Episode 102:
Race to the Tower
Previously, Vox Machina — sans Taryon, but with Scanlan returned to the fold — ventured into the Shadowfell on the trail of Lady Delilah Briarwood, a necromancer killed by the party but resurrected in the service of Vecna, a powerful lich with aspirations of godhood who was defeated and banished centuries ago. The party found themselves in the city of Thar Amphala and learned that a ritual would soon take place atop Entropis, the obsidian-black tower at the heart of the city, which would restore Vecna.
Vox Machina travel deeper into Thar Amphala, which is swarming with undead minions and one-eyed cultists, while winged creatures called gloomstalkers fly overhead. Their attempts at sneaking don't go as planned, but a combination of clever magic and trickery gets most of the party's would-be pursuers off their backs. A gloomstalker catches a glimpse of Keyleth and tries to snatch her, but Scanlan dominates the creature to use as a mount.
While the rest of the party take a rest and make plans to topple Entropis, Scanlan and Vax fly their dominated gloomstalker to the top of the tower and witness the ritual sacrifice of many cultists, as well as a conclusion to the ritual. Thar Amphala is transported out of the Shadowfell and into the material plane, somewhere in the north where the snow has begun to fall. Keyleth and Pike use their magic to topple Entropis, killing or scattering many of the cultists, but the top of the tower remains intact and gently floats to the ground, and a voice invites Vox Machina to try their strength. The party enter the tower and discover Delilah and a death knight, and Vecna, fully restored to power. In the ensuing battle, Delilah is killed by Percy, but Vecna and the death knight prove immune to most damage. Vex and Pike take fatal blows but are restored, Grog is temporarily banished back to the Shadowfell, and Vax is hit by a Disintegrate spell and destroyed utterly. Knowing they cannot win, the party use Keyleth's Plane Shift spell to escape to the Feywild.
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Tropes in this episode include:
- Big Bad: Vecna graduates to this after 60+ episodes as a Greater-Scope Villain.
- Counterspell: Vecna tries this to stop Vox Machina from escaping, only for Scanlan to counter it with a high level Counterspell of his own that he'd been saving for several rounds of combat.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Vox Machina barely put a dent in Vecna, but he lands killing blows on three members of the party, only two of whom recover.
- Mass Teleportation: The cult's ritual, in addition to restoring Vecna, transports Thar Amphala from the Shadowfell to the material plane.
- Tactical Withdrawal: The last few rounds of the battle with Vecna become this.
- Wham Episode: The ritual is succesful and Vecna is fully restored. Vox Machina suffers their biggest defeat in the campaign. Pike, Vax and Vex are killed in the battle and, while they manage to restore Pike and Vex, Vax's body is disintegrated and Matt's lines at the closing of the episode leave it ambiguous if he can be restored.
