 2022 | Guest stars Robbie Daymond. |
| 15 | "The Tunnels Below" | 04:42:24 | March 3, 2022 | – |
| 16 | "The Shade Mother" | 04:12:12 | March 10, 2022 | – |
| 17 | "Heart-to-Heartmoor" | 04:11:30 | March 17, 2022 | This episode coincided with the seven year anniversary of the show. To commemorate this the episode was a simulcast in Cinemark Theatres, Landmark Theatres, and Cinépolis[46][47] alongside the regular Twitch and YouTube livestreams. |
| 18 | "A Hungry Jungle" | 03:23:13 | March 24, 2022 | – |
| 19 | "Omens Above" | 03:55:12 | April 7, 2022 | – |
| 20 | "Breaking and Entering..." | 03:36:18 | April 14, 2022 | – |
| 21 | "Fight at the Museum..." | 03:47:28 | April 21, 2022 | Fearne was played by Laura Bailey as Ashley Johnson was isolating with COVID-19. Johnson texted Bailey directions during this episode. |
| 22 | "Promise and Potential" | 04:21:06 | May 5, 2022 | Ashley Johnson appeared remotely for this episode during her COVID-19 recovery. |
| 23 | "To The Skies" | 04:14:53 | May 12, 2022 | – |
| 24 | "The Hellcatch Valley" | 03:55:34 | May 19, 2022 | Guest stars Erika Ishii. |
| 25 | "A Taste of Tal'Dorei" | 04:23:45 | June 30, 2022 | Guest stars Erika Ishii. Aired on the last Thursday of June as an exception.[48][49] |
| 26 | "Hidden Truths" | 04:10:25 | July 7, 2022 | Guest stars Erika Ishii. |
| 27 | "A Race for the Prize" | 04:01:16 | July 14, 2022 | Guest stars Erika Ishii. |
| 28 | "The Deathwish Run" | 04:28:03 | July 21, 2022 | Guest stars Erika Ishii. |
| 29 | "Dark Portents" | 03:36:48 | August 4, 2022 | Guest stars Erika Ishii. |
| 30 | "Reunion & Revelation" | 03:37:25 | August 11, 2022 | – |
| 31 | "Breaking Point" | 03:52:41 | August 18, 2022 | – |
| 32 | "A Stage Set" | 04:34:30 | September 1, 2022 | – |
| 33 | "Blood and Dust" | 03:56:22 | September 8, 2022 | – |
| 34 | "What Dreams May Come" | 03:40:31 | September 15, 2022 | – |
| 35 | "Pyrrhic Return" | 04:35:31 | September 22, 2022 | – |
| 36 | "A Desperate Call" | 04:16:08 | October 6, 2022 | – |
| 37 | "From the Boughs" | 04:10:18 | October 13, 2022 | – |
| 38 | "A Dark Balance" | 04:20:44 | October 20, 2022 | – |
| 39 | "The Momentum of Murder" | 03:32:47 | November 3, 2022 | – |
| 40 | "Compulsions" | 03:56:30 | November 10, 2022 | – |
| 41 | "Call of the Wild" | 04:11:05 | December 8, 2022 | Features pre-recorded audio segment by guest star Robbie Daymond. |
| 42 | "The City of Flowing Light" | 03:53:29 | December 15, 2022 | – |
| 43 | "Axiom Shaken" | 04:14:36 | December 22, 2022 | – |
2023
| Episode | Title | Run time | Original air date | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 44 | "Bawdy Basement Belligerence" | 03:53:18 | January 5, 2023 | – | |
| 45 | "Ominous Lectures" | 03:35:02 | January 12, 2023 | – | |
| 46 | "Night at the Ligament Manor" | 04:18:46 | January 26, 2023 | Aired on the last Thursday of January as an exception. | |
| 47 | "The Fey Key" | 04:20:21 | February 2, 2023 | – | |
| 48 | "An Exit Most Fraught" | 03:55:30 | February 9, 2023 | – | |
| 49 | "The Aurora Grows" | 05:01:46 | February 16, 2023 | – | |
| 50 | "Red Moon Rising" | 03:51:43 | March 2, 2023 | – | |
| 51 | "The Apogee Solstice" | 04:37:04 | March 9, 2023 | – | |
| 52 | "Far From the Others" | 03:48:35 | March 16, 2023 | Marisha Ray, Liam O'Brien, and Taliesin Jaffe are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Christian Navarro and Aabria Iyengar. | |
| 53 | "Ripples" | 04:02:46 | March 23, 2023 | Marisha Ray, Liam O'Brien, and Taliesin Jaffe are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Christian Navarro and Aabria Iyengar. | |
| 54 | "Treacherous Toys" | 04:18:33 | April 6, 2023 | Marisha Ray, Liam O'Brien, and Taliesin Jaffe are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Christian Navarro and Aabria Iyengar. | |
| 55 | "Hope Within History" | 03:35:16 | April 13, 2023 | Marisha Ray, Liam O'Brien, and Taliesin Jaffe are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Christian Navarro and Aabria Iyengar. | |
| 56 | "By Goat or By Boat" | 04:10:39 | April 20, 2023 | Marisha Ray, Liam O'Brien, and Taliesin Jaffe are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Christian Navarro and Aabria Iyengar. | |
| 57 | "The Sorrow of Molaesmyr" | 03:37:32 | May 4, 2023 | Marisha Ray, Liam O'Brien, and Taliesin Jaffe are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Christian Navarro and Aabria Iyengar. | |
| 58 | "Escape from the Past" | 04:04:22 | May 11, 2023 | Marisha Ray, Liam O'Brien, and Taliesin Jaffe are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Christian Navarro and Aabria Iyengar. | |
| The party wins a battle against a fleshy abomination and escape the tower while stealing a bag they found in a secret compartment. They manage to avoid all the creatures of Molaesmyr and find a hidden hollow deep within the forest to sleep the night. After determining that they possess a bag of holding, within it they find a staff, a mysterious rod, many notes, gems and coins, and a strange leather object. The staff is identified as the Staff of Dark Odyssey, which can cast a teleportation spell, among other things. The rod is a tuning fork that allows for planer transport to the Feywild. The notes found within Ludinus's tower and upon these papers indicate that the leather armor they found is a harness used by Ludinus to infuse himself with the essence of fae or powerful fanes in Exandria after destroying them. After deciding not to go back to Uthodurn, the party sleeps for the night and attempts to teleport to Jrusar in the morning. | |||||
| 59 | "Somewhere Out There" | 04:10:11 | May 18, 2023 | Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham and Sam Riegel are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Aimee Carrero, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Emily Axford. | |
| Laudna, Orym, Deni$e Bembachula, and Ashton are transported by some unknown mechanism upon a ledge partway down the Spectrum Gorge in Issylra, near enough to the Hellcatch to see Ruidus far on the horizon. After extricating themselves, they find Bor'Dor Dog'Son sitting near a campfire burning the farmer he murdered. The party never catches on, not even after Bor'Dor attacks Deni$e with a most fortunately weak lightning bolt. After they are joined by Prism Grimpoppy emerging from the forest before they are attacked by a group of sentient plants, which the party easily defeats as Bor'Dor feigns cowardice in a fetal position. Around the campfire, Bor'Dor lies about his experiences to Prism, Deni$e and Orym talk about Dariax, and Laudna speaks to Ashton about politics. The party continues traveling through the forest and all look upon the suspended red moon Ruidus. | |||||
| 60 | "Faith or Famine" | 04:13:18 | June 1, 2023 | Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham and Sam Riegel are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Aimee Carrero, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Emily Axford. | |
| 61 | "Crisis of Faith" | 04:52:56 | June 8, 2023 | Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham and Sam Riegel are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Aimee Carrero, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Emily Axford. | |
| 62 | "A Long Walk of Reflection" | 03:43:45 | June 15, 2023 | Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham and Sam Riegel are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Aimee Carrero, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Emily Axford. | |
| The party leaves Hearthdell in the morning with the wind cougar summoned by Abaddina to journey to Irriam Canyon, where a druid who can teleport the party to Jrusar lives. The journey is uneventful except for an encounter with a fallen petrified denizen of the Astral Sea from which Ashton extracts a Ring of Volcanic Flesh. When the party reaches the depths of the canyon, they spot the blue flowers they were looking for past a living hill that they stealth past. Near the entrance of the cave, the party collects some crystals of magic refraction before entering the recently abandoned cave proper from within such Orym spots a face peering from the ceiling. | |||||
| 63 | "A Haunted Past" | 04:05:26 | June 22, 2023 | Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham and Sam Riegel are absent this episode as players. Guest stars Aimee Carrero, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Emily Axford. | |
| The party face a mysterious entity named Evithorir. After defeating it, they free the druid Hevestro who explains he is the guardian of Oma-Dua, an ancient druid who previously sealed away Evithorir. Hevestro also explains that the Hishari was a cult which destroyed itself; Abaddina was previously a member and Asthon was born into this cult. After Hevestro leaves, Deni$e violently confronts Bor'Dor about what she suspects he has hidden from the rest of the party. Bor'Dor's lies begin to fall apart, forcing him to reveal that he has been a member of the Ruby Vanguard the entire time. He lashes out, firing an acidic blast at the entire party and knocking Prism unconscious. Orym heals Prism as Laudna unleashes her inner demons. In the ensuing fight, Laudna kills Bor'Dor for his betrayal. Deni$e waits for Laudna to be escorted away by Ashton before burying the remains in a small grave marked with a rock. The next day, Prism discovers Dariax is in Westruun via scrying so Hevestro opens a magical tree portal to that city for Deni$e. After confirming the other Bells Hells members are in Jrusar via Prism's Scry, Hevestro magically transports the rest of the group there. | |||||
| 64 | "Reunited" | 04:16:20 | July 6, 2023 | Guest stars Christian Navarro, Aabria Iyengar and Emily Axford. | |
| Deanna, FRIDA, FCG, Imogen, Fearne, and Chetney find themselves teleported to the wrong mountainous city. The eisfurran inhabitants of the city are terrified that non-birdfolk found the hidden city and escort the party blindfolded into a nearby forest. After FCG very nearly experiences a psychotic break, the party rests for another day before successfully teleporting to Jrusar. The party arrives at midnight in the Smolder Spire, Ruidus suspended by a red beam ominously on the horizon causing the locals to be much more wary and cautious than they would ordinarily be. They eventually make their way to the Spire by Fire. Meanwhile, Prism, Orym, Ashton and Laudna arrive in Jrusar leading to Bells Hells being reunited at the Spire by Fire. While sharing their respective adventures, the Wildemount group is horrified by the events experienced by the Issylra group. This discussion also leads Deanna to have more doubts about the Dawnfather. Deanna scrys on Keyleth showing she is alive in Zephrah but still badly injured. Deanna, FRIDA, and Prism are tasked with researching more on Predathos while Bells Hells continues on. FCG stays with the Bells Hells to focus on preserving the Changebringer; FRIDA kisses FCG before the three depart. | |||||
| 65 | "A Path of Vengeance" | 04:07:21 | July 13, 2023 | – | |
| Following the suggestion of Orym and Ashton, Bells Hells takes time to regroup and relax. Ashton and FCG visit Milo. Laudna and Imogen look in on Zhudanna and reconcile their differences leading to their first kiss. While getting Zhudanna's groceries, they stumble across a recording of Ludinus's speech emanating from an enchanted object placed to rouse the citizens of Jrusar into following him. Orym, Chetney, and Fearne are updated on local events by Ajit Dayal. They then make their way to the Duskmaven's temple, where they experience a shared vision sent by the Matron of Ravens depicting a screaming black sphere set within the Malleus Key under the held red moon. The three groups reconvene in the Spire by Fire. Over the course of the next day, the party magically scries on Liliana and Ira – Liliana is walking through a city with Ludinus on the red moon while Ira is pushing through a dust storm somewhere on Ruidus when he comes across a building inhabited by a Reilora and enters into the building before the scry ends. Ashton picks up his upgraded hammer from Milo. The party sleeps for another night and in the morning, Imogen teleports them to Zephrah. | |||||
| 66 | "Aid of the Tempest" | 04:43:29 | July 20, 2023 | – | |
| The party teleports to Zephrah using Imogen's Staff of Dark Odyssey and are ambushed by members of Orym's tribe, the Air Ashari. They stand down when Orym's sister-in-law recognizes him and the party is escorted to meet with Keyleth, the leader of Zephrah. Keyleth is heavily afflicted with a toxin that prevents her wounds from healing and asks the party to look for an antidote in the Grey Valley, a northern withered wilderness. Before leaving, the party meets Alma, Orym's mother, and orders clothing in the village. Maeve gives Ashton a backpack to fill with blue flowers and transports the party to the Grey Valley. The party travels through the petrified wood using Pâté to scout ahead. When they spot a large collection of blue flowers, Chetney is ambushed by an abyssal Devourer Demon and zombified Ashari after separating from the group to pick flowers. The party defeats the demon and rests to consider their next move. | |||||
| 67 | "Bloody Flowers" | 04:47:31 | August 3, 2023 | – | |
| The party sets out again across the wastes for blue flowers. Shortly after spotting a structure a half mile off, they are attacked by a pair of flying demons which they dispatch with ease. As the party notices that they are approaching a defensive bastion which been beset upon and destroyed by abyssal creatures, they see several cages holding mostly Ashari prisoners and a devil that is attacking the abyssals. After the abyssals are defeated, the devil Teven Klask converses with Fearne and the prisoners are freed. Two are worshipers of the Platinum Dragon who were defending this outpost and the other three are Ashari, one of whom is Orym's sister-in-law Baernie. Teven convinces Fearne to become an acolyte of his god Asmodeus and the party rests for the night in an artificial sealed cave created by Baernie. | |||||
| 68 | "For the Tempest" | 03:48:26 | August 10, 2023 | – | |
| During the night, Imogen accidentally visits Ruidus in spiritual form, where she learns of animals on the moon and speaks to her mother, who tells Imogen that Liliana is dependent on Ludinus in some way and makes clear her intention to go along with his plan. The dream ends and the party manages to teleport themselves and five companions back to Zephrah in one casting. The party takes two bags of blue flowers to Keyleth's home and allow the Ashari herbalists to concoct an ointment that heals Keyleth. Keyleth and the party share many facts about the world. Imogen summons a spiritual projection of a Reilora that speaks to Imogen about the nature of Ruidus and Predathos and of the wonder of Exandria that is not present in the red stormridden deserts of Ruidus. Ashton uses Keyleth's insight of influence by Primordial blood infused in him by his father's cataclysm. The party learns the location of the tree Efterin bragged about controlling before destroying his family and village in a possibly misguided attempt to gain power and the party makes plans to visit it. Orym is received as a hero and Keyleth titles him as Savior Blade of the Tempest. | |||||
| 69 | "Nice" | 03:57:56 | August 17, 2023 | – | |
| The party splits up to enjoy Zephrah. Ashton has a supernatural experience during a panic attack and receives his new outfit. Orym, Fearne, and FCG go shopping and visit the grave of Orym's family with Orym's mother in law Nel. Laudna and Chetney go hang-gliding while Imogen flies unassisted from a safe distance. Before the party settles in for the night, Laudna is spoken to by Delilah Briarwood. The next morning, Keyleth and the party are teleported by the Staff of Dark Odyssey to Yios to find Dancer, FCG's former owner, whom FCG and Imogen convince to repair and discover the uses of Ludinus's old harness. Dancer reveals that she does not have experience with the runes in question and will need to collaborate with Imahara Joe, an artificer who lives in Bassuras, to help the party in this way. While looking for a tree large enough for Keyleth to transport the party, the party encounters and assists FCG in killing Gargo, an undead bird who was abandoned by an unnamed necromancer and can be killed only by the Destroy Undead spell FCG casts. Keyleth transports the party, Dancer, and herself to Bassuras. The tethered red moon illuminates the town. | |||||
| 70 | "Embattled in Bassuras" | 04:38:25 | August 24, 2023 | – | |
| The party arrives in Bassuras to see a skyship be hit by an unknown weapon. Consulting with the locals reveals that although explosions are commonplace, skyships are very rare. Three are outside the Carmine Curtain and many others have come through in the last week since the Apogee Solstice, some also attacked. Keyleth explains that she might have friends in the skyships and flies up to meet them. The rest of the party goes to Imahara Joe's, where they find him and a friend held hostage by Paragon's Call. The party attacks, killing multiple soldiers including the leader, General Ratanish. The party, rescuing Imahara Joe and another tinkerer Verda, escapes the growing investigation. Ashton and Imogen split to the All-Minds-Burn, a hive mind of drugged cultists. Justi, an old friend of Ashton, allows them to meet the All-Minds-Burn, a great gelatinous tower of mind, itself and Imogen communicates with it and of Imogen's memories it learns of the Red Moon and wishes to see for itself. After Imogen receives a splice of the Mind, the party is transported by Keyleth to the Shattered Teeth to learn of Ashton while Dancer, Joe, and Verda travel to Whitestone to repair Ludinus's harness. | |||||
| 71 | "Mist and Whimsy" | 04:17:51 | September 7, 2023 | – | |
| The party arrives on the island of Slival within the center of a forest. They explore the island, noticing some curious jungle creatures and a distant dragon-like creature roaming the skies. The entirety of the Shattered Teeth are entrenched in deep fog and every island moves constantly, making navigation difficult and isolating the islands. Looking for Jirana, Keyleth's friend who will help guide them to Evontra'vir, the party circles the southwest portion of Slival and encounters the Dolabos who fear the Bari Mondolo, land dwelling larva of serpents living beneath the ocean. The Dolabos say they are protected by Toriz, whom Keyleth named just as the party entered the Shattered Teeth without explanation. The Dolabos love fire but cannot produce it on their own, and they ask the party to build a fire to attract Toriz. The fire attracts a Bari Mondolo who fights the party before Toriz, a giant toad, appears and throws the creature into the sea. As the toad opens its mouth, the party sees that inside is a living space containing the tortoise-kin Jirana. She tells the party of many ways to reach Kalutha, where Evontra'vir rests, and they choose to summon the dread pirate Novos. | |||||
| 72 | "Phantasmal Parley" | 03:55:02 | September 14, 2023 | – | |
| After Toriz deposits the party on the north shore, they realize they could use the hole to assist in the coming battle if they remove the dead bodies of Paragon's call first. Imogen is made up to look like her mother, and FCG casts Speak with Dead on a lower ranked druid that Imogen asks practice questions on to learn what to ask Ratanish. They learn some information before Imogen tires and Ashton throws all the bodies into the sea to cover the party's tracks if they return to Bassuras. Chetney dips the compass into and a great ship appears out of the growing mist and skeletal pirates jump into the sea and begin to attack the party. During the battle, after escaping FCG's Turn Undead, Laudna manages to reach the undead captain Urlu Novos and strike up a conversation. She convinces the captain to stop trying to kill the party and transport them to Kalutha when they give him the compass. Everyone peacefully piles onto the ship, and the two crews meet. The skeletons have little in common with the party, given their inability to eat and drink, but the combined group has fun nonetheless gambling the day away. | |||||
| 73 | "Kindling the Spirits" | 04:27:26 | September 21, 2023 | – | |
| The party has two days to spare on the ghost ship before they reach the isle of Kalutha. Ashton has noticed that many of the crew members have designs etched into their skulls and with a little convincing, Ashton manages to get the resident artist to etch similar patterns into his rock-like skin as well as using ink Chetney found somewhere to tattoo the skin of the rest of the party. Laudna tells the party of her ability to consume the souls of her enemies and her guess that Delilah gains power from said souls. FCG tries to contact Delilah by casting Shared Dream on Laudna and fails. Kyle, a very short skeleton, overhears the conversation and correlates Laudna's struggle against self with his own struggle of alcohol addiction, bringing a new perspective to the conversation. During a sexual experience with Captain Novos, Fearne allows him to steal a portion of herself that causes ice to melt from his body. The last day of travel, the party decides to have a goodbye ball for which Laudna makes bone banners. After they land upon the island, the party fights a great worm as they look for Evontra'vir, the Tree of Atrophy. | |||||
| 74 | "Roots Between Worlds" | 03:47:08 | October 5, 2023 | – | |
| The party emerges upon the clifftop and sees before them a rainforest valley. Across the valley are three mountains and at the base of these is Evontra'vir. They spend two days traversing the jungle, narrowly escaping the wrath of a giant hippopotamus and encountering an angry hunting party to whom they return a powerful amulet. Unfortunately, the Kaluthan denizens decide not to provide any directions to the party as nightfall quickly approaches, so Imogen flies once more into the skies above the Shattered Teeth to find the path. At first, she sees little, but upon retrieving Orym and traveling further from the group, both see a great pit flanked by three mountains. Sans tree, this pit matches the description given by Jirana. Reaching the pit before sunset, the party descends safely to the floor of the pit using a variety of methods. This is Evontra'vir. The tree reveals two eyes and a rather warped mouth upon tactile inspection by Ashton. Ashton learns from the tree of how essence of Ka'Mort, Empress of Earth, resides within him. Evontra'vir tells Ashton to subsume also essence of Rau'Shan, Emperor of Fire and transports the party within line of sight to a fiery cavern. | |||||
| 75 | "An Ancient Flame" | 03:55:26 | October 12, 2023 | – | |
| The party realizes that the cavern they had spotted is actually a very thin and deep twisted chimney. After they slowly and carefully descend, found below the mountain is a lava pit. There are many small fire creatures in the lava. Ashton and Fearne jump in the lava and retrieve a small glowing object–the Exandrian remains of Rau'Shan. As the party decides they need the artifact sent with Imahara Joe, they are attacked by a clone of Ludinus. They fell one by one each crony into the lava and the clone disseminates as the party teleports to Whitestone. | |||||
| 76 | TBA | TBA | October 19, 2023 | – | |
Notes
- While Fearne's mother is also a faun, her father is an elf.[9] Fearne later learns that she was born on Exandria under a Ruidus flare before her parents returned to the Feywild.[10]
- Blood hunter is a homebrew class developed by Mercer.[13][14]
- See Chetney's character card on screen in Episode 22.[15]
- Preferred pronouns: he/they[18]
- They originally presented themselves as an elf named Dusk.[20][21]
References
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There are also lingering questions about how Laudna was resurrected – Laudna is a Hollow One that exists between life and death, but the exact manner in which she was resurrected is still unclear, as is whether it was a deliberate resurrection or merely an accident.
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