Line #143 Podcast/CriticalHit


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/criticalhitsmall_2542.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:They get them sometimes.]]
3	-->''"Until next time, listeners, here's hoping all your dice rolls are... [[TitleDrop Critical Hits]]"''
4	--> -- ''Stephen Schleicher, at the end of each episode''
5
6	-->''"Uh... whut?"''
7	--> -- ''Torq''
8
9	If you came looking for the Game Mechanic which results in high damage, that's over [[CriticalHit here.]]
10
11	This page is for the ActualPlay podcast ''Critical Hit'', a SpinOff of the Major Spoilers {{Podcast}}, in which the hosts and a couple of their friends play in a 4th Edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' campaign. The team is made up of gamers who are completely new to ''Dungeons and Dragons'', those who have been playing since Third Edition, and even one guy who's been playing since the AD&D days. The show itself is a pastiche of learn-by-example play, nerd humor and old-time radio serials.
12
13	The main campaign, "Void Saga", follows a RagtagBunchOfMisfits trying to stop a group of [[EldritchAbomination Insane Gods]] from invading their plane of existence. It started at level 1 and ran several years before concluding in 2020.
14
15	The podcast occasionally answers listener questions about D&D or tabletop games in general, and a set of episodes focuses on Game Mastering 101. Between seasons, they often run other game systems besides D&D 4e.
16
17	You can find the episodes [[https://majorspoilers.com/category/critical-hit/ here]] or download them from iTunes.
18
19	----
20	!!This podcast [rovides examples of:
21	[[foldercontrol]]
22	%%Note to Editors: If it's about the players or the show in general, put it in this section. If it's about the characters or the plot of the story, put it below. This is help in the future when the main story of the Void Saga ends and they move on to other games.
23
24	* AnimatedAdaptation: The party's antics have inspired several of these from fans, most notably the famous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMsUKBqtK9w "Pumpkin Incident"]] from Season 4.
25	* AsLethalAsItNeedsToBe: The players can declare that their attack merely knocked the enemy out instead of killing as they land a final blow, at no penalty and regardless of the type of attack
26	* AnAdventurerIsYou: It's a D&D Game.
27	* BuffySpeak: Matthew has a habit of calling things "frammistats" when he can't immediately think of the word he wants. There's also a lot of terms like "fighty fighty" and "talky talky", usually from Torq's direction.
28	* CatchPhrase: The main one is Torq's "Uh... whut?", but Randus' "Indeed" is a close second.
29	** In the third season we appear to have Ket's "I don't cheat; I very rarely bluff" as a new one.
30	** Rodrigo often has NPC's say "I see" in response to the party's shenanigans.
31	** Torq also seems to have taken a shine to "I duck." in response to any attack made against him. It usually doesn't work.
32	** Trelle's Stare.
33	** Rodrigo has 'Anyway' when trying to get everyone back on track.
34	* CliffHanger: Episodes frequently end that way.
35	* CriticalHit: Torq scores these often, interestingly enough, and Matthew is one of the players playing remotely. He gets paranoid that people will think he's cheating and has offered to have the DM roll for him.
36	* CriticalFailure: Brian has these often. Steven joked a couple times about offering a service to listeners, where they could get some dice cursed by Brian's hands for $200. Brian eventually aquired a pop-o-matic d20 dice roller, so he didn't have to touch the dice to roll them, and it's somehow improved his rolls.
37	* DontExplainTheJoke: Rodrigo says this word-for-word to Matthew on at least one occasion.
38	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first gameplay episode had sound effects added in post for Orem's battle. Steven quickly realized that such a thing would not scale well, and the sound effects were dropped the very next episode.
39	* GameMaster: Rodrigo for the Void Saga. Stephen, Brian, Sam, and Rob all have their turn as the DM for other games.
40	** Matthew, while an old-school Game Master, has outright stated that he doesn't expect to ever run a game for Critical Hit, partially due to rules issues and partly due to trying to stand in Rodrigo's long shadow.
41	* GenreSavvy: The players, for sure. Not so much their characters.
42	* GoodWithNumbers: Rob definitely is, and correcting the math of the other players is what he does.
43	* HitPoints: Since this is a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, absolutely.
44	* HouseRules: Rodrigo has his own house rules when it comes to Skill Challenges.
45	** The concept of critical hits and critical misses for skill checks is actually one of Rodrigo's house rules, and the players usually have to remind themselves of this when not playing one of his games.
46	* HurricaneOfPuns: Several times.
47	--> Orem: (drinking nectar infused with soda water) "It gives me a lot of pep, see?"
48	--> Orem: (presenting fruit pods enchanted to hold recordings of their adventures) "Behold these pods, that I have cast."
49	** When Ket [[spoiler:gains feathers over his body]] the puns span multiple episodes.
50	** When Rodrigo introduces an enemy made entirely of blood, the blood-related puns [[PungeonMaster bleed through]] the rest of the show.
51	--> Matthew: "Why do you have to B Negative?"
52	** When facing off against swarms of books.
53	--> Steven: "Oh, they kicked me in my appendices with their footnotes!"
54	--> Rodrigo: "I am in a hell of my own design..."
55	* InAndOutOfCharacter: There's a lot, especially when the guys go off on a tangent. Matthew usually does a voice for Torq, at least.
56	* InnocentBystanders: Sometimes present during the fights, and add an additional complication. If they are present, expect at least a couple to get sliced down or eaten.
57	* LampshadeHanging: A lot.
58	--> Rodrigo (as an Innkeeper): "Sorry, that was my lampshade going off...."
59	* LargeHam: Matthew is this 9/10ths of the time. Stephen also qualifies when playing Orem, and ESPECIALLY as a DM. GM Rodrigo has been known to ham it up a bit with some [=NPCs=].
60	* NeverLiveItDown:[[invoked]] Even over 300 episodes later they keep bringing up trying to diplomacise the horses during an early skill challenge.
61	* PreviouslyOn: "Last time... on Critical Hit!"
62	* [[PromotedFanboy Promoted Fangirl]]:[[invoked]] Adriana listened to Critical Hit a lot before she was invited onto the show by Rodrigo in season 4. The guys often joke about the extensive notes that she has on previous episodes, and she usually recalls details the other players have long forgotten.
63	* RulesLawyer:[[invoked]] Rob is a LawfulNeutral example, pointing out all the rules that apply, all of them, whether it is to the benefit of the party or not.
64	* RuleOfCool: Referenced by name as the reason why the Game Master allows some things and not the others.
65	* RunningGag:
66	** Matthew rolling 20's and Brian rolling like crap.
67	** "That was my one."
68	** "Last time on Critical Hit."
69	* ShoutOut: Considering this is a show with 5-6 nerds, pretty much every episode contains a few references to movies, whether it's something one of the players say, or something within the campaign itself. Matthew is particularly {{JustForFun/egregious}}.
70	* TalkingIsAFreeAction: As per TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons rules, it is. The characters do not usually abuse it and restrict themselves to a few short sentences (and if they don't, then the Game Master will step in). The players, however, are another matter, with quips, references and tactics discussions spanning the majority of the combat time.
71	* TitleDrop - As the quote at the top of the page says, it's at least once an episode, plus whenever someone (Torq) scores an actual CriticalHit.
72	* Administrivia/TropesAreTools: Referenced by name several times (especially by Matthew) in the question and answer sessions.
73
74	!!The Void Saga
75
76	The plot of the main campaign (called the "Void Saga") follows a RagtagBunchOfMisfits as they try to stop The Void, a group of [[EldritchAbomination Insane Gods]], from invading their plane of existence. The first and second seasons had them racing to keep the [[ColonyDrop Moon from smashing into the Earth]], and in the third season, they've been recruited by a [[CelestialBureaucracy Higher Power]] to help cleanse a part of the Astral Sea of the remaining Lunar Monsters. For the fourth season, the party heads to the Feywild, Orem's home plane, in order to restore the balance that was upset by the unnatural lunar activity of previous seasons. The fifth season has them take a detour to the Southern Continent after they discover there's more to their world than just their batch of planes.
77
78	The group includes [[SquishyWizard Orem Rivendorn]] of the Eladrin, [[BigGuy Halston Thorkelson aka "Torq"]], [[GadgeteerGenius Randus du Thane]], and [[MysteriousPast Smith the Sorcerer]], [[spoiler:who has since been replaced by]] [[LoveableRogue Ket H'zard]] the Half-Elf Warlock. In Season Four, they're joined by an elf ranger, [[ForestRanger Trelle]]. Season five sees them joined by [[BirdPeople Little Sparkle]] and Sekhar Obleea [[spoiler:replacing Torq and Trelle.]]
79
80	[[folder:The Void Saga General]]
81	* AdventureFriendlyWorld: The world is being attacked by insane extraterrestrial gods, who send their monstrous creations to attack, as well as having built towers on the Earth and the moon to draw them together. And even after ''that's'' been dealt with, there are plenty of quests they're needed for.
82	* AllThereInTheManual: Rodrigo was kind enough to do exit interviews after each arc. ( [[http://www.majorspoilers.com/critical-hit-first-arc-exit-interview Season 1&2]], [[http://majorspoilers.com/2012/02/03/critical-hit-season-3-exit-interview/ Season 3]], [[http://majorspoilers.com/2014/10/31/critical-hit-lords-feywild-exit-interview/ Season 4]], [[http://majorspoilers.com/2018/03/07/critical-hit-legacy-of-ghosts-exit-interview/ Season 5]]) He also answers questions about Critical Hit in the same forum, and has a series of world building articles posted [[http://majorspoilers.com/critical-hit/critical-hit-world-building/]]
83	* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: The game master put the party through it several times in How The Other Half Lives and How The Other Third Lives segments, each time providing them with the characters that differed from their main ones in key aspects.
84	* BadassNormal: Torq definitely counts, being nothing more than incredibly tough and strong in a party of magic users. [[spoiler: At least initially, until he multiclasses into a cleric and becomes a magic user in his own right]]. Trelle and Little Sparkle also qualify.
85	* BagOfHolding: Technically, the gang has a Handy Haversack, but it's basically a bag of holding in backpack form.
86	* BunnyEarsLawyer: Torq is a half orc fighter with almost no skills... except killin' things. In this he excels.
87	* CampStraight: Orem often falls into this, with him paying close attention to his appearance, and the softness of his hair.
88	* CantArgueWithElves: Stephen constantly plays Orem as disdainful of Elves and condescending towards all non-Eladrin. No one seems to be disturbed by this. This is explained early in the show as a hypertrophied version of the trope when Rodrigo describes the Eladrin to Stephen for the first time: "Eladrin are to regular elves as elves are to humans."
89	* CombatMedic: Randus, who has a Magitek crossbow and some offensive spells.
90	* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Whenever the party successfully deals with the monsters as a part of skill challenge
91	* DumbMuscle: Torq.
92	* TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt: The party is tasked with averting this on at least 3 separate (though related) occasions.
93	* ForScience: Evoked by Randus occasionally, and The Queen's Rebellious Daughter.
94	* FriendlyFireproof: Averted viciously, as per TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons rules. Torq in particular has lost count of how many times he was set on fire by his allies, but he is far from the only one to be on the receiving end of an ally's area of effect spell.
95	** Interestingly, Sekhar joined the Critical Hit crew with a hefty [[GenreSavvy fire immunity]].
96	* GadgeteerGenius: Randus and Thony.
97	* GunboatDiplomacy: Ket employs Torq as his support in this from time to time when trying to get information from others.
98	* HalfHumanHybrid: Ket is a Half-Elf, and Torq is a 3/4 Orc (his mother was a full Orc and his father a Half-Orc).
99	* HealingPotion: It is a Dungeons and Dragons game, after all. Potions seem less potent than the characters' own healing abilities, though
100	* InSeriesNickname: Introducing the Torqletones!
101	* IndyPloy: The Torqletones are really just making it up as they go along.
102	* LastNameBasis: Ket usually addresses the characters by their last name while giving orders in battle, in a marked contrast with everybody referring to the party by their first names in other situations.
103	-->Ket: "Thorkelson, hit it with a axe!" (too many times to count)
104	* LeeroyJenkins: Torq has pulled this once or twice.
105	* LongHairedPrettyBoy: Orem, in spades.
106	* MagicKnight: Orem is steadily moving in this direction, even though he remains relatively squishy.
107	* {{Magitek}}: While not ubiquitous throughout the setting, there is definitely some of this stuff, from Randus' crossbow and familiar to The Exilarchy of Cogs.
108	* {{Malaproper}}: Torq malaprops multisyllabic words at LEAST once an episode.
109	* MrFixit: Randus has to retool a lot of stuff, including himself which crosses over with his role as CombatMedic - just with spanners as well as syringes.
110	* OurMonstersAreDifferent: GM Rodrigo loves taking monsters from the books and changing what they look like in order to give them an EldritchAbomination feel.
111	* PowerFist: Randus early on loses an arm and replaces it with a metal one, it becomes his melee weapon.
112	* ProfessionalGambler: Ket, [[spoiler:who gets his powers by gambling for souls]]. Aside of the magical applications, gambling is his favourite pastime, but he is not addicted to it and is exceptionally good at it.
113	* ProudScholarRace: The Eladrin of the Feywild, or downright snotty in the case of young graduate Orem Rivendorn.
114	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Many [=NPCs=] qualify, especially Bao Bel Bina, who functions as a helpful and competent handler for the player characters through the majority of the 3rd season.
115	* RobotBuddy: Randus's assistant and Thony's raven.
116	* RunningGag: Torq jumping out windows.
117	** "Uhhhhh, funnelcake?"
118	** "Listen to these pods I have cast!"
119	* TalkingWeapon: One of Orem's swords, that he never uses ([[spoiler:well, until he has to]]). Because all it does is tell him to kill his friends.
120	* YourSoulIsMine: A rare heroic example, [[spoiler:as it is the source of Ket's powers]].
121	* WizardingSchool: The Cerulean Academy of Magic.
122	* WeaponSpecialization: Each of the player characters has at least one.
123	** Orem: At first he uses a MagicWand, but later decides to opt for a CoolSword, appropriate as he's the closest thing the party has to a leader. Interestingly, he only started actually hitting people with it after some coaching by Torq.
124	** Randus: A Crossbow, with lots of [[GadgeteerGenius crazy attachments and gizmos]]. By season 3, he's also been using his [[ArtificialLimbs Robotic Arm]] as a weapon.
125	** Torq: A Great Axe, fitting his status as TheBigGuy.
126	** Smith: [[DeviousDaggers Daggers]], though he doesn't fit the trope as he uses them to channel his magic rather than cut people.
127	** Ket: A Whip, fitting his status as a swashbuckling rogue.
128	** Trelle: Uses two types of weapons; either [[CoolSword longswords]], or bows.
129	** Sekhar: [[DualWielding Duel-wields]] a matched pair of [[CoolSword swords.]]
130	** Little Sparkle: An infinite number of daggers[[note]]really just one that returns instantly to her hand[[/note]] that [[ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks she can throw]] when needed.
131	[[/folder]]
132
133	[[folder:Seasons 1 & 2: Four Against the Void]]
134	* AchievementInIgnorance: The only thing Torq is trained to do is fight. However, Matthew often rolls incredibly high on skill checks, so this is the result.
135	* ActionGirl: The Queen's Rebellious Daughter is a scientist who uses resonance to zap things. She's pretty handy in a fight.
136	* AdventureTowns: Moonhold, The Exilarchy of Cogs' city, Diamond Throne
137	* AffablyEvil: The Thing That Shatters the Sky.
138	* AGodAmI: The Thing That Shatters The Sky pulls this on all the other Gods of The Void.
139	* AlienSky:
140	** After The Void's first attempt to smash the moon into the Earth, described by Rodrigo as constantly red, filled with clouds and roiling lightning.
141	** When the heroes are [[spoiler: transported to the moon]], described as a bubble surrounding the atmosphere with a blurry view of the planet itself.
142	* AppliedPhlebotinum: Thoney's Airship floats because its hull is coated in "Astral Brine".
143	* AWizardDidIt: Well, technically some Insane [[EldritchAbomination Gods]] did it - the moon is explained to be livable only due to the will of The Void.
144	* BigDamnHeroes: When the Torqletones shut down the tower in Episode 7.
145	* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Void are gods who see no problem with creating and destroying entire races at their will, and constantly vie for dominance over one another, not caring who gets in the way.
146	* BodyHorror: Plenty of examples, which is to be expected in a campaign full of Insane Gods.
147	** Some of the cultists who worship The Void allow themselves to become hosts to creatures from the moon that do this.
148	** There's also the little white creatures Orem and Smith fight - their eyes are misshapen, and their limbs are all different sizes, to the point where some walk on one hand and one leg because those are the two limbs who touch the ground.
149	** Smith himself, [[spoiler:randomly spawning magic items from various points on his body. Painfully.]]
150	* CoolAirship: Thony's Proud Baroness.
151	* CursedWithAwesome: Smith "suffers" from some unique side-effects of the moon nearly crashing into the Earth.
152	* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: The End of Season 2 has our heroes [[spoiler:defeat The Thing That Shatters the Sky.]]
153	* EldritchAbomination: The Void are a group of insane, evil Gods who inhabit the Campaign World's moon, plus the countless number of creatures they create and destroy on a whim, often sending them to fight the heroes.
154	* HealingFactor: One of the side effects of Smith's... [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent issues]] is that he regenerates while bloodied in battle. A misreading of the rules in an early fight caused it to go up to eleven for that fight, rendering him nigh-unkillable. Various monsters the party encounters also have regenerative capabilities
155	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Poor Smith]]
156	* HighAltitudeBattle: With the Lunar Dargon in Episodes 27 and 28.
157	* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:Smith at the end of season two.]]
158	* {{Lunacy}}: The Void is a collective of insane moon gods, which fits the trope.
159	* MacGuffin: The Four-Facet Key for the first story arc.
160	* {{Mooks}}: The Lizard-Monkeys, our first introduction to lunar monsters.
161	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The names of some of the Lunar Gods: She Who Slumbers In Agony, The Thing That Shatters The Sky.
162	* OurWerewolvesAreDifferent: [[spoiler:Smith goes through various states of wolf, but most notably when bloodied in battle.]]
163	* SealedEvilInACan: Thony casually hands one of these to Orem. Well, it was casual until Rodrigo [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade from it]].
164	* UnexpectedSuccessor: Orem becomes this in the eyes of Torq when Moonhold's entire town guard with the exception of Torq die.
165	[[/folder]]
166
167	[[folder:Season 3: Celestial Crusade]]
168	* ActionGirl: Bao Bel-Bina is a tiefling Avenger who serves Erathis.
169	* AffablyEvil: Brian namechecks this [[spoiler:in relation to Ma and Pa]].
170	* AdventureTowns: Sha Lai
171	* AllJustADream: Used to devastating effect, [[spoiler: not once but twice, in the Demonweb]].
172	* AppliedPhlebotinum: Many of Randus' ship designs are heavily powered by "Elasma", which can be vented, etc.
173	* BigEater: Torq. 17 Funnel cakes, to go!
174	* BodyHorror: Gets turned up to eleven in this season, [[Squick much to Matthew's chagrin]].
175	** D&D Brian namechecks this trope when the Torqletones fight the Candle Heads for the first time.
176	* CelestialBureaucracy: Season 3 takes place in the goddess Erathis' City in the Astral Sea, which is definitely run by bureaucrats.
177	* CoolVersusAwesome: [[spoiler:[[BigGood Bahamut]] the Platinum Dragon teaming up with [[BloodKnight Gruumsh]] the orcish god to fight She Who Slumbers In Agony the world-destroying EldritchAbomination. Personally and up close.]]
178	* CriticalFailure: Due to Brian rolling one of these at a crucial moment, Randus [[spoiler:became unstuck in time, and can now decide to remove himself from the time stream as a minor action.]]
179	* DealWithTheDevil: [[spoiler: Asmodeus tries to strike a deal with Ket, Torq, Seven Owls Wise, and Albrecht Ghostbeard. Asmodeus makes a different deal with Ket, becoming his sponsor in the Kobold Alley competition.]]
180	* EvilVersusOblivion: There are evil gods and other antagonistic forces in the series. However, when the Void, while not [[BlueAndOrangeMorality technically evil]], are going to destroy the world as we know it, nobody is pleased by such development, including the forces of evil.
181	* GodOfEvil: Five of them. Interestingly enough, none of them is the BigBad of the season.
182	* GondorCallsForAid: A big chunk of season 3 consists of this. Unusually for this trope, the allies the players are trying to recruit are of less than savory kind, as the players need help of all the gods, including the evil ones, in order for their plan against the Void to succeed.
183	* KilledOffScreen: [[spoiler:Bao Bel Bina dies when her ship is destroyed by She Who Slumbers in Agony.]]
184	* KissDiss: Orem shares one with an Eladrin named Simmy in episode 84.
185	* NeverSplitTheParty: Discussed and Defied. Despite the party's best efforts to stay together, the gods force the main party to split up to achieve their goals more quickly. Fortunately, the players already had characters from How the Other Third Live to add to the split party, and so most of the second half of the season is alternating between the two halves of the split party.
186	* ReligiousBruiser: The cast of How The Other Third Live has those in spades too, especially Brenzin the Bold and Seven Owls Wise.
187	* SneakyDeparture: Ket repeatedly during the adventure. It's implied he did this a lot off-screen, but it becomes a problem [[spoiler:once he loses the favor of his goddess.]]
188	* TakenForGranite: One of Ket's powers, which he uses in combat to sometimes great and [[TrialByFriendlyFire sometimes disastrous]] effect. Petrification is not supposed to be permanent and usually lasts a few turns at most.
189	* WizardingSchool: Discussed and averted with the Sha-Lai University - Orem and the party assumed that it was a WizardingSchool, which it was emphatically not, and in fact focused on civil engineering. Too bad that the party unwittingly led a bunch of monsters there hoping for a backup...
190	[[/folder]]
191
192	[[folder:Season 4: Lords of the Feywild]]
193	* ActionGirl: Two this season
194	** Trelle, an elf ranger that joined the party in the feywild, and the first Player Character.
195	** Kammis, an Eladrin wizard specializing in familiars and Orem's sister.
196	* ArcWords: Ket: "I hate this place...", always under his breath, always punctuating an occurrence or explanation of something insane that is standard procedure in the Feywild.
197	** "And they were never heard from again"
198	* AudibleSharpness: Invoked with the Hogba's Black Mistress battleaxe.
199	* BadassAdorable: Biium is a tiny, brightly colored colibri that can and will make the room explode. The Bravest Rabbit in his natural form is a small and rather adorable rabbit - and a competent fighter in his humanoid form.
200	* BadassFamily: The Rivendorn/Grayborn family from which Orem hails. Both of his parents and his sister are extremely competent spellcasters, and that is to be the case for the generations before him. This is the [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership reason]] why the family name carries some weight.
201	* BrickJoke: [[spoiler:Torq is now a priest of Corellon. They joked about him multiclassing to Cleric back in season one.]]
202	* ChronicHeroSyndrome: The second half of this season is full of this, [[spoiler:until it's averted painfully when the team makes a return visit to Tuberville.]]
203	* TheFairFolk: All over Season 4, which takes place in the Feywild.
204	* ForestRanger: Trelle, friend to all nature right up until it's killing her horribly.
205	* FriendToAllLivingThings: Trelle's interactions with all living creatures, Adriana refers to this as Trelle "Disney princessing it"
206	* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: At the end of the season, Torq.]]
207	* [[spoiler:HopelessBossFight]]: At the end of the first half of the season, when the party fights [[spoiler:Spud for the first time. This was one of the most controversial things Rodrigo had done, with a wide range of reactions from fans. He later defended his choice, stating that you couldn't manufacture the "soul crushing defeat" he was aiming for in any other manner.]]
208	--> Rob: "Is there a door?" Rodrigo: "No." Rob: "Didn't think so."
209	* IdleRich: [[spoiler:Orem's parents. Though they say they have lots of stress and responsibility, given how they've sequestered their compound away from any danger, it's questionable how much this is true.]]
210	* KickingAssInAllHerFinery: Mother Mantis is fond of wearing a [[PimpedOutDress fancy Renaissance-style dress]]. And of tearing enemies apart with her [[BareFistedMonk bare hands]] while wearing said dress.
211	* KilledOffScreen: [[spoiler:Thony dies of old age sometime before episode 239.]]
212	* LetsSplitUpGang: In the Fen of Winters, after a lot of debating about it.
213	* MeaningfulEcho: [[spoiler:Orem's sword saying "Kill your Friends!" becomes painfully meaningful during the first fight with Spud.]]
214	* MeanwhileScene: Meanwhile... a fighting bunny, a pink mantis, a talkative hummingbird, a mangy jackal, an eladrin druid are in a crater...
215	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Orem accidentally breaking a small town's protective spell with an overuse of Prestidigation.
216	** In Tuberville, [[spoiler:the party healing one of the overworked citizens caused the kid to be put to death later for not working hard enough.]]
217	* NoodleIncident: When Torq goes on a Kitten Adventure in the Mootlands.
218	* PartyScattering: This becomes a common occurrence in the Feywild when the party tries to insta-travel between distant locations.
219	** The Fields of Autumn in particular love to play with the party in this manner.
220	* PregnantBadass: The queen of the Diamond Throne will not go down without a fight.
221	* RedOniBlueOni: Trelle and Ket often act as red and blue oni respectively towards each other in most of their scenes together. With Trelle favoring impulsiveness, openness and emotion vs Ket favoring caution, decorum and observation. Trelle and Kammis also fall into red oni/blue oni (with Trelle yet again being the red) to a lesser extent. Elves and eladrin in general can be seen as a case of RedOniBlueOni on the scale of the nation as well.
222	* ReligiousBruiser: [[spoiler:Halston Thorkelson, newest anointed priest of Corellon.]]
223	* ShipperOnDeck: Orem for [[spoiler:his sister Kammis and Trelle.]]
224	* StraightGay: [[spoiler:Trelle. She used to date Orem's sister Kammis, who this trope would also apply to.]]
225	* TakeYourTime: Averted rather brutally in season 4. First [[spoiler: the party accidentally wasted several months because of the time-manipulating [[TheFairFolk Greater Fey]]. Because of that, the party's mentor concluded that their quest is lost, and [[DespairEventHorizon succumbed to despair]], which led to his death. Which, in turn, led to his own best friend [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds going mad with grief and taking over the world]].]] Second, at one point the party has about a year to prevent TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt. Having to do it on tight schedule and having to decide which SideQuest to accept and which to [[ShootTheDog abandon]] provides much tension through the season, as the party cannot afford to stop and save everyone.
226	* [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman What Measure Is An NPC]]: Joked about in the fight to save a bunch of panicky gnome villagers.
227	[[/folder]]
228
229	[[folder:Season 5: Legacy of Ghosts]]
230	* ActionGirl: Little Sparkle is a Kenku rogue who joined the party for Season 5.
231	* BreakingTheFellowship: [[spoiler: At the end of Season 4.]] It takes a TimeSkip and several episodes to put the party back together. [[spoiler: And some of them are gone permanently]].
232	* CodeName: Once they get to into Coil territory, the party has to adopt code names. "Little Sparkle" is already her code name.
233	* CommonTongue: [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in episode 372 when the Queen's Rebellious Daughter sits down for [[HashtagForLaughs #Storytime]].
234	* DarkSecret: Sekhar seems to have been hiding something from the party for quite a while. Matthew (who plays him) is even coy about asking advice on Sekhar's powers. But Sam might have it figured out...
235	* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: The way that Orem reacted to Sekhar admitting that [[spoiler:he is part vampire]] [[ComingOutStory to Orem]] and later [[ForcedOutOfTheCloset to the others]].
236	* EleventhHourSuperpower: Woah, when did [[spoiler:timid, non-adventurer [[DoubleAgent Tekiotl]]]] learn to summon a demon?! And when did [[spoiler:Orem]] learn to summon a dreadnaught?! And why didn't they use that earlier?!
237	* ExposeTheVillainGetHisJob: In the TimeSkip between Seasons 4 and 5, Randus has become a Lord of some of the lands of Diamond Throne, mostly because he uncovered the evil overlord behind the coup the party was part of last season.
238	* [[spoiler:GuardianOfTheMultiverse]]: We find out that The Queen's Rebellious Daughter is part of an organization called [[spoiler:"Oversight", tasked to prevent vertex hopping of any kind by any means necessary.]]
239	* [[spoiler:HideYourOtherness]]: Sekhar's "situational bluff check" is reveled to be given to him by [[spoiler:his {{Dhampyr}} nature, which gives him a bonus to hide himself as a human. This is one of the hints that tipped Sam off to Sekhar's nature.]]
240	* [[HeistEpisode Heist Arc]]: Once they get into the heart of Coil territory, the team must plan a heist into Coil Headquarters, which happens over the course of many episodes.
241	* ItsTheOnlyWayToBeSure: The solution that [[spoiler:Oversight]] suggests to solving the Coil problem. [[WhatTheHellHero The party are flabbergasted by the suggestion.]]
242	* [[spoiler:InterdimensionalTravelDevice]]: Professor Lec's odd little device.
243	* IWantGrandkids: Randus's mother has always wanted Randus to find a nice girl, but now that he's a lord of a region of Diamond Throne, he needs an heir to carry on the family name. She lets him know this as much as possible.
244	* LostHimInACardGame: That time when Ket bet [[spoiler:Randus's assistant]] in a card game in order to get something they needed for their mission... [[spoiler:and lost.]]
245	* MonsterTown: The town used to have a different name before the [[BigBad Salamander's Coil]] used its residents for an experiment that turned them into monsters.
246	* [[spoiler:TheMultiverse]]: Professor Lec has discovered [[spoiler:the existence of other "realities", and inadvertently sends the party on a {{Series/Sliders}}-esqe adventure between several of them.]]
247	* OffTheRails: At end of this season, [[spoiler:the GM had a denumont all planned out, but the players decided not to go anywhere near where it was happening, so as a result [[NoEnding they didn't actually see how things wrapped up or who was left alive.]] Rodrigo said in the next episode that his mistake was giving the players the option to go somewhere else.]]
248	* OverlyLongName: "Sekhar Avata-Sokichi of Obleea, Lord Baron in absentia of The Shores..."
249	* SpiderTank: The Salamander's Coil uses Locust Tanks, with an appearance and maneuvering versatility to match their name.
250	* TimeSkip: Five years have passed between Seasons 4 and 5.
251	* WorldShapes: When the party is brought to [[spoiler:Oversight Headquarters]], we learn some of the world geometry of various vertices in the Critical Hit universe. They're just as varied as the vertices themselves.
252	** As a bonus, there are 12 vertices in total, [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything connected in such a way where they make up a 20-sided Icosahedron]].
253	[[/folder]]
254
255	!!Other Games
256
257	[[folder:Modern City Tales]]
258	The Major Spoilers crew sits down to play [[{{UsefulNotes/Fate}} FATE Accelerated]] for a couple sessions (Episodes 289-305). They come up with "Modern City", a planned community full of [[{{Superhero}} superheros]].
259	-----
260	* BadassNormal: Rumblebee, with a gadget bent.
261	* CoolCar: Jetstar in his 1965 Oldsmobile Jetstar Convertible (Candy Apple Red).
262	* MuggleSportsSuperAthletes: Free Agent is invulnerable, and plays (as his alter ego Joe Hossenfeffer) for the Modern City Cutters football team. It doesn't help him gain advantage in the game (specifically to avoid getting kicked off the team for cheating), but it does mean lack of concussions.
263	* TheMerch: This particular off-season game was so well recieved, they made and continue to sell [[https://majorspoilers.bigcartel.com/product/professor-disaster-king-modern-city-poster posters]] of [[https://majorspoilers.bigcartel.com/product/the-dead-and-the-old-modern-city-poster their]] superhero [[https://majorspoilers.bigcartel.com/product/the-free-agent-modern-city-poster characters]].
264	* SecretIdentity: With everyone playing comic book style super heroes, this is a given.
265	* ShowWithinAShow: Stephan produced several clips of radio news programs and advertisements set in the Modern City setting, and put these at the start of almost every episode of this miniseries.
266	[[/folder]]
267
268	[[folder:Yellow Light]]
269	Dr. Brad is the GM for a TabletopGame/CallOfCthulhu game (Episodes 382-390), set in Hollywood during TheRoaringTwenties. The player characters recieve a telegram from their Uncle Greyson asking them to meet him in Hollywood, but when they arrive, they're met by police asking if they can identify a body...
270	* BedlamHouse: Being set in 1920s, this was the best they had for psychiatric treatment.
271	* CircusBrat: Rob and Amanda's characters, of the Flying Greysons fame.
272	* FormulaBreakingEpisode: This game was experimentally recorded completely in "binural audio", and thus includes none of their usual remote players and all of the table sounds that normally get scrubbed from the audio. Some have said this adds to the eerie atmosphere of the game.
273	* FortuneTeller: Brian's character, who always wears the turbin that's part of his costume.
274	* [[spoiler:HorribleJudgeOfCharacter]]: Early on, the GM expressed concern about whether the players were playing the game "correctly", but couldn't really say why. As discussed after the end of the game, [[spoiler:it turns out the player characters were very much not the skeptical investigator types the GM was expecting, and consequently they trusted the BigBads most out of anyone in the story. Given that, they missed a whole lot of clues and they were basically doomed to fail from the start.]]
275	* WorldsStrongestMan: Stephen's character, [[spoiler:or rather his first one]].
276	[[/folder]]
277
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279
280

Context Podcast / CriticalHit