Awesome / Critical Role: Exandria Unlimited

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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Season 1

Episode 1: The Nameless Ones

• Fearne going up to one of the Nameless Ones and casting Burning Hands once she has them pinned up against the wall, causing them to burn up to the point where they are barely standing. Beware the Nice Ones indeed.
• Opal killing two of the Nameless Ones with just her daggers, with one of them getting quite the nasty Groin Attack as one of her daggers embeds itself right near their manhood.
• Nine words: Matthew Mercer, how do you want to do this?

Episode 2: The Oh No Plateau

• The circlet the group stole from the ship last episode? It's a Vestige of Divergence!
• Dorian is the MVP in the Ash Elemental fight. Not only does he successfully pass an Intelligence check to realize it's rooted to the rift, he follows up by casting Dissonant Whispers to force it to move away. This instantly reverts it back to Mister, ending the fight. Without this, the group might have been forced to kill their Team Pet.

Episode 3: A Glorious Return

• Fearne, who has never played a flute before, manages a better Performance roll than the Bard. (She had disadvantage but she rolled an 18 and a 20!)
• Crosses over with Funny, Opal's terrible attempt at a distraction, trying to pass off the male halfling Orym as her 4-year old daughter and playing the part of a concerned mother horribly, actually works due to Aimee's disadvantaged roll being two Natural 20s.
• The party goes to meet with Shaun Gilmore, a significant and beloved NPC from Campaign 1. Aabria plays him masterfully.
• The last moments of the episode see the party surrounded by the Nameless Ones as Poska hijacks their carriage, and she overheard them discussing the circlet, and being at Gilmore's. It seems like a bloody confrontation is inevitable, until Fearne attempts Charm Person... and succeeds, forcing Poska to order her allies to stand down. That's not even the best part: as they're leaving, Dariax tauntingly flashes the circlet, which they'd previously let her believe they sold to Gilmore. When the charm spell fades, Fearne can sense Poska's sheer, unbridled fury.
• Following this, Orym writes a letter to Gilmore warning him of the danger... and sends it to him using the one-use teleportation box, leaving them no way to send the circlet back to Gilmore even if they wanted to. Gilmore approves.

Episode 4: By The Road

• Anjali Bhimani's entrance took the audience by complete surprise, and she turned the tide in the battle against Dark Fearne, scoring the HDYWTDT.
• When they get to Byroden, they find that they have gotten there on the day of their big festival. The festival (a multi-part celebration of all things Byroden) is a relatively recent tradition, having been started after the town was rebuilt following Thordak's rampage. The main event, the beauty pageant, is held in the town square, which features a statue of Vax'ildan and Vex'ahlia. Liam blinked back some Manly Tears at that, and he wasn't the only one. Crosses over with Heartwarming, as it shows that Byroden never forgot their hometown heroes.
• The pageant was a mass moment of awesome for the entire cast, as Aabria's planning and narration were spot on and the players rose to the occasion. Special mention goes to Liam and Anjali, who got to play other participants in the pageant. They were given nothing but a name, but both quickly spun an NPC that the audience either loved (Liam as Cinna) or loved to hate (Anjali as Lisle).
• The cast went all in on the descriptions of their outfits. Some were ridiculous on purpose, but the rest were Costume Porn.
• Lisle gets one for the talent portion of the contest. She was doing a performance with a horse when Dariax used Mage Hand to squeeze his testes (the horse's, not his own). The horse threw Lisle, but she was able to do a flip and make a superhero landing, making it look like it was All Part of the Show.
  • Not to be outdone, Opal gets one for hers. She does an extended song in the oeuvre of Dolly Parton. The first half is patterned after Jolene, which is received well but not fantastically. The second half is more like 9 to 5, in which Dorian, Dariax, and Fearne come in and accompany her. They do very well in their Performance checks (Darian on his lute, Fearne with her pan pipes, and Dariax uses his spear for percussion, using Thaumaturgy to amplify the beat). Their help gives an additional bonus to Opal's Performance roll, which is already good, so Aabria rules that the crowd just eats it up.
• Opal wins the contest!
• The following exchange.
  Dorian: Here's a riddle: a half-naked genasi, a robot, and a six foot tall woman go into a bar. Who wins the drinking contest?
  Fearne: The six foot tall woman.
  Dorian: Oh, you think so?
  Fearne: Oh I know so.

Episode 5: A Test Of Worth

• The episode's big fight was supposed to be against a fey crocodile. The key word is "supposed." Aimee, being from Florida and thus familiar with crocodiles, knew the best way to quickly end the encounter: tip the crocodile on its back. They aren't able to right themselves, and go limp in under a minute. Some quick research from Ashley confirmed this, so that's what the party did thanks to some quick thinking and good rolls. Aabria tried everything she could to counter this, but the dice were against her and she eventually ended the encounter in sheer amused frustration.
• Orym is not happy about Dorian's sudden comfort with the Crown, and he makes this perfectly clear.
  Orym: If you don't (give the Crown back to Dariax), we're going to have a problem.
  Dorian: That sounds like a threat.
  Orym: That's what it was.
• Lolth took turns trying to get the party on board by whispering to them in their dreams. She scared Dariax, at least partially corrupted Dorian (who went from Chaotic Good to Chaotic Neutral by offering to surrender the Crown to Poska when they returned to Emon), but when she tried to corrupt Fearne by appearing to her as Dark!Fearne she got a No-Sell in return.
  Fearne: I only want there to be one of me, and I like this version better.

Episode 7: Beyond the Heart City

• Dorian Storm finally gets a HDYWTDT, with a Shatter spell he'd apparently been saving for an inorganic creature that can only roll a save at disadvantage.
  "I finally did a murder!"
• Dariax getting wings and swooping to save Opal.

Episode 8: What Comes Next

• Dariax's Bless spell continues to be a huge pain in the ass for Aabria, which only gets worse for her when, after rolling like garbage the whole series, Matt finally starts rolling well.
• Orym's battle with Myratta's crossbow-wielding goon is wonderful. He disarms her, only for her to pull out two daggers and use all her weight to jam one into the halfling's clavicle. Orym then uses a pushing attack to get her off him and make her fall off the plinth they're fighting on, only for him to pull her dagger back out, jump after her and throw it right into her throat, before crushing it in with his heel.
  Aabria: Roll this with advantage because that is incredibly cool!
  Liam: Natural 20.
• The battle map's plinth undergoes a horrifying transformation as Myratta's residuum spikes siphon Ted into it, but the detailed figurines are spectacular.

Calamity

Episode 1: Excelsior

• Brennan started off incredibly strong, giving Zerxus an incredible vision of the battle between Asmodeus and Pelor that created incredible devastation to the surroundings.
• Travis' first roll grants a result of 31. Brennan calls this out, pointing out that the DMG only talks about results up to 30. And Travis got a result of 31.
• Travis does it again, getting a result of 31 on a Perception check to find an unseen opponent. He sees two specks of floating pupils, each smaller than a grain of sand. Cerrit (his character) acts normally, then draws his axes and strikes his opponent down, killing him with one hit before the spy even knew what happened.

Episode 2: Bitterness and Dread

• Zerxus gives a speech rallying the rest of the Ring of Brass to act and save the city from whatever's coming. Brennan asks for a Religion check shortly after. Luis rolls a Natural 20.
  Zerxus: This is why I don't bother with the gods. Once you kneel to one, you kneel to them all.
• A clutch Detect Thoughts reveals a Modified Memory showing that Lycretia turned herself invisible and was going to assassinate Purvon Suul. She was thwarted by the presence of Zerxus and Loquatius who went after him and didn't leave his side until Purvon teleported away.
• A high level History check is needed to learn information about the Tree of Names. Sam and Travis roll for it, and Sam gives Travis inspiration. Travis rolls a Natural 20, and with his bonuses and the inspiration he ends up with a result of 31. Brennan's face just falls.
• Patia and Laerryn get into a fight with a magister. Laerryn fries him with a Fireball, and in the next move her summoned Construct finishes him off with one hit. On the first round of combat. And he was invisible, so there was no guarantee Laerryn could have hit him with the Fireball.
  Aabria: This is gonna be a "to whom it may concern".
• Zerxus has another meeting with Asmodeus, and Asmodeus gives him what he says is his side of the story. Asmodeus plays him like a fiddle, and Brennan and Luis' acting is magnificent.
  Marisha: I feel like I need a cigarette and I don't smoke.

Episode 3: Blood and Shadow

• Lacrytia Hollow blinks in front of Patia, tells her "I always hated you", and prepares to cast Circle of Death. Patia releases the Resilient Sphere she was holding, but Lacrytia tries to Counterspell, an an unknown level. Patia has no reaction, but Zerxus is able to counterspell the counterspell. It's a coin flip, as Lacrytia's is 6th Level, but he succeeds. That's not the best part. Brennan decides to homebrew something, and with a 27 Arcana check from Patia vs Lacrytia's 17, the successful Resilient Sphere traps the Circle of Death as it's released, causing Lacrytia to take the full force of her own spell. Marisha is given the choice of whether she wants her to die or be incapacitated, and...
  Lacrytia: I always hated you! [Her own Circle of Death explodes around her, reducing her to a skeleton]
  Patia: Aww, I didn't get to tell her I always hated her too.
• Nydas had an unfortunate run in the beginning of the episode being more showy than effective, he summons a spirit dragon but gets incapacitated and has some bad roles for the fight. However he makes it up big when he nearly single handedly takes on Laerryn and Loquatious at the end of the episode. Had it not been for Zerxus's aura helping them he probably would have stopped, or at least bought more time before, the calamity.

Episode 4: Fire and Ruin

• The beginning of the episode, perhaps the longest single second ever played in DnD. The whole thing takes upwards of 24 minutes to describe, and it is ruinously effective in its brutality. Brennan considers not only the magical effects the destruction of the Tree of Names, as its fallout destroys some of the party's magical items and deals damage to them along with it, as well as the sheer physical force of the explosion.
  Aabria: Is this a magical effect?
  Travis: No, this is physics.
  • Worth extra emphasizing: Lou keeps begging Brennan to say that it has been a second; Brennan doesn't acquiesce until an HOUR AND FIFTEEN MINUTES into the episode when they finally crack the 1 second mark.
• Zerxus tries to use the Atonement ritual on Asmodeus again. This time, Asmodeus doesn't feel the need to pretend. He lights into Zerxus with a vicious "The Reason You Suck" Speech and strikes him down—not just once, but three times. Once again, Brennan and Luis act the everloving fuck out of it.
  Asmodeus: You think that you are a man of true belief, and that it is all these wizards around you that are humble. Who is the most proud man here? These ones who thought they would fly a city, or the man who thought he would teach ME a lesson? The only difference between you and the Dawnfather is that the Dawnfather is a little more humble. Now I'll tell you why I spit on your forgiveness. I'll tell you why I loathe your redemption. To reach a hand down to somebody, they need to be beneath you! And I'm beneath nobody. You wanted to understand me. Then you should have accepted that I was RIGHT! [...] You know what your fault is, Zerxus? Other than just being very trusting, you truly believe that you are above this all: this city that you will not call home, me, the gods. But I'm not the one who left my little son down in that city for all of my devils to find.
  • After portraying himself to Zerxus as wounded and feeble, Asmodeus reveals his true power and it is terrifying. He kills Zerxus and resurrects him, and Zerxus tries to cast a Resilient Sphere on himself. Asmodeus immediately Counterspells it at 9th level and smashes Zerxus to the floor to break his spine, and Brennan narrates it so flippantly and matter-of-factly that it's immediately clear that Zerxus is vastly out of his depth.
• Asmodeus kills the erinyes that wounded Zerxus in the last episode, and used her body to create the Mace of the Black Crown, first of the Arms of the Betrayers.
• Zerxus briefly reunites with Evandrin in the Astral Plane, and after they speak Zerxus realizes that Evandrin will not be able to save their son. Zerxus chooses to take up the Mace so that he may return to the world. Evandrin is sorrowful, but resolute, vowing to find some way to save his husband. Crosses over with Heartwarming and Tear Jerker.
  Brennan: If you are to save your son, you know what must be done.
  Zerxus: If I am to save any of them, I know what must be done.
• With the last moments of his mortality, Zerxus uses his Atonement ability on Vespin Chloris. It works, though temporarily, and Vespin twists things so that Zerxus will retain his soul until sunrise.
  • Zerxus promptly uses his last 3rd level slot to cast Revivify on Loquatius, bringing him back.
  • Loquatius gives Zerxus the ether Laerryn gave him, and he uses it to cast Revivify on Patia.
• Zerxus uses Tempus, Inspiring Leader and some rules lawyering to give 19 temporary HP to most of the city. Brennan allows this even though Zerxus used the ability and hasn't had a long rest, but he doesn't allow the Ring of Brass to benefit because they already had.
• Nydas summons the dragon again, and cuts him off from their usual banter.
  Nydas: We don't have time to- shut the fuck up! I am the Last Dragon of Avalir, and you will do as I command!
  Sha'korzhan: (cowed) A-as you say, as you say!
  Nydas: That's right, as the fuck I say!
• Patia and Nydas ignore the city's leaders in order to save the people at the expense of the city's magical items and Nydas' own treasure.
  Nydas: DAMN the Ring of Gold! The people of Avalir must survive!
  • This leads Nydas' lieutenant to turn on him, stabbing him In the Back. It doesn't drop Nydas, and he retains concentration on the dragon. He opts to fight the traitor like a pirate, paralyzing him with a spell and then walking forward so his sword goes right through Badran's heart.
  Brennan: A man stabbed you in the back, and you had the decency to stab him from the front, right through the fucking heart.
• Nydas and the dragon are cornered by a horde of K'nauthi, facing a bloody fight to freedom, when Feromyne, the sphinx from the first episode, arrives and lays waste to them.
• In the same vein, several other small moments show background characters stepping up to help both the protagonists and the people of the city in general.
  • Alessander steps up immediately in light of the lieutenant's betrayal and rallies the rest of the Golden Scythe to help with evacuation efforts, to the point where he's the one to suggest sending a ship directly to the school to aid the children there.
  • When Loquatius makes it to his studio he finds that all the staff that know how to run the broadcast equipment have left, but when he calls Aria, his assistant, she comes right away and immediately aids him in assuring the word gets out and the people of both cities are warned, doing so in her pajamas as she was just woken up.
  • When Zerxus and Cerrit go to talk to him, Nydas's brother is already leading rescue and defense efforts from his home, and the moment he hears that evacuation needs to be the priority, both he and the Druids of Cathmoíra are shown to do everything in their power to do so.
  • It's also mentioned that, while not seen, Laerryn's assistant fought to disconnect the infernally corrupted battery from the rest of the city to prevent it from disrupting Laerryn's ritual. He eventually succumbed to his injuries, but died with a smile on his face knowing he had succeeded.
• A portal from the Feywild opens in front of Loquatius. His queen is calling her court home, that they may escape destruction. Loquatius seems to consent, but remains on Exandria. Crosses over with Heartwarming.
• Special mention for Loquatius' last broadcast. Not only does he warn the people of Avalir and Caithmoira to flee, he also disguises himself as Eldamir the Wise to convince the rest of the administration to stay with the city and ensure as many civilians can evacuate as possible. Brennan rules the speech and Sam's roleplaying so awesome that he will not only not ask him to roll Deception for that, he'll consider it a Natural Twenty in effect.
  • Right before he does this, Loras comes to Loquatius, ordering him to tell the people of Avalir to give all their magic to the city rather than escape, and send any and all ships to evacuate the Septarion's possessions. Once again, Loquatius seems to agree, but is able to encase Loras in a Wall of Force.
  • Sharp eyed viewers spotted Sam writing that entire speech from the moment the party split. The man knows how to play this game.
• Zerxus gets an idea when returning to Avalir: he calls out to the fiends to lay down their arms. The fiends in Avalir don't hear, but the fiends in Cathmoíra do. This allows the druids to send the people of Cathmoíra to safety. Asmodeus is livid, but he chooses to honour the slightly warped bargain Vespin helped settle.
  Asmodeus: Oh, how clever. Well, I can always abide by a deal. Let's see how much you can do with the precious minutes you have left!
• Nydas and Zerxus's opening moves of the final fight. They have one mission: Hold the Line and make sure Laerryn finishes her work. With a quartet of hacked Taxmen and Vespin Chloras bearing down on them, Nydas orders Shak to grapple one of the Taxmen and plug up the doorway while he blankets them with Cone of Cold, deflecting Vespin's Firebolt with a Shield spell, and then Zerxus charges in, grabs another and with a roar, shoves it into place as well with nothing but his bare hands. For a moment, the Guildmaster of the Golden Scythe and the First Knight of Avalir are back to being the Bash Brothers they once were, two young men against the world.
  Nydas: (blocking a 14-foot-long, 400 pound Taxman sword with his Defender Scimitar) Zerxus, the bar has been set! Come meet me, brother!
  Zerxus: (slamming the second Taxman into place) The bar has been broken!
• Patia uses the Telepathic Bond to tell the Ring of Brass that they're her family and she loves them, and she casts Wall of Force around herself and Laerryn, protecting them from Vespin and the Taxmen.
• Patia takes her collected knowledge, and she teleports it to Cerrit's children.
• Vespin casts Power Word Kill (9th level spell, and would bypass the Wall of Force). Travis has Mage Slayer, so he has a reaction attack. Loquatius casts Silvery Barbs so that Travis has disadvantage but Marisha has advantage on her counterspell roll (4th level). Travis can't hit him, and the Counterspell fails. However, Vespin's AC is normally 17 (the result of Travis' roll), and is only 22 because Vespin casts Shield every round. Casting Shield would also trigger the Mage Slayer feat, so Brennan allows Travis a reroll. Travis rolls a Natural 20. He deals 67 points of damage, and Vespin had 35 points remaining. One of the most clutch HDYWTDT on Critical Role to date.
• A taxman makes a successful attack on Laerryn. It would have dropped her, ruining the ritual... but Sam had Loquatius keep an action in reserve. He used it to cast Healing Word, keeping Laerryn up and preventing her from losing concentration.
• Patia unleashes the magical essence contained within her as a final Heroic Sacrifice. It turns into a 9th-level Wish spell, altering the fabric of reality itself, granting it so that Avalir's ether levels were full again and the Astral Leywright was operating with 100% of the city's power.
• The description of what the Leywright does to the two imprisoned Primordials: launch them through many layers of planar dimensions and obliterate them. Laerryn's greatest work killed what the gods couldn't do in the past.
  Asmodeus: What have you done?
  Laerryn: My best. Finally.
• As the Ring of Brass are dead, dying, or trapped and Avalir is exploding around them, Cerrit, hearing his family's last communication with him, decides to make a break for it. Laerryn sends him directions to get out via the telepathic bond. The roll has advantage, an inspiration dice from Nydas, and a Pact Boon Talisman that Loquatius lobbed at his friend for assistance. The DC is 30, considered "nearly impossible". Travis rolls his Arc Number 31, the table and chat goes wild, the Senior Sightwarden escapes Avalir to go to his family, and "the Brass Ring endures."