Monster Analysis: Gators (Labenda Swamp)

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Monster Analysis: Gators (Labenda Swamp)

Thanks to @p_agurcia for this art piece!

  • First Appearance: 2-17 Harvest Close

  • Encounter Appearance: 2-20 Labenda Awaits

  • Armor Class 14

  • Speed 30 ft, 50 ft swim

  • Passive Perception 10

  • Suggested Average, Max HP: 85, 135

    • Croc 1: 123 taken, 14 HDYWTDT by Fjord

    • Croc 2: 95 taken, 18 HDYWTDT by Yasha

Although they were equally referred to as gators as well as crocs, game mechanically speaking, both names essentially serve the same purpose. To align with the Monster Manual, we’ll refer to them as Giant Crocodiles.

Unlike the lone crocodile the Stubborn Stock fought in the Victory Pit, the two crocodiles the Mighty Nein fought in the Labenda were very much in their element. The Labenda Swamp provided the crocs terrain to swim though and spots to perch on to attack, while also limiting the party’s movement. With their +5 stealth, they blended in with the other trees and logs, allowing the second croc to sneak up on the party mid-round 1. Add the young kenku the party had to protect on top of fending off two hunters in their natural environment, and the challenge became much more difficult than what the Victory Pit could ever offer.

The crocodiles each had two attacks: one to whip prey with its tail, and another to bite and clamp down upon its planned meal. In round 3, we saw one of the crocs let go of a grappled Nott to smack her with its tail before attempting bite her again, softening up the meal first.

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Media References and Puns of 2-20 Labenda Awaits

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Media References and Puns of 2-20 Labenda Awaits

Thanks to @EricThomasB for this art piece!

Up where they slog, up where they stomp,
Up where they muck around in the swamp,
Struggling feet, I want to eat
PART OF YOUR WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORLD

Media Refences

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Level 5 Update: Proficiency Boost and Skiiiiiills

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Level 5 Update: Proficiency Boost and Skiiiiiills

Thanks to @Bioswear for this art piece!

Matt, to Liam in 2-06: It's all good, man. Just survive to level five and everything will turn.

They’ve made it! At level 5, all classes receive a proficiency bonus increase. This means all proficient skills, saving throws, and attack bonuses go up by one. In addition, all spell/ability save DCs go up by 1. For Beau and Nott, their expertise skill bonuses increase by 2.

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Quick Answers 62

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Can you tell me…

This answer is directed specifically at new followers: Hi! Welcome to CritRoleStats, or to the Twitter or Tumblr if you’re seeing this from there. We’ve answered a lot of questions in our run, so inevitably, we receive many questions that we have already answered. If you’re new to us, you might try either searching our previous Quick Answers or flipping through our archives.

We also have many questions that we usually answer within the week of the episode airing. If we don’t answer your question about media references, monster statistics, or world lore, we are probably double-checking our work and sharing that information in an upcoming article. We also suggest you tune into Talks Machina every Tuesday, where we share many interesting statistics at the beginning of the show.

Can you track the attuned items of the Mighty Nein?

Sure! You can find the page with our latest update of attuned items here. The link has also been added to the Wildemount General Stats page.

Can you add CRS’s Favorite Moments to the General Stats dropdown menu?

Done!

By any chance, did you count how many times Caleb asked for Paper and Ink from The Gentleman?

Three times.

Are there any plans to track how much Caleb spends on his spells/spellbook? Any chance we can start a running stat on how much gold Caleb has spent on “fine ink and parchment”?

We do track that, among many other items spent. As Liam pointed out on Twitter, it costs 50 gold per spell slot level to transcribe a spell into his spellbook. Caleb has spent 650 gold on ink and paper for spell transcription.

Can you create an Indiana Jones style travel map of where TM9 has been (red line) and where they are heading toward (red dotted line)?

As much as we love this idea, the rights to the map are tricky. For professional courtesy, we’ll hold off until we’re a little more clear on how to present it.

When was the last time we had Crit Role PVP within a campaign?

Since the Beau and Jester fight in the Evening Nip in episode 2-19, the last character PvP event was episode 1-99 between Grog and Lionel.

Monster Analysis: Bandits (Bromkiln Byway)

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Monster Analysis: Bandits (Bromkiln Byway)

Thanks to @bananacandytho for this art piece!

The roads of the Dwendalian Empire are not a safe place to travel, and even less so places of rest after dark. Having been confronted by bandits before on the Amber Road, the Mighty Nein were a bit more experienced and prepared for a larger threat on the Bronkiln Byway. It didn’t hurt that they also saw it coming, rather than fall to a decidedly more practiced, less merciful, and rather inhumanoid ambush.

Ogres

  • First Appearance: 1-01 Arrival at Kraghammer

  • Encounter Appearance: 2-19 The Gentleman's Path

  • Armor Class 11

  • Speed 40 feet

  • Suggested Average, Max HP: 59, 91

    • Ogre 1: 85 damage taken, 13 killing blow by Fjord

    • Ogre 2: 56 damage taken, 23 killing blow by Yasha

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Media References and Puns of 2-19 The Gentleman's Path

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Media References and Puns of 2-19 The Gentleman's Path

Thanks to @TriaElf9 for this art piece!

Beau talked about Fight Club three times in this episode.

No rules, man. No rules.

Media References

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What We Know About the Cerberus Assembly

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What We Know About the Cerberus Assembly

Thanks to @my2k for this art piece!

Since arriving in Zadash 12 days ago, The Mighty Nein have heard about the power of the Cerberus Assembly. They first witnessed that power when the Xhorhasian infiltrators attempted to bring down the Zauber Spire, only to be prevented by two flying mages. With Caleb’s recent trip to the Library of the Cobalt Soul, and Beau & Yasha’s conversation with Trent and Oremid, we thought it was time to devote a post to explaining what we know so far about the Empire’s resident circle of mages. (Transcripts of relevant moments are documented here.)

History

The name Cerberus Assembly is a reference to a group that existed during the Age of Arcanum. The book Caleb read discussed the war of mage houses 150 years ago in the empire that nearly destroyed part of Rexxentrum. As part of the ceasefire, the mage houses agreed to bind themselves to the empire and work for them in lieu of being arrested. As Matt said, the Cerberus Assembly, “helped the [Dwendalian] kingdom rise to power, to conquer the Julous Dominion.”

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Monster Analysis: Victory Pit, Round 3

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Monster Analysis: Victory Pit, Round 3

Thanks to @BlackSalander for this art piece!

The final round of the Victory Pit of Harvest Close! As this is the last fight for both The Mighty Nein and the Stubborn Stock, we’ll take this opportunity to discuss the tournament as a whole, and how the creatures used in the tournament reflects on Zadash and the Dwendalian Empire.

Hill Giant

Encounter Appearance: 2-18 Whispers of War
Armor Class 13
Speed 40 ft
Suggested Average, Max HP: 105, 160
146 damage taken, 13 HDYWTDT by Nott

Hill giants are the smallest, least intelligent, and lowest ranking giants in the giant hierarchy, called the Ordning. To a hill giant, anything smaller than it is viewed as both inferior and potential prey. Within the rankings of the hill giants, the largest giant is the ruler of their primitive domains. They have no culture, use old animal skins for clothing and uprooted trees for weapons, and have developed a ridiculous constitution from treating just about anything as food. Though they are very dim-witted, a hill giant that feels as though it has been tricked or prodded is a dangerous threat to not only the source of its rage, but to anyone else it can reach until its attention is distracted by something else.

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Media References and Puns of 2-18 Whispers of War

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We are very much looking forward to the Colbalt Soulastic Fair.

Media References

(0:01:06) Sam: They put these things on our iPads-- I mean, tablet devices.
(0:14:47) Matt: The people who do Campaign Coins make that now. Our friend, Deven Rue, who did our map of the show, designed it.
(0:16:19) Liam: Singing under my breath: We are the Mighty Nein, the Mighty Nein, the Mighty Nein! (Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush)
(0:18:09) Travis: *singing* Lollipop, lollipop, oh lolly lolly lolly… (“Lollipop” by The Chordettes)
(0:25:23) Liam: That really hurt, Charlie!  Laura: Charlie!
(0:36:12) Travis: J-E-L-L-O!

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