The Chain of Acheron: Ep. 9 - At The Sign of the Dreaming Pharaoh | Matt Colville's D&D Campaign
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 28. 03. 2019
- The Chain of Acheron get to know the people and customs of the upper class in Capital. Later, they are presented with several interesting opportunities.
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#thechain #thechainofacheron #mcdm #mattcolville #dungeonsanddragons - Hry
"I treasure my ignorance."
"You're a rich man then."
Stealing both of those lines.
"I didn't wind up in the Chain by being responsible with my spending." Classic Boots!
Geoff DeWitt. I so wish I could like this more than once
"I have a head, two arms, two legs, same as all of these creatures." - Slim
A severely underrated quote.
"Yes, I am magnificent. I would stare at me, too."
Slim (Phil) is a gift :'D
He is my favourite!
Big Cat has the same INT score as Grog from Critical Roll. That's the best thing I've heard all day.
You remember that time when they polymorphed Grog into a giant eagle and his INT score increased? XD
He's just your standard cat
Love how the video is glitching while playing a glitchy character.
ARE THEY REALLY THE ONES IN CONTROL OF THE STREAM?!?!
2:12:12 Judge: Slander!
"Its not slander! I resent that. Slander is spoken; in print its libel." -J. Jonah Jameson, 2004
"Give me pictures of the menace, Judge!"
Matt, seriously, Just do campaign diaries when you want to, when you are super motivated to do them. That leaves us with more energetic campaign diaries and you without the weekends when you just are tired and can't be bothered to do any more editing.
Absolutely agree đ
King looks as though he is wearing a tiny viking helm for much of the session.
Thank you for pointing that out. It amuses me
And now I cannot see anything else... *stares at tiny viking helmet*
Revenant - "I treasure my ignorance."
Boots - "Heh. You're a rich man, then."
Someone do some fan art stat. I love how Tom is the newest player and he's always the one dropping the one-liners.
Best line of the episode
We know there is some glitching of the video that clears up at 6:00
meta glitches
MCDM I just thought it was the clockwork urchins.
Hey Matt, at the start when you were speaking as the makeshift boy, there was some lagspikes as well. Weirdly enough it only happened to you though!
Couldn't stop smiling while watching this one. Thanks Matt!!
Its super thematic!
I love Slim and Phil's depiction of him. Fish out of water.
Phil grinning evilly when Matt reveals that the reporter he spilled the beans to just painted a target on their backs for Ajax was really something.
"Will probably send a bad precedent, where you send in a painted mini at it will be fighting the party"
*Matt Mercer sends in a big red dragon*
I'm naming my next DND character Tubothy
Phil is such a great player. Slim is such a good character and is so funny inside of a large human city setting. It's legendary
âWeâre used to oovasâ one of the best lines in this episode
This is, by far, the most successfully honest portrayal of D&D as it's really played (at least in my home). Yes, the other shows feature polished sets and tabletop miniatures out of a Hollywood production. Yes, the others have performers and celebrities 'in the biz'. And yes, the others have plots (suspiciously) timed to hit just the right twists at just the right times and end on just the right cliffhangers. But what this show does that the other's don't is make me feel as warm and fuzzy as I do on a Sunday afternoon when I'm playing with my friends.
You might also enjoy the DungeonDudes run: Dungeons of Drakkenheim. It's a smaller party with snappy dialogue that don't take themselves too seriously, but they play really well together and coordinate their abilities effectively, and Monty the DM is a master of pacing and keeping the story going without being a ramrod. It also has a lot of that "could be my living room" feel :)
Are you seriously one of those crackpots insisting Critical Role is scripted? Thought you people all found better things to do years ago
He's saying it's glitzy... and it is glitzy. It kinda has to be, for reasons. That doesn't make it dishonest or scripted, but it doesn't make it look like your home game, either. The crit-role regulars have all spoken longingly of the old days (pre-stream) when it was just them in their living room without all the hoopla & timetable of the show.
As for the suspicious well-timed "episode" feel, that's kinda a GM skill that doesn't come up as much at home. Online GM's do try to find good stopping points to fit the schedule, but sometimes (like last week on CritRole with the Bright Queen's favor) something can still bomb the table that makes you say "Cut!" "Print!" "Save it!" a little early or a little late.
Another time before the pirate adventures, the party took a right instead of the expected left; and the DM had to scrape to fill time, so he forced/railroaded an onroad ogre combat and had a traveling pet store trot by to fill out the time, 'cause he had nothing else good prepped for the transition to the coast.
Sometimes CritRole feels almost scripted, but that's because they ARE actors who have had lots of improv acting/dialogue classes, so they are really good at following each other's lead and pacing, and they know how to wind up a show (a) with flair, and (b) on time for the roadies to get some sleep. They also play to hit the climax on time with a bang, etc. It still makes the run a little glitzy, that they can use those skills so easily.
Also, your home game really doesn't get the kind of guest star players CritRole does -- I mean, look at the list, sheesh -- sure, good for them, that's who they actually know and are friends with in their real lives, but dayam(!) that kinda support ain't just walkin' up ta yer table tomorrow, is it? :)
Or Dungeonish
Nothing suspicious about it honestly. Actors and youtube personalities, once they are in the business long enough, develop a good, common sense of direction. They learn to read each other and work together towards a common goal, including dramatic plot points. It's just part of being a professional face in the entertainment business.... like think about Pro Wrestling. Yes, it's fake, but the fights aren't scripted, just the outcomes. Great wrestlers learned to read each other to make dramatic moments happen organically.
My favorite part of this whole episode is seeing Lars smile. I don't know why I'm so invested in him having fun but I am. lol
Having watched the end of this show it seems to me there's a good reason why he's grumpy all the time. Matt seems to be his boss IRL? Maybe I'm reading that wrong but there's definitely friction there that's bleeding over into the game. I really hope it doesn't derail the campaign!! (it wouldn't be the first time a DnD game halted due to players who couldn't get along!)
They know each other for many years, it's just Lars and his persona, not because Matt is his boss. I literally DM for 4 of my employees and we have fun we laugh, etc...
I see the friction as differing personalities. Lars seems to be rules and detail oriented, while Matt is chaos personified.
Examples: Matt with not knowing the rules of combat and not having things like a list of the different major houses (not the minor ones you can just create them on the fly like I do) pinned to your DM screen. Lars (or one of the others) will ask for a name of a contact or a house and Matts response is "they tell you" or "stand by..." which tends to drive the folks who are organized and prepared through the roof.
That's where I see the friction. Like I said before, I just hope it doesn't derail the campaign. The story is great so far!
Matthew Dunigan This isn't the first time Lars has played in one of Matt's games. He was in the one before this which I believe lasted ~18 months. If it didn't derail the campaign before, then I don't think it'll derail this one.
@@Takai153 Good to hear that he knew what he was getting into, thanks for the info about a past game! :-)
I love it when Slim calls his companions "These Creatures". It always makes me chuckle. I really like the way the chain is shaping up. I like the players, and like the characters. I can't wait for the next episode to drop!
The awesome part about the lag atthe beginning was because I thought it was intentional, and it made Matt's skipping robot voice way more real.
Marts glitching voice was more convincing than the actual video stuttering
I find your lack of spoilers disturbing...
0:00:00 We are MCDM productions, and we play D&D
0:00:10 Intro
0:00:34 When last we left our heroes
0:01:45 So: Now what. Interrogation?
0:09:30 Grandma and the Chronicle
0:19:14 Police, better late than never
0:25:50 Friendly recommendations
0:29:00 Rip and tear
0:34:30 Communications
0:40:45 A halfling, a dragonborn and a half-elf walk to their senior officers
0:42:23 Place of stay
0:50:30 Clothes
1:19:13 Fancy smelling goblin
1:20:00 The Pharaoh's Dream
1:24:20 Enter the Pharaoh's Dream
1:26:14 Anna's PHB
1:27:28 Capitol, meet Big Cat
1:30:26 Tiny horses
1:35:53 Regular short Copper
1:37:20 Father and son moment
1:40:30 Font type
1:41:00 Twitch multi stream?
1:47:20 S&F available on Fantasy Grounds
1:51:12 Awesome stuff made by fans
1:54:50 Feature Fanart
1:58:00 Back to the game
1:59:00 Going to church, where to?
2:02:00 Menu
2:04:50 Copper and Big Cat, together again
2:06:58 No slavery here
2:07:45 Broadsheet of the day
2:15:00 Getting an audience
2:23:30 Knighthood
2:25:10 Arena
2:27:40 Other mercenaries
2:30:05 First customer?
2:37:00 Job description
2:52:00 Food discussion
2:55:00 When Angels smile
2:55:40 Judge, jury, and questioner
3:01:40 Tom's (not Tom) perfect prediction
3:02:15 Dead men do tell tales
3:08:50 Dead man talking
3:23:00 Job discussion
3:31:00 Another job offer
3:38:35 Do we hear a one-shot in the making?
3:47:49 Next time on the Chain of Acheron...
Let me know if you think I missed something, happy travels!
Thank you, you are a great person (matt you should pin this)
+
+
You deserve a Knighthood.
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I always love that cold open
Woohoo, MCDM loved me!
Knowing that I'm not the only DM who stammers during the game makes me feel validated. Thank you, Matt
I feel like judge is singularly focused on destroying this reporter's life, and that is amazing and awesome.
I love the tangents. I needed to know that Matt Colville discovered the truth of ponies.
Exactly!
Just on the topic of wearing armor over clothing, Matt specifically stated that the fashion in Capital was for Renaissance-style doublets and hose. Not only _can_ you wear many kinds of armor over this style of clothing. it was frequently _designed_ to have armor worn over it. It was kind of the point. Doublets were literally developed from the gambeson: a kind of under-armor padding.
The players still should have checked first, but the tailor specifically said he was getting them military uniforms. One would expect that studded leather doublets would be an option* and that breastplates or half-plate could be worn over the top of the clothing.
*Studded-leather armor probably wasn't ever a thing historically, but - as described in the PHB - it would probably be an option for fashionable clothing in D&D.
I'm really enjoying this campaign, but even more I'm enjoying the little bits of banter and joking that are starting to sneak into the interactions more as the players get more comfortable being on screen. Feels like things are really starting to hit their stride. :)
Oh my goodness
"This one belongs to me" is an amazing catchphrase for slim
Itâs really great seeing everyone laugh so much in this episode.
I think the Chroniclers power should be what someone mentioned before. It should be called "History is written by the victors" and should give the ability to force 1 reroll per day
And they have to keep it, even if it's worse.
"So I cut him down with my axe-"
"No, Graves, I don't remember it happening that way."
"Dammit, Thorn. Who's telling the story here?"
"The guy who wrote it down. What really happened, he took a big swing with that axe of his and his boot wound up stuck in a bucket. No idea where it came from but-"
Written by the survivors sounds more like the Chain to me
Or just go super simple and rework the keen mind feat.
It could also be a lower powered version of the divination wizard where he just rolls one die per day instead of two.
Once per session/day the Chronicler may force the DM to reroll. (this is based off an ability from my friends system he's created)
âThe font is NOT Papyrus. That would be very gauche!â
They are at an establishment practically plucked from the Las Vegas strip and they're worried about being gauche? Sorry but that's just snooty graphic design gatekeeping right there.
@@M4TCH3SM4L0N3 Truer words, my friend. Truer words.
"We are MCDM productions, and we play D&D."
Never gonna get old.
I'd love it if occasionally changed up the "We are Mötorhead, and we play Rock and Roll", with "We are Spinal Tap, and you must be the USA"
Maybe if they ever do a game with a live audience. "We are MCDM Productions, and you must be (insert city name here)"
I love that Tom finally got that banner
The Underdark / Sunless Sea mission seems like a great opportunity to bring some new recruits on a trial run. If they can handle a trip aboard the Somnium Tenebrous and a conflict in the underdark, then the Chain knows they can count on them in a fight.
Plus, friendly relations with the administrators of territory that belonged to the Prince seems promising. If they can get knighthoods from a Prince-affiliated institution they may gain legitimacy without having to commit to the whims of a Guild or Noble sponsor.
God I love this campaign.
I wonder if Matt would consider running the players through a DCC funnel like Sailors on the Starless Sea to see how many people they recruit end up being of stern enough stuff to stay in the chain.
See, I feel like dealing with undead nobles trying to return to power sounds dangerous, but when you're a mercenary company...
LOL the video glitching and Matt doing a malfunctioning roboboy made me think my PC was exploding!
Next Comic-Con I go to, there had better be caramel sausages.
46:55 lol Annaâs face when Matt said âhoseâ
Just like Laura Bailey, the resident 13-year old.
"Three sausages for two bits and that's cutting me hand off" - Love the CMOT Dibbler reference!
Capital IS Ankh-Morpork! It exists across the multiverse, and it always thinks it is the only one...
@@animistchannel2983let's not forget the undead lawyer
One of my favorite episodes yet by FAR. I'm loving the chain more and more each week. Thanks for sharing your game with us!
Apple cart back again! I don't know if this rate of apple cart is sustainable, BUT I'M GONNA FIND OUT!
There's always another apple cart. Street vendors are proof of the ultimate democracy of existence: the need to feed :)
As improved as that was at the beginning of this series, the running gag of the apple cart and vendor MUST make it all the way through! lol. If they end up on another plane I hope there is an apple cart in the corner somewhere... :-)
"The Pharaoh's Dream, the best inn-"
IN THIS OR ANY AGE!
Literally Tom playing Copper... ABSOLUTE GOLD!!! I'm still laughing from the "it's your standard cat"
Rewatching bits of these old episodes... Good stuff, good times. It's pretty amusing watching Judge's vendetta against the Reporter and the cop!
I love how much fun these guys have playing their characters - just sounds like an awesome time. This is what makes something otherwise boring (like a trip to a tailor's) into something very fun to listen to.
I love how post-break Matt's hair is much nicer than pre-break Matt's đ Got to take care of the essentials!
The most useful thing I've learned from the steams so far is asking the players "out of character" what their next plan is, as it lowers my prep amout :P
0:35 Intro ends (recap)
1:50 Recap ends, Spring Boi interrogation
6:00 Glitching ends
9:23 A wild Grandma appeared!
11:18 the Chain needs to work on its marketing
Wait, wait, wait, Clockwork thieves, a shady news paper, and the cops are owned by the guilds... SO Capital is basically a cyberpunk setting with a DnD skin...
The news articles were THE BEST!
There's Bill's monocles. That's on 2nd street. There's monocles are us that's on 2nd street. There's Lesa's monocles the good thing about Lesa is she gets in the monocl with you it on 2nd to. In fact there all on 2nd in the monocl complex in the monocl district.
Yes! Hahaha.
Phil having a blast at the tailor is great stuff. It's a lot of fun to play characters for whom everyday stuff is amazing and captivating
Oh man, how do you establish a knightly order? Because I would love to see them create the Knights of the Chain.
Omfg yes! That would be amazing!
Oh man that's a great idea! A standing regiment of The Chain in Capital.
Judge must restore his standing with Asmodeus, so The Chain can establish a charter... WITH HELL!
@@thewaterbear Matt's new campaign: The Rise of the Hellknights!
@@geoffdewitt6845 More like Return of the Hellknights
RIP Lemmy, you mad bastard
I do hope they decide to use the junior officers on one of the missions (I'd suggest they do it when Phil is away). I enjoy their primary characters, but I am also excited to see the escapades of the other officers!
I bet they will once they hit a story beat where it's more fun to play them. Also Phil can easily just play someone else's junior officer
Watching though this series again.
This might be my favorite episode. The chemistry really came together here đ
King has grown into his role as commander well! Iâm surprised and impressed!
Very interesting hearing Phil talking about the Githyanki culture. As a Githzerai fanboy I feel like it's seeing how the other side is living
I have to say this campaign is really cool. Glad to get to see it. ~B#
My main issue is that I can only like this video once.
3:17:56 "What's the card look like?" "It's white. It's like a bone-white card."
Patrick Bateman is _so_ jealous right now.
I love the subtle nod to LOTR in the title
I must say, I love your in jokes and aside stories... Please never change. đ
I really like how the whole tailor shop scene played out. You let your players RP when they wanted to RP, to discuss pros/cons with each other without forcing it to be in-character, gave them frank and honest answers to their questions about what the benefits of particular clothes would be and what they could reasonably expect, and let that play out without forcing a decision they weren't prepared to make until they were prepared to make it. Well played.
Also, I'm loving Phil's Slim RP. It's great the whole time. I love how he rolls for himself on aesthetics too to see if he likes it or not.
This episode was really fun to watch live.
I absolutely love this show,I don't understand why it doesn't get more views over here. No idea how well it does on twitch,probably a lot better.
Actually I went to double check and it seems like the view count was simply cut in half as soon as you guys made this new channel for the show,that kinda explains it.
"Azur Aben" does the scene list below with the spoiler warning showing. Please like his post and encourage Matt to pin it. It's great that a fan is willing to put in such effort to help other fans! It also helps build the sense of community.
In Dutch, my native language, 'concierge' means janitor. So, every time Matt is trying to say it in a fancy way and use it in its original, French meaning, I cannot help but think about a janitor with a bucket and a mop, and it's really funny. xD
Matt a word for the "Freelance Knights" should be Bravi - aka the gentlemen hired by Italian Nobility to act as their swords and assassins.
57:00 I was so happy at this point. Like, this whole interaction just gave me joy. Thank you guys.
Love me a MCDM stream when prepping my own game for tomorrow!
Prepping my game for Sunday, I'm not sure 4 hours is gonna be enough. :)
Same đ
This was a great episode. Definitely a step up from the previous two. Great RP from Phil and Tom and excellent DM'ing.
So this is the closest session to what I had experienced in my weekly games! Keep up guys! This is the real heart and soul of modern DND!
"You are severely pampered" I love it.
A lot of good recurring motifs and jokes starting up now.
Great job, guys! I am watching your campaign religiously.
"A xeno-what?"
"A bug hunt."
I know that Slim's lines usually get all the attention, but I'll spare a few words for Copper's "I'd like to be clothed, please."
I know this is four years old and that the chain is pretty much dead, but my god is Phil's interpretation of Slim a ton of fun.
I must say, great character (NPC) roleplaying in this session from Matt: The characters come alive as distinctive, fleshed out, people. With none of them giving you the feeling that they are simple stereotypes or obvious derivatives from other people's properties. Of particular note in this regard are the characters of 'the Dream's' concierge and the revenant contact in 'the Shadow' đŻđČđâ
Such good D&d. One of the best episodes yet!
I like it when you wear "the process" on the cuff like at the end here. Now, if we don't get to hear the players' discussion, at least it's telegraphed! Love the show!
Man all this stuff is so exciting. Cant wait for more!
Excited for this episode!
I enjoy Larsâ blunt attitude in interviewing the potential hirer, I can very much see the scene in a book of the abbot dealing with this strange, taciturn mercenary.
How's that for a cool Friday evening!
The apple cart salesman reminds me of Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler from Terry Pratchett's Discworld.
I like to watch everything at 2x speed and it makes the already fantastic glitchy speech sound even better!
"I'm commander King and this is my favorite apple cart on the Stays"
Woo! Now only Copper is left. Wonder how he got his name.
"I want to be named after this gold coin." ". . . that's copper." "Perfect."
You can't change your spells midday as cleric, it can be only done after long rest and it costs 1 minute per spell lvl
Can't remember if he tried doing this on the ship and didn't they point out it was on long rest then?
Midday is after a long rest, no?
Loved the Max Headroom stuff.
Hey Matt! Rewatching these, and they are still great. You actually helped me in my game recently!
The party went to a port city, and for a lot of the campaign so far, they had been saying stuff like "that seems appropriate for the time period" when they encountered certain things in other cities - this annoyed me. So I decided to show how this is fantasy land, not medieval england. The port city is huge, overpopulated with buildings stacked closely together and some standing 5 or 6 stories and heavily stylized. They were in awe lol
Seeing how you describe things in your world has really inspired my own, so thank you!
This was such a boss episode. Matt the revanent character at the end was dope!
Hey thanks for putting it on FG. I was/am super pleased. Also, you can add custom language to FG so if you create a new language (like chain sign), you can actually have people ready it based on their character sheets.
Man that's like the best cop ever.
It was a really good Chapter. Ty for all your hard work đđ»ââïžđ
I laughed so much and so hard during this episode! I loved Phil/Slim with the tailor! Great job everyone!
"I was going to invite him to be a real boy and come live with us."
I remember that everquest had the same language mechanic. If you didn't know the language, it was gibberish.
BIG CAT HAS AN INTELLIGENCE OF SIX?! There's a spell called summon celestial steed or mount or something in which the celestial creature it summons has an intelligence of 6 and is able to telepathically talk to the summoner. I don't know if the ability to use language thing is part of being celestial or part of the intelligence but if it's the latter then big cat is smart enough to speak!
Also, I don't know if I'm just the least trusting person ever but I kept wanting them to make insight checks on their potential employers to see if they weren't being flim flammed in some way. Like "oh, we're a church that wants to give this nice stick to the fulcrum, grab a crown from this place and bring it back, and find the currier and give us a document" could turn into "we're supplying this powerful relic for the upcoming war effort where we want the fulcrum to win, this crown is going to keep our leader alive and rejuvenate our army of dead people to take over the city, and we want to see if the desperation of the Chain the paper made seem is true by throwing out a lame job and seeing how heavily they react on it."
Also also, if the person making the mechanized thugs just leaves the broken things around in a plethora all the time, they must have means to mass produce them, meaning factories. If the police are investigating and can't find the source it must be under guise as something else of which the only lead they were given this episode was the very nice clocks in the place they're currently staying in... Typing this I feel like a paranoid conspiracy theorist...
SEVEN! *SEVEN IS THE CLUE!!*
Total Geekgasm in that case it's still crazy that if it's experienced the language enough, Copper could literally say "hey, go around this house, jump on the balcony, and wait for me" and it'll choose to do exactly that or not.
Pretty sure you need an intelligence of eight to read as per the awaken spell
dittmar104 you can understand a language vocally while being illiterate.
@@TotalGeekgasm I mean, that's the case with the navigator on the Somnium Tenebris, so I don't see why it would be different. That said, I suspect that Big-Cat probably would have a very different syntactical paradigm from most people, so it would probably take practice to communicate, unless Big-Cat is willing to also try.