[Spoilers E33] Critical Role: Episode 33 – Reunions

Great episode, can't wait for the next one.

Just want to start this post off by saying that there is obviously no such thing as a wrong choice in D&D. Character actions are character actions and the story unfolds around that, which is what makes the game great. This is mainly a what-if scenario of how the Anders encounter might have looked if Vax had not attacked alone.

Whenever I watch this series I find myself speculating as to things that could have been. As an occasional DM it's fun for me to try and get inside the head of Matthew Mercer, who is clearly far superior in that respect, and since he's so great at improvising we seldom even notice when a prepared scenario becomes improvised. However, I do suspect that Mercer had a fairly different scenario prepared for professor Anders, had the meeting been led by Percival rather than Vax.

Percy is, in many ways, a fantasy cowboy. His self-proclaimed inspirations are "dark occult westerns" and the gunslinger's skill set includes abilities that are very much staples of that genre, like the Quickdraw, Deadeye and Disarming shot.

Whenever I DM I try to open up possibilities for player's to utilize the unique abilities of their characters in ways befitting the theme of their role, and I don't think it's a coincidence that Anders and Cassandra were engaged in one of the most iconic western "tropes" imaginable: The hostage stand-off:


kursiv The hero enters the room, when a voice rings out:

"Not so fast. Wouldn't want her to get hurt would you?" It's the villain, and he's got a knife to the throat of the person our hero cares most about! Bastard!!!

"Let her go."

"Holster your weapon, and we'll have a little chat." kursiv

(I especially like this scenario, not just because it makes my inner cowboy-fan happy, but because it would allow for some real high-stakes dialogue between Percy and Anders, no doubt rife with cool Taliesin one-liners and important exposition. It did seem like Matthew had some speech prepared regarding the Undying King that became fairly rushed when it had to be delivered as Ander's last words. Plus, this scenario would allow Percy and Cassandra to speak with each other for the first time in years, in the middle of a life and death scenario. So much dramatic potential! If I were DM'ing it I might even let it be known that the dagger is coated with incurable poison or something, to make the stakes of this showdown even higher and show that a simple cure wounds is not gonna be enough to fix things.)

kursiv Anyway, this whole time, as the tension is brewing, Percy has one action readied. The last hope of saving his sister. A single, perfect shot that knocks the knife out of Anders' hand. One roll that determines the fate of everything he's been trying to save. kursiv


Just an idea for what could have been a cool showdown before the actual battle with Anders and his minions would begin. In no way disapproving of the actual series of events though.

What do you think? Are there any other moments in the show where you were curious to see what would have happened had the players gone another course?

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