Exandria Unlimited : Calamity Episode 1 Reaction Part 2
Vložit
- čas přidán 23. 06. 2022
- Exandria Unlimited : Calamity Episode 1 Reaction Part 2
#dnd
#criticalrole
#exandriaunlimited
“This project is unofficial fan content and is not approved or endorsed in any way by Critical Role.”
Please be sure to go and watch the original video if you havnt already, with the link provided down below
• Excelsior | Exandria U...
Welcome to chilligans island if you enjoy Movies, tv and anime reactions with a lil bit of commentary. Go ahead and subscribe to join me in my journey of being introduced to some of ya'lls favorite shows. Welcome, new faces! Just remember to
STAY CHILL - Zábava
To sort of answer your scripting half-question. Everything on-screen is improvised but they have had conversations and built their character histories beforehand. Also everyone is informed on the state of the in-game world before so they know what is going on. This can make it seem somewhat scripted but its only because the players know their character's relationships so well.
This! I was about to comment the same thing. :)
The best concrete example for this episode is specifically having Brennan give Sam the sheet with the announcements and ad read. The player has some control over the story beforehand based on character sheets and pre-campaign discussions on how their character fits into the world. But they can also have discussions before each specific session to let the GM know their intentions- what they'd like their character to accomplish, how they are feeling, 'hey would you hand this sheet to me later? It's for a character moment'
Sam does not always play a bard, but we love when he does.
Personally, I prefer to watch the VODs rather than just listen. I tune out during battle usually, but for really intense scenes I like to see the actors. They commit, sometimes even spending several real life minutes in one position because their character was paralyzed. They're also just really expressive!
The little Shield on the character sheets is their Armor Class (or AC). An enemy needs to roll the character's AC to hit. So if someone has an AC of 15, you need to roll a 15 or higher to hit them, a roll of 14 or lower will miss.
The heart is the character's Hit Points (HP). When their HP drops to 0, the character falls unconscious. They then have to roll death saves. Three successes will leave them stable, but unconscious, and three fails will cause the character to bleed out and die. If they take enough damage to go over their max HP then you die without having to make saves.
For what they prep before the show: Brennan will have prepared all kinds of lore in notes and in his head, and he'll have shared what he thinks each character needs to know. All the characters are citizens of Avalir and therefore he would have given them some document explaining the traditions of that city, including technology around the city, the different centers of power, and how the Replenishment traditionally goes, like sending kite messages. Those are things they all likely know.
Then there are things that only the characters would know (unless they chose to share it with others), or need to know the details of (Leyrin/Aabria probably understands best how the island moves for example, and Loquacious/Sam has a broadcast ready to go and is familiar with key members of his news staff...) their own backstories (which with lvl 14-15 characters is a bit more extensive), important events of the past... They might spend several weeks creating their characters and inventing their backstory and looks (which is how they have art for it, they send a description ahead of time to an artist they commission once they've decided on the look they want), they might talk to each other and establish what relationship they have with each other (it's clear Aabria and Sam had a long discussion about their characters marriage and subsequent divorce).
Then they send all that information to Brennan (or whoever is DMing) who might decide to tweak certain things to fit with the narrative he wants to tell and will decide what else he might add to their stories to make them a part of the narrative (he might tell them about it, or he might keep the information as something to discover during the game). He might also give them some instructions, for this show for example, I'm pretty sure Brennan told them they each had a secret they were keeping from the other characters to be revealed or not as the game unfolds, what those secrets were and who else knows it and who doesn't (this hasn't been confirmed anywhere as far as I know).
How much prep is done depends on the DM and the kind of game being played. Here Brennan was creating a short game for a bunch of high level characters who all know each other from long ago, and who had backstories that all had to shine at some point in this particular part of their life, so the prep was extensively focused on the character relationships, and the details of city of Avalir where they all live. I feel like there was a lot more prep done this time than is typical, probably because in most games I've watched, the characters don't know each other yet, or one or two might be familiar with each other (like Vex and Vax being siblings) but not knowing the others, so there isn't a need to link each of them ahead of time, and their backstories can be completely separate.
Sam does not always play a bard in d&d but he is definitely a bard irl, He is a very natural charismatic personality
I love watching people react to this show :) seeing how much fun you're having watching one of their full dnd shows for the first time is like magic. Brennan was an amazing choice for this narrative.
Aabria is also a DM for other Exandria Unlimited stories, but that one will Definitely have spoilers
I usually watch the streams because the Crit Role crew (Calamity is no exception) is so good at roleplay that their expressions add so much. I do sometimes close my eyes and imagine when I feel like it. I lightly multitask during combat, since I’m pretty good at imagining the layout. I am also a DM/GM so I’ve got that part down :)
Leylines are actually like Exandria’s veins, where its natural magic flows through. Avalir, and other magical cities, do indeed use these leylines as their railroad tracks, so to speak. Doing so helps them take advantage of the massive amount of arcane energy it takes to fly around as they do.
I see you wondering if it was scripted to some degree. It's a "Yesn't" kind of situation. The goal of the DM is to tell a story and tries to secretly tip the chances in your favor in order to secure the desired story outcome (like winning the fight).
If Brennan wants you to win a fight, he'll estimate your character's power level and design the enemies to be *just* slightly weaker than you so you will barely win. The DM will try to put up the facade of being fair while trying to subtly guarantee your victory.
You can also estimate what your players will tend to do from their character's personalities and background and plan accordingly. So perhaps Brennan will plant a plot relevant item in a brothel if one of the player is a horn dog. He might design a damsel in distress character with vital plot information if one of your players wants to play classic hero. This is how the DM can subtly shepperd you into the correct story beats without the players feel like they are being forced through a story.
Luis said he is interested in an Oath of Redemption Paladin. So Brennan arranged for him to meet the God of Hells using his best pity the F out of me eyes fully expecting Luis to empathize with him.
Aabria's backstory includes working on a secret project. So Brennan will likely make that project relevant to the actual overarching plot of the Calamity.
DMing is a bit like writing a book except that you don't have control over 6 characters. To still achieve a good story, you just have to be inhumanly good in predicting your player's actions and plan accordingly... Or be damn good in improvising on the spot.
They did a bit of an aftershow discussion thing on twitter spaces recently and Brennan was asked how he approached the challenge of telling a story with a very clearly defined ending (over just 4 episodes!) without railroading his players (@Bobby that's when the DM is actively limiting the players' agency and basically forcing them to just act out a pre-written plot, which isn't really the point of the game in general, though especially for oneshots it's sometimes necessary to keep the plot contained to the time limit).
And he basically said that in order to do that (as a DM) you should allow your players to tell you, who their characters are, what's important to them, who and what they love/hate/care about. With that information in hand you can make educated guesses as to how each character will react in any given situation and tailor your plot and the circumstances you present your players with in a way, so that they _do_ have the choice to do anything, but their characters will basically only let them do the thing you (the DM) need them to, in order to advance the plot.
Like here for example, Brennan needs the Calamity to happen, somehow. So a way to bring that about without outright forcing the players into choices they don't want to make/their characters _wouldn't_ make, he'll present them with situations where they can make choices that 100% match their characters' goals and values, but that might _also_ have consequences they didn't expect or want.
29:53 I'd say it's a decent analogy. Just be sure not to assume that the leylines' inherent purpose is to move the cities. The cities were built to hitch a ride on the leylines which are natural features. The apogee solstice is suggested to denote the rare occasion when these leylines can move when they are usually fixed.
I don't mind silence, I prefer it over when people talk over the show and miss things, especially with something that's as _dense_ with important information and great moments as this miniseries is. I'm personally a big fan of pausing the video, saying whatever it is you wanna say and then continuing.
Shield is AC (Armor class) how hard you are to hit. The higher the number the better.
Heart is hit points/health. At 0 you fall unconscious.
If you have any D&D related questions along the way I will do my best to answer them.
I'd like to add, just for context, that 15 for a level 14 character is quite low. This seeming discrepancy is explained by 1) the character is a wizard - notorious for being easy to hit and having few hit points, and 2) the character in question being an Abjuration (protection, shields, wards) wizard, so her AC is very much not the full extent of her defense capabilities.
Hey man, first time commenting and I love your vids! Anyway I'm pretty sure some other helpful critters will be able to explain this better but to answer your question.
Laerryn (and the other 5 characters are)is Level 14. The 15 you see at the bottom of her card is her AC (Armour Class) which is the number needed to land a hit on her in battle. So like in a battle situation, any attack rolls lower than that DO NOT hit her. Some classes generally have higher ACs, but it really depends on how the character is built. And the 142 next to that is her HP (Hit Points) which is essentially like her health bar. The other stuff in her stats are called Ability Scores, listed below:
STR - strength INT - intelligence
DEX - dexterity WIS - wisdom
CON - constitution CHA - charisma
AC - armour class HP - hit points
A character like Laerryn, who is a wizard, depends on her intelligence to cast spells so she'd focus on maxing that particular ability score so that she can roll higher when casting spells. Someone like Loquatious on the other hand who's a bard/warlock rely more on charisma so they'd need a higher score for charisma.
I myself don't play D&D so apologies if my explanation is lacking but I hope this helps! Any corrections would be much appreciated too.
20:20 A little of column A a little of Column B. That's the appeal of Critical Role for me. I watch it rather than just listen because there are a LOT of subtle physical cues that do not come across verbally and the visual acting is phenomenal, particularly Matt, who's basically a shapeshifter lol, but I also see pictures in my mind that their words paint and they are far more entertaining than most TV shows. It taps into a similar part of my brain that a really good book does but also it's like the theater, it's a wonderful combination.
I think people who only listen to it are missing a lot of context clues and wonderful acting. (And a lot of whispered side conversations, and cute cuddling, and shenanigans like Laura messing with Liam lol.)
Love watching you react! To answer your questions - for Calamity I watched the stream because I like to see their reactions, but during combat I played video games while just listening to it. Usually for Critical Role broadcasts, I just listen to it while doing something else. The so-called "Aeormaton" is in fact a robot! A sentient one, created by the wizards of Aeor, another floating city. Yes, the leylines are like train tracks, that's a great comparison. We don't yet know what Aabria's character has planned! The spell kites are brand new - I think Marisha was just reacting to how emotional it was.
For an analogy, think of magic as moisture/humidity. There is always some ambient moisture/magic around (except in certain dead zones, natural or artificially created) but like moisture magic tends to gather together.
Because it is alive it doesn’t stay still, so it doesn’t form the equivalent of lakes, but it does form rivers.
These rivers of magic are called Leylines. They cover the entire planet in a network of magical rivers, shifting only slightly over long periods of time.
Unless a significant natural disaster or mortal hands get involved.
The place where two or more leylines intersects are called a nexus, and those focus points of magic are where the most magic can be drawn upon by magic users.*
Since Avalir flies along the leylines of the planet, they effectively always have a large amount of magic to draw upon.
*They also carry a greater risk, becuase if someone looses control of their magic while drawing directly from a leyline, the backlash can be incredibly destructive.
Hence Laerryn’s very careful calculations.
17:48 She is level 14. The shield symbol is the armor class (AC). This is the number you have to beat when attacking a target. Think of it as your ability to dodge and or tank hits with your defensive equipment. So if you attack someone with an AC of 15, you need to hit 15 or higher or else you don't deal the damage. As if they evaded the attack, or dodge, or block with a shield, etc.
*clarification for Bobby's sake* Meet or beat
@@N7AslansHobbit_Ry My description is kind of necessary since People easily assume armor class purely refers to physical armor. Might as well make sure he knows that it comes mostly from the dexterity stat thus being mostly about dodging or blocking maneuvers.
@@yiklongtay6029 right. I was just clarifying when you just said beats the number earlier in the description but then realized you said that later. Just didn't feel like deleting my reply. My bad.
I watch the stream for the story but also to watch the other cast participate as audience.
I'll never get tired of Travis's purely joyful and unfiltered reactions which are similar to watching your reaction videos.
Looking forward to the next video!
The ‘Teleportation’ spell is a moderately high level spell and can take several yet limited # of people (i think 9 or 11, might be wrong) at once across large distances like from one continent to another, but ‘dimension door’ is quick low level teleport spell that travels a shorter distance and can only take two people at a time.
So excited for your introduction to this universe! Laylines are the lines of magic that surround the Exandria and the Flying cities of Exandria travel upon them.
Pretty sure he knows this isn't matt
Oh ok, I didn’t know
Today was a really sad day but for 30 minutes I enjoyed watching you experience this and felt the vicarious joy. So thank you, I really needed this today.
Chaotic Neutral!! Im too happy i was able to help lift some of the stress of ur day, hopefully its a turning point and leads into a great weekend for ya😁! Gonna try to get a couple more of these out to ya b4 we hit 4th of july weekend!!
"Ley line" is a term that's experienced a lot of shifts in meaning since its initial use, but in fantasy it tends to refer to the invisible currents of magic that cross the world, usually with the implication that magic is the lifeblood of the world.
To build on this without spoiling anything to come the leylines of Exandria are exactly as you describe, basically veins and arteries of magic that flow invisibly through the ground. And yes the city of Avalir basically flies along them (your comparison to a railroad were apt)
Dweomer is an Aeormaton. It's Critical Role's version of a D&D race called a warforged. They're a sentient machine race.
a lot of these names of people,, things, and locations are new to us too. Before the game started Brennen would of gave the players a lore document that was a briefing of the city and world. We're hearing a lot of this stuff for the first time too. I kind of just picked up things as the story went.
God Yes! I was on the edge of my seat waiting for part 2!
Hahahaha gonna try to pump out more than 1 a week for yall in the coming weeks 😉
@@BobbyChill2 Much appreciated man, so long as you are enjoying yourself (which isn’t hard to do with Critical Roles content).
I usually have it running in the background when I watch, simply because I really don't have 4-7 hours to put aside for a streamed game. Most games that are longer than a single session have a "Session Zero" to start where people create their characters and establish relationships with other characters. The show was prerecorded, so they had a bit of time to do up the intro and the artwork.
If you ever want to try playing, let me know. I might be able to run a one-shot for you, depending on the timing.
No joke, I completely missed a whole aspect of character development in campaign 2 because it was communicated completely with body language until later in the campaign. If you only listen you miss quite a bit. I tend to watch, but even then often times you only focus on who's talking and miss stuff going on between other people. I like to read through the comments section to see if anyone posted time stamps for things that I missed.
Artificer is a class in DnD. Artificers are spell casters that focus more on imbuing objects with magic. They create magical items that can be used by anyone.
I don't think spell kites have ever been mentioned before ExU: Calamity, so I think Marisha was just excited about the idea of magic kites.
Oh!! Ye the game stats!!
U can look them up online if ur curious. Beside the image the stats are like.. Laerryn's are:
Level: 14
Spell mod: (int, +5)
HP: 142, AC: 15, DC: 20
Str: 12 (+1), Dex: 14 (+2), Con: 18 (+4
Int: 20 (+5), Wis: 14 (+2), Cha: 11 (+0)
So aabriya rolled an arcana check, which is like a subsekt of the intelligence stat. She rolled a nat17 (out of a possible 20) and added 10, which means that besides her +5 int she likely also is profficient in arcana since she's a wizard, so she adds her proficiency bonus which is the same as her spell modifier (intelligence, since she's a wizards, so it's +5). So in the end, no matter what she rolls on the d20 she can add +10 when she does an arcana check to suss out magic science stuff.
(There are also saving throws, they're a different thing. Checks are to test a skill, saves are to avoid a bad outcome. You can make a dexterity saving throw to see if you can avoid being hit by falling rocks dor instance, or you can do like a constitution save to see if u got drunk at the bar last night😂)
Oh and ye i like to watch the streams w video but it's v much a matter of taste. Plenty of ppl just listen to the podcast or zone out doing other things while listening. I find i pay better attention when i watch their faces (also it's fun! I love theater so!)
But i do also just listen on my rewatches sometimes. Depends on if im in the mood to focus on the story or the acting. If i'm not watching i miss out on a lot of juicy body language (liam isn't in tjis but he has a lot of subtle tells in his acting that don't quite come across as much with only audio so that's one reason to watch the videos).
For me the interaction between the players and live reactions and body language is essential for critical role at least with the main cast. This might partially be because I started watching from the beginning where the audio quality wasn't the best and everything was a bit more loose. But I have also relistened to c1 on podcast form and enjoyed that very much
I always watch the video, I've occasionally listened to it as a podcast when I'm falling behind when I'm travelling from one place to another, but I don't like missing their expressions, and half the pleasure I get is from seeing members of the cast who aren't in acting mode reacting to their friends currently creating an amazing scene. So watching the stream is the best, but it's not always easy to sit for so many hours straight, or even half an hour at a time, so I typically put it on while I'm doing something that doesn't require to much mental focus, like cleaning or cooking and I watch when something exciting is going on and listen when I have to chop up onions. I've gotten very good at keeping the house clean, and ironing clothes and sheets since I've started following Critical Role, because now I look forward to it XD
No one has mentioned it yet but I’m almost 100% sure that the lay lines are like streams of pure magic that go throughout all the planes of existence the city follows them and correct me if I’m wrong people collects magical power and stores it then when they tough down for the replenishment the give a lot of it back to the world or there sister city
More or less. It's the bargain the wizards did with the native druids of Tormunda. Half of Tormunda is ripped up to become the city of Avelier and the other half became Cathmoira.
Avelier travels to various cities via leylines giving them unparalleled advantage in trading. This lets them amass magical items that they then destroy to accumulate ether (magic). The bargain obligates them to return magic to the mountain to invigorate the land.
Man, I love your reactions! =) It's really good to watch someone discover this new world.
I watch the vods. As others have said you would miss so much with only the audio. Little interactions or jokes or other shenanigans in the background. Sam’s frequent visual gags as he trolls the cast in various ways, Marisha’s visible reactions to tense situations as she climbs her chair or occasionally wears a book, Travis freaking out, Liam’s commitment to nearly always being in character. The cast as a whole really tend get very into their characters and will physically act like them, responding to situations physically even when not speaking or even when they aren’t the focus of a scene. Critical Role to me is essentially an improv radio drama for the age of streaming video. While you could just listen to it, you’d really miss out on the full experience.
As a suggestion, not a complaint, I would like to see these come out a little higher frequency if possible/manageable. I think it would help you get through them at a little better pace than once a week. :)
I watch the show I love the nonverbal clues though I often work on one screen and watch on the other and only occasionally peek at the video.
I like watching the video vs listening for the same reason im watching YOU watch. Seeing others reactions to what's happening makes it feel more tangible. For instance; I'll replay a critical moment (gotcha there) a number of times to see each players individual reactions. Travis, Lou and Aabria all have such visceral reactions and its SO SO so much fun to see them.
20:20 I used to listen to the podcast version during my commute to work but as I now work from home I watch the rebroadcast (I live in the UK so the livestream is on way too early).
I haven't worked out which version I prefer; the podcast is easier to listen to in 45 min sessions but seeing the players reacting adds a lot to the experience for me.
I almost always watch while listening. As a none-native speaker I need to often see the subtitles. Especially when they talk among themselves or while laughing.
Sam always plays a very out there character :D
IT'S SO COOL THAT YOU LOVE IT!!!
And i think i mentioned it but tbh like i get it re: not talking much bc like !! It takes some energy to imagine everything in ur mind. It's a lot like reading a book but also there are people being funny on screen to react to. Instead of letters u just have their funky lil faces.😂😂
And YEAH!!! Cr was my first introduction to improv acting and isn't it just the coolest. Rule nr one of improv acting is Yes And which basically means that you accept whatever your co actor throws at u and throws smth back. It's honestly so fun, and i think most of these ppl are professional improv actors so this is abt as close to their jam as they can get. They're so much fun to watch!!
And omg i love laerryn and loquatius so much they're sm fun and so sweet♡♡♡♡ sam and aabriya rly went ham w this one
I love that U've been drawn in so hard so fast. U r beginning to react like a long time critter already
Huge props
Highly recommend having the critical role wiki to look terms up, characters, and dnd info. It’s what I did when I first started watching dnd shows. Also don’t be afraid to rewatch the episodes because of the length so you can understand the plot better. It’s a LOT of info and lore.
The CR wiki is a great resource, but it's all spoilers, though. It would be hard to avoid specific things with the sidebar featuring random frequently visited pages.
As for rolls, Aabriya made a Arcana skill check. All characters have skills that are connected to their stat scores (bonuses) So Arcana is based on her Intelligence stat bonus. As a Wizard ( learned Magic user via books, scrolls) Her spells Are based on her Intelligence score which is 20. So She gets to add 6 to her arcana roll. A stat score of 10 is basic human.
The laylines are kinda like railroads or currents of an ocean
Maybe you could watch a longer stint all at once and then just cut some parts of it out where you aren't really reacting/commenting to cut down on the video length? The episodes keep getting longer and longer so I don't know if half an hour at a time will really keep you in the story. Works for the character introductions thou.
People do a bad job when explaining cr when it comes to the fact this is a game not a show. We watch the game as a show but they are rolling dice playing a game. The GM has a world characters and in this mini series a full plot. But there's no script there's no anything.
The players get some background on the world and build characters to be in it. And the GM may rehearse speeches and plan out a session buy the players know nothing the dice decide some luck it's all over.
This is a mini series and the ending is well known but especially for the full campaigns you really gotta keep in mind how much this is a game for the players and everything is unkown
A lot of dnd is you create and prepare everything up to the first session and then it's all improv though the gm has a plan and control to tell the story thr only script is the GMs attempts to push a story while the players experience it
I usually listen to the live broadcast while I'm at work and then watch the stream later.
The kites were i think first referenced in the calamity trailer
I watch the streams live and have for the past 7 years. But I often revisit the campaigns and just listen to them podcast style while I'm at work.
This is a bit scripted compared to Critical Role's usual fare, where everything it up to chance and character decisions, because this is a Prequel, where certain things HAVE to happen because this is a historical event we know happens, but HOW we get there is totally unknown so can be left to improv. So I think there's more improv than it seems but Brennan's doing some cool magic tricks to keep things on the rails lol. My theory is that Brennan structured this like a choose your own adventure novel so that he could go with whatever anyone did Improv wise and still have what needs to happen happen in a reasonable character driven way.
I watch and listen theses individual here are my favourites and their reaction are just golden
Ley lines are lines of energy that traverse the globe. People believe Stonehenge was built on a ley line.
i love you but we need to have more of these episodes in a week mate xD otherwise for just the 4 episodes you will need 36 weeks xD
😂😂😂 lol ye lots of ppl do actually take notes to keep track. I'm personally too lazy i just catch up eventually lol there's.. a Lot of Lore
Man ive encountered leylines before since like three yrs back i still barely understand what leylines are 😂😂 as i understand it they're like... veins of magic that go accross all of exandria and kinda move and fluctuate??? Wizards rly like them. Gods i rly need to look that one up properly
I watch and listen and Imagine at the same time. As a DnD player, playing with closed eyes would be problematic :D. So it's just something one gets used to.
Hell yeah
Watch the stream. Occasionally I have trouble imagining something if it's too detailed or something and I'll have to close my eyes for a moment.
More please...
I'm pretty sure the oneshots are lightly scripted if not railroaded. The main campaign is improv im p sure
Silent is good.
I really like these reactions but with maintaining a schedule of once per week upload and 40 minutes per one is kinda unnecessarily dragy so please either make them 1 hour or more than 1 per week so we're not here for like a year on this series