Does Vox Machina have enough money to buy another carpet?

anonymous asked: with the loot they have from kraghammer, the dragons lair in vaselhiem and the rest of the money they have from the keep. Do they have enough money to actually redo the flying carpet that was destroyed.

Short answer

Nope.

Long answer

Noooooooooooooooope.

Legit answer

Combining the dragon loot from both Rimefang and the previous-fought dragons with the rest of the party funds, we are informed in episode 24 (0:16:03) that Vex and Vax had to pay their servants out-of-pocket, since they did not have the 600 gold to pay them from the party treasury. Even the funds received from Nodstoc Greyspine were only 25k, of which 10.5k was quickly divided among the party members as a stipend (ep24, 2:23:31). Some funds might be obtained by way of Whitestone’s treasury, but considering the city’s plight before (and just how shady it is for them to take the money and run), it’s unlikely they’ll walk away with more than 10k. That brings them back to, at best, 30k gold.

The problem with Wondrous items is that they are Very Rare for a reason. Even if they did slap down 50k and gave it to a group of arcane masters to re-enchant, the process would take an in-game year before it would be ready. Keep in mind that between the party’s arrival in Kraghammer to the Winter’s Crest Festival in Whitestone, only 68 days have passed. Approximately a year and a half has passed since the full campaign started. For most adventuring parties, powerful items such as the Carpet of Flying need to have already existed before the band formed in order for such items to serve any use.

Could the party still scrounge up 50k and pay for a re-enchanted carpet? Sure, but it’s probably not the best investment. In episode 14, they walked away with 10 items and 9 potions for 49.2k. With that in mind, it seems hard to justify buying a single item that won’t be available for a while when one could obtain all of those items instead for the same price. Really, their best option is to continue to let their DM know that they reeeeeeeeally want flying items. Maybe Vox Machina will stumble across a potion recipe, or defeat a hag that just happened to have a Wondrous but Merely Uncommon Broom of Flying. 

How much does Scanlan owe Percy for the Pepperbox?

anonymous asked: I kinda want to know how much Scanlan owes Percy for his Pepper box.

A generic Pepperbox is listed for 450 GP. Even with Orthax’s assistance, we could conceivably go even higher considering the cost of molding metal for a first-time design, as well as any other complications in building it. For now, we’ll say that the Pepperbox by itself cost 450 GP and a series of weeks to build.

However, enchanted weapons are a bit more expensive than generic weapons, and the Pepperbox had TWO enchantments in place: one frost (bonus +1) and one fire (bonus +1). Since these are separate rather than stacked enchantments, the Pepperbox would still be a +1 enchanted weapon. Using Pathfinder’s rules for magic item creation and this list of magical weapon enhancements (see Ranged Weapon Special Abilities), we determine that adding those two enhancements to the Pepperbox would cost a bare minimum of 4000 GP and 4 days.

On top of all that, 4450 GP is only the minimum up-front cost of the gun. That’s failing to calculate the cost of fixing it every time it broke (one repair since the stream started is 225 GP, plus pre-stream), the cost of obtaining black powder (400 GP from Victor plus pre-stream), and the cost of metal to forge custom bullets (350 GP in episode 23, and gathered scrap metal elsewhere). Gunslinging is an expensive hobby. Most expensive of all is the time required to rebuild a new Pepperbox from scratch: the bullets alone take up a significant time to forge.

TL;DR: We estimate that it will cost Percy at least 4450 GP, and at least three weeks of uninterrupted, problem-free work time to rebuild an enchanted Pepperbox… Assuming, of course, that the memory of its construction didn’t leave with Orthax’s spirit.

Cascade

anonymous asked: How many times has Matthew used the word "cascade"?

Cascade: Not just for dishwasher detergent. Updated to episode 36. Thanks to thesingingbadger, rusty-diamond, and @dragonmustang01 for this list, and all of our volunteers for the “empty” episodes.

1. Ep02 (2:47:20) “The brain, KSSH, cascades across the ground.”
2. Ep03 (0:59:02) “… the river that’s been cascading through this cavern…”
3. Ep03 (2:02:26) “… the waterfall, it’s cascading over the side”
4. Ep04 (2:15:25) “…as this suddenly flaring blast of divine energy comes cascading out of the front of your palm…”
5. Ep08 (0:32:53) “The divine energy emanates from Pike’s hand that begins to cascade across Kima’s form.”
6. Ep09 (0:38:00) “a once invisible mindflayer goes cascading out”
7. Ep12 (2:42:29) “…leaving you staring at this cascading funnel of sand…”
8. Ep13 (0:24:44) “…and using a polymorphed Fomorian giant, cascading down hundreds upon hundreds of feet…”
9. Ep13 (1:39:33) “…burst of purplish psychic blast just cascades out of the center…”

Scanlan's Suggestions

plagueratchancy asked: Do think there is hopes for a running tally for Scanlan's suggestions?(Such as suggesting Lady Briarwood to makeout with her husband.)

There is! We’ll even throw in the Dominate Persons for free. ;)

Updated to Episode 36.

1. (Ep04, 2:07:24) The General “to stand down, and to tell all of his allies to stand down.” (Dominate Person, success)
2. (Ep05, 2:28:40) Matt as Scanlan, dominating one of the hook horrors. (Dominate Monster, success) 
3. (Ep07, 3:14:55) King Murghol: “I mentally tell him that he really has the urge to try to do a headstand.” (Suggestion, fail)
4. (Ep10, 2:01:46) Lady Kima to “check out Grog’s bod.” (Suggestion, fail)
5. (Ep11, 0:19:17) Matt as Scanlan, Fomorian to “Go for a walk!” “Come back!” “Sit down!” (Dominate Person, success)
6. (Ep18, 1:52:29) Orc to “protect our goliath, with his life, if he needs to.” (Dominate Person, success)
7. (Ep24, 2:14:45) Nostoc Greyspine that “he is an honorable man and that we had a deal, and that he should honor it to the fullest extent of the word.” (Suggestion, success)
8. (Ep25, 1:11:40) Lady Briarwood to “have an unquenchable urge to makeout with her husband” (Suggestion, fail)
9. (Ep29, 2:46:53) Stonefell Guard: “You’re as cold as ice, willing to sacrifice YOUR BOSS!” (Dominate Person, success)
10. (Ep34, 4:11:26) Lady Briarwood: “Stop. Collaborate and Listen.” (Suggestion, fail)
11. (Ep36, 1:10:38) Jasper the farmer, before arm-wrestling: “You don’t want to beat a gnome! YOU DON’T WANT TO BEAT A GNOME.” (Suggestion, fail)

Most interesting is that Scanlan has a 54.5% success rate, with 6 successes (5 Dominates, 1 Suggestion) and 5 failures (all Suggestions).

davlen asked: Given the estimated costs and everything he learned, if a new one is made. Wouldnt he likely try to get all the barrels enchanted with different types of damage this time...i would guess what 10kg for something like that and maybe 3 months of the enchantments? How does that sound?

If Percy did try to have each of the six barrels enchanted individually, that would be approximately 12,000 GP (6 barrels x 2000 for each +1 bonus) and should take about 12 days to enchant (1 day per every 1000 GP), on top of the weeks it would take to physically build it. Theoretically, at that cost, it would be cheaper to fully enchant Ripley’s gun, including an extra spell slot.

For example, Pathfinder has an item called the Firedrake Pistol, a +1 pistol that can deal Fire damage instead of Piercing. It also allows the user to cast Burning Hands from the barrel instead of a bullet. The cost to build it requires 10,800 GP and 11 days to integrate the required Fireball and Burning Hands spells into it. (If you were to walk into a shop to buy it, you’d be looking at 20,300 GP, but if you already have the materials, that will save quite a bit.)

Of course, that doesn’t include multiple types of enchantments (fire, ice, lightning, etc), so, hey, if he can pry money from the treasurer, what’s to stop him?

Anonymous asks: So, in other words *Matt Mercer voice* it's just a 5 minute break lol. Thanks!

You’re welcome! (And the tables have been updated, for the rest of you.) As it stands, the shortest gap between end of the first half and the beginning of the second half is 0:10:41.

To be fair, I say the same thing at my games. If he actually SAID ten minutes, then the breaks would run a bit longer. I also appreciate the extra time to sort out my notes during the stream!

Tiberius's HP

anonymous asked: I would like to know how Tiberius has 99 HP at lvl 11, with a D6 hit die and a +3 con mod? Even if you take into account the +11 HP he gets from the dragonic bloodline from his sorcerous origin he would have to roll no lower than a 5 on a D6, 11 times to get 99 HP.

A level 11 sorcerer (+1d6 per level) with Draconic Origins (+1 per level) with a Con of 16 (+3 per level) could have as many 110 hit points, assuming the player rolls straight 6s. As Nonnie points out, Tiberius’s 99 is still pretty lucky. Without rolling any dice, the same sorcerer automatically gets 10 HP at level 1, and +4 for each additional level. That starts us at 50 + 10d6.

If you roll 10 6-sided dice, you could have 60,466,176 possible combinations with totals between 10 and 60. On average, you’d expect to roll a total of 35, with a standard deviation of 5.401. He had 1 in 14 chances to get 35; he instead rolled 49, which put him at 1 in 409.

Our take? Sometimes the dice are just lucky. He could have just as easily rolled 21 instead of 49 (also 1 in 409 odds).

It should also be pointed out that Tiberius has leveled to 12, though the cards on the stream haven’t been updated to reflect that. This could put him at as high as 109, if he rolled a 6. (This is also one reason why the character sheet recreations aren’t available yet. Silly numbers.)

Update: @jd2319 points out that if Orion have picked up the Tough feat, that’s an additional +2 hp per level (or another 22 points, at 11). We don’t know what Tiberius’s feats are, if any, but, it is an option!

Trinket's Character Sheet

ryutesla asked: Where is Trinket's character sheet?

Geek and Sundry does not have a unique card for Trinket, so he’s not set apart in the Character Sheet page. If Laura would be willing to share her character sheet with us, we would be happy to display both her and Trinket’s stats. (That goes for the rest of the party, too!)

That said, it’s still a legitimate question, one that we can mostly calculate. As part of the Beast Master archetype of the Ranger class, Trinket is an extension of Vex’ahlia (PHB p.93). “Add your proficiency bonus to the beast’s AC, attack rolls, and damage rolls, as well as to any saving throws and skills it is proficient in. Its hit point maximum equals its normal maximum or four times your ranger level, whichever is higher.”

Without Vex’s proficiencies, if we assume that Trinket is based on the Brown Bear guide, he has 34 HP and a naked AC of 11. He already has multiattack built in with a +5 to hit, with a 1d8+4 piercing bite and a 2d6+4 slashing claw.

However, Trinket is not an average bear. Beast Masters are rarely able to protect their companions for long. The fact that Trinket has been around with Vex for over 11 levels is a feat in itself. Vex’s level brings Trinket to 44hp. The armor he wears increases his AC by a significant margin in addition to Vex’s bonus, and he knows a few more moves than the default bear (cannonball!). Information such as this requires more time to compute and organize, and probably another page to Vex’s sheet.

On a related note, we are slowly working toward recreating each character’s sheet. Real life and other projects on the blog has prevented this from taking priority, but eventually we will have them!

Kill Count Info

thatoogguy asked: Hello gang. Not sure if it helps, but in most of my episode write ups on the Vox Machina blog, it has body counts at the bottom, and usually within the write up I say who killed what. It won't have time stamps, but it may save you a little hassle.

Hear, hear, Critters! Vox-Machina has already done some of the heavy lifting for us as far as the kill counts go with his very-detailed episode write-ups (also sorted here on Critical Role Source). While I’d still like to log each time stamp, this should help significantly as a checklist. Thank you very much! (Also, go check out the rest of the blog, if you haven’t already!)

How many kisses?

anonymous asks: How many kisses are mentioned/performed?

So, kisses are a tricky thing. Let’s start with canon, in-character kisses.

1. Episode 3, 0:29:34 A catatonic Grog receiving a kiss “from female lips” (Vex) in hopes to restore his mind. (I would argue that Laura kissed Travis more than Vex kissed Grog, but hey, it happened.)
2. Episode 6, 1:01:10 Scanlan kissing a Nat1-stealthing Percy, after his premonition about receiving a kiss from Pike (to prevent his own Nat1 stealth earlier) resulted in a diss.
3. Episode 13, 1:36:05 Pike kissing Scanlan while they attempted to escape Yug’voril. This one was a whammy, and definitely worth the granted inspiration.
4. Episode 13, 1:37:10 Vax kissing Percy. Less romantic, more humorous attempt at metagame. “It’s the start of something new.”
5. Episode 15, 0:54:08 Vex kissing Percy after he creates a set of arrows for her. As he points out, “I’m getting to kiss everyone one in this game! I’ve already made my way through siblings.”
6. Episode 19, 2:26:36 Scanlan’s appearance as Aldor results in Lyra being “just, in him.”
7. Episode 21, 4:02:03 Keyleth and Kashaw. ‘Nuff said.
8. Episode 22, 0:43:10 The argument regarding Keyshaw vs. sleeping in a tent with a sleep-talking librarian resulted in an extremely frustrated Vex laying one on Grog to shut him up, much to the confusion of… well, everyone.

In addition to these, we have Scanlan and Grog’s frequent forays to Houses of Lady Favors. You may wish to include their numerous hickies in episode 1 (that Vex also claimed to have after entertaining one of the Carvers). I am making a decision to exclude these.

In episode 19 (2:27:30), Lyra points out that Scanlan’s kiss wasn’t quite as good, implying that she and Aldor didn’t skip straight to “intercourse.” We’re also going to exclude these from the final count.

Okay, what about non-canon? Pike attempted to give Scanlan a kiss in Episode 6 (0:51:44) when Sam blew his stealth roll. Technically that one exists merely in an alternate dimension, as the Pike in the canon-verse did not realize the folly he was about to cause. Reality is malleable. (Also, check out 0:59:50 for a fantastic burn about missed opportunities.) In the same episode (Episode 6, 1:19:51), Scanlan attempts to get Pike to “make out” with him after knocking two Duergar off the ledge. Despite how hot it was, Canon Pike wisely decides to stay alert, resulting in a disappointed bard.

What about entirely OOC kisses? Orion is a particularly affectionate individual, especially since the new setup. We have the Mysterious Head Kiss that resulted in the Best Thursday Ever (to Matt, beginning of Episode 18). That was followed the next week by another Mysterious Head Kiss (“…That was weird.”). We also caught a stealthy head-kiss to Marisha during the battle with the Fire Elementals at (1:27:02), undoubtedly encouragement for playing such an emotional role.

There are plenty more after the game (donations and Critmas), and during the rest of the G&S Twitch stream (e.g., when Orion almost planted one on Becca’s lips when she turned her head). As this is Critical Role Stats, we will merely say, “So, that happened,” (to quote Matt) and not include these in the final tally.

I hope that answers your question. Thanks for the ask, and keep the requests coming, Critters!