New alignment: "Wholesome Evil"

I love how they killed all of the big good guys right away, so a random halfling and a suicidal orc had to become the antagonists.

Erika's passion over her imaginary spider-children makes my heart jump

Lilith: How old is J'er'em'ih? Sokhbarr: He's like, as old as time, or something. Lilith (as old as time): They're so precious at that age!

"Let Olag live" probably Markus' most evil moment in the entire campaign

Watching Brennan's brain go through so many hard-resets during this miniseries has been an absolute delight

This whole campaign takes place in the span of 24 hours, maybe even less than that. Leiland really just spedran the 5 stages of grief.

The fact that Leiland does so much better in this combat than in any other before plays so well into the narrative of him finally finding his real purpose in his unlife.

Hoping for a "Escape From the Bloodkeep - The hunt for Hamhead"

Boatman: You guys aren't even evil! The Crew: Let's force Olag to live forever!

Rekha impulsively agreeing to being pregnant at that first episode and suddenly getting into labor in midair really fucking saved this team god dammit HAHAHA

Me, every time Leiland almost dies: “Sir? Sir...Brennan, that is my emotional support wraith! Please don’t kill my emotional support wraith! I need him!”

Remember kids, if you can't work around an important npc, take their job

Love how Sokbar is the basically the guardian of unwanted critters and that makes him "evil" by the world's definition.

I love to think that Olag was never intended to have this pivotal a role in the story, but he slowly grew in plot significance until the point that Brennan was like: "It is time."

"We're evil, but we understand communication and consent."

Based on what the gang told the Elder Evils, Evil means: * Being gross and weird * Looking scary * Doing whatever you want * Friendship, but like bad and awful

*An enemy is killed* Brennan: IN credible

I love how Erika RP'd Lillith so much. Just the implications where she seems to know so many of her children and their interests off the bat ("She's a design major!") is so heartwarming. She's a good mom, even if she wasn't very sympathetic when a few of the smaller ones died.

"I'm gonna need you to roll a full fcking sneak attack damage against yourself," is like, such an amazing thing to hear coming out of a DM's mouth.

Watching Matt get his ass kicked this whole side quest must be super cathartic for the critical role players.

After Sokhbar got a blessing, i realize they could have chosen jeramiee as the avatar of evil. then the world would fear the new dark lord which just so happens to be THEE last scream beast and thus that fear would result in jeramiee birthing hordes of scream beasts.

Matt pulled a pro-gamer move here: when your dice are rolling crap, start using abilities that force your opponent to roll saves instead.

Lmfao when Amy decided to "become the boatman", and Brennan's brain just broke for a second as he went, "Wait, what? That's... I wasn't expecting... is that... can she *do* that?! I mean... is there a reason she couldn't? DOES THAT WORK?!" and the only word that came out of his mouth was, "...stories..." 😂

This entire sidequest spans the course of exactly one day. There are three different entirely separate birthing events, five if you count Lilith and the Lavamog

"You wanted us to play evil characters, we're actually playing evil players!" Heavy mood right there XD

Underrated moment: when Erika hands Matt All the d10s and everyone just goes "ah, Vampire."

Can we talk about how dope Ify is as a Role player and listener

This whole series is basically The Addams Family but make it Lord of the Rings and I LOVE IT

Brennan really puts himself into the game. I'd like to see him at Matt's table someday. He'd fit in pretty well as a guest appearance with the M9 or even just a random one-shot.

The boatman vs Efink had me dying. "Im like a set piece, NOT LIKE A GUY!!"

How the hell do they manage to make 3 hours of 1 encounter the most interesting, creative, character-driven, dramatic, hilarious, and memorable story ever? I'm gonna miss this cast, they ought to do a reunion where they go over some epilogue stuff, Leiland Jr training under Lilith and Maggie to rule, Leiland killing Hamhead, Markus taking the throne, Sohkbar and the 13 scream beasts returning to the bog, Efink chilling with Olag, and Leiland and Markus meeting up

In this universe, the spider is the one that flinches in disgust from humanoids crawling on them.

I love how much the PCs love John Feathers. This random giant eagle who Brennan had no plans for and a PC did something insane and suddenly he's a major character. PCs *always* do that; latch onto the most random NPCs - ones you just had *nothing* for. I think it's because it's something that can *only* happen in D&D. It gives them such joy to go, "I can literally talk to anyone, and *I* can *choose* to *make* them important because they're important to me." That's so awesome. Also, it's so perfect for this evil campaign, highlighting how bullshit the eagles were in LotR. Here we get the inverse, and it shows how sucky Good is. Psh. Lame. Evil's got cookies. And *John Fucking Feathers!*

Such an adorable lord of the darkness, and already speaking in full sentences while ordering his minions around like a hour or 2 after his birth. His mother must be so proud.

Everything about Jason falling through the floor was amazing - the HORROR on Erika’s face, everyone covering their mouths, Efink’s “No...” in disbelief - Mr. Lee Mulligan you magnificent bastard.

Can we talk about the absolute wholesomeness of Lilith and Maggie. Maggie was like, “I don’t mind GIVING you my baby,” her literally newborn child. And why is she so completely comfortable “because you’re so good at being a mom.” Then the sticky spider silk baby wrap. My heart.

HEY, there might be some SPOILERS under the thing 1:15 Episode Starts 2:15 Recap Ends, door happens 2:35 Olag knows not to let Markus talk 3:20 Leland distracts 4:15 Markus hides 7:00 It takes a village 8:30 Safe rage 10:00 Making doors in trolls 11:10 Every goblin can be a bomb 13:30 Gaslighting Brennan 16:00 Old Pickering takes no for an answer 17:20 Tinnitus 19:15 Evil friendship 21:40 Mystery potion 24:30 Hork is born 26:55 J’er’em’ih attack 27:30 Evil parenting 31:40 Salty Old Pickering 33:15 Leland, King of Quips 33:55 Dangerous baby 37:55 Jason saves himself 41:35 Leland’s doing it 44:40 In the river 45:35 Worth it 46:40 Deathright 48:40 Hobart hates doors (door lore) 50:40 Get off my bottom 57:15 Sokhbarr’s baby 58:30 Hork’s brief life 1:00:45 Old Pickering goes out 1:02:40 Orcs look the same 1:04:05 J’er’em’ih stays put 1:04:25 Matt, just because J’er’em’ih is actually useful, doesn’t make him better than Trinket 1:05:40 Efink surprises Brennan 1:08:40 Efink is an awesome name 1:09:40 Boatman fight 1:11:30 Sokhbarr finds his god 1:16:10 J’er’em’ih attack 1:17:45 Lilith has fans 1:18:45 In a bag 1:27:10 Relentless hex 1:28:50 Evil players 1:32:30 Markus unmasked 1:36:35 Olag should stop 1:38:10 Mind door 1:40:30 Jessa knits a death sweater 1:48:50 Everybody rage 1:53:05 J’er’em’ih attacks 1:59:00 You hate to see it 2:03:35 Scary baby 2:04:30 Leland looks cool now 2:08:45 Confusing architecture 2:10:45 Leland fingers Toby 2:13:45 Leland is immediately out 2:14:30 Markus takes death from Olag 2:16:20 Markus falls 2:17:15 Meta mummies 2:18:30 Evil god of networking 2:20:50 Sacrifice teleport 2:22:35 Markus lies? 2:24:20 A summary of Leland’s last 20 seconds 2:29:20 Who’s baby? 2:32:07 Miming holding a baby is surprisingly difficult 2:35:25 Goblin Island 2:37:15 Markus is cool 2:38:35 Leland crits for the first time 2:43:05 The new lord 2:44:25 Never any floor 2:45:40 Evil bartender 2:47:15 John’s got a business proposition 2:49:15 Spider turnout is very high 2:50:45 Jason grows up 2:52:35 J’er’em’ih gives birth 2:55:20 Tantrum 2:56:30 The final command 2:57:20 Episode Ends Any moments I missed? Feel free to post them here. Is it Thursday yet?

Leiland and Maggie consistently being attracted to the same people and becoming besties is so special to me

I love how the absolute majority of NPCs’ deaths is just caused by falling to their deaths, either by burning in lava, plummeting from the skies or just falling into nothingness for the rest of eternity

When he fake outs Jason falling into the pit, he has all six of them literally hanging on his words like a cliff edge, so entertaining to watch Matt's reaction

That's a smooth save there Matthew. "J'er'em'ih is my favorite companion pet that's ever existed." moment to realize what he said "Except for Trinket." Yeah, that's right. Laura is terrifying and she isn't even there. Still, I agree J and Trinket are the best ranger companions ever.

Brennan unabashedly eating during this entire campaign. Absolute king

1:16:15 Matt: _furiously taking notes on just how many eyes he can stuff onto one character_ 👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️👁️

Christ Markus is peak human RP at its finest, Mans has nothing but grit and tools and he is making the craziest plays no contest, plus he sound like a drunk uncle, def my favorite character in the campaign lol

It truly takes a village to raise an evil overlord

Markus committing seppuku to save his life was one of the best things I've ever seen in D20. Right next to the end of Season One of Fantasy High.

I have rewatched Brennan’s face at “I must become the necro boatman” about 400 times 1:05:49

Obviously, Brennan is my DM inspiration, but can we just pause in awe at this terrain set piece!!!! The production team for D20 is PHENOMENAL!!!

Started watching because I saw Mercer in the thumbnail of episode 1 and now I'm subscribed and binged all of fantasy high. For once the recommended section paid off! Love Dimension 20!

Also, I love how they took down the walls of the setpiece immediately. Walls are a terrible idea at the gaming table in my experience.

"I was born from the loins of Light But sworned fealty to The Darkness As I have experinced both, allow me to be your new champion" - Efink Murderdeath, Oracle of Shadows

This is gonna be SO goo- Evil, I mean evil.

I LOVE that Matt jumped into GM mode when Marcus told Leiland to let Olag live and told him to make a persuasion check.

Brennan did an absolutely amazing job bringing this story to a satisfying close despite all the twists and turns that kept getting added into the story, I loved every second of it! Everyone played their characters sooo well and after all those shenanigans, it's a miracle none of the PCs died! I'm so happy cause there were some really close calls, I was on the edge of my seat! Hilarious, crazy, wholesome and evil! I wish there was more to see, but alas here is the end. Thank you for uploading this wild ride to UKposts for everyone to enjoy! I will definitely be back to rewatch this in future, but for now, onto the Reunion with the Cast!

"Hide no longer behind a helmet, have the world behold the face of my right hand." - Leiland Junior These words are so badass that even though a couple hours year old is saying them, they are so badass.

Never thought I'd see the most wholesome evil campaign to have ever been played. Well done.

That Teleport so clutch.

Me: spends three years making a campaign that was supposed to account for all contingency’s My friends: *offsets the entire campaign in three turns till its unrecognizable*

YOU MADE THE DOOR HAPPEN! is undoubtedly my favorite quote

I love how they had to keep saying that they were evil

I just love how the penultimate action that ends this epic campaign is Leland getting to be briefly badass with a perfect critical hit, followed by two Nat 1’s. In my mind I picture the projectile blood sprays right into his eyes, briefly blinding him, So his attempted second strike after that finishing blow is just him blindly clumsily flailing his blade in the air, Not noticing his enemy has already fallen.

The second Matt said Jeremy was his favorite companion I just went “welp someone gonna get attacked by the bear fans”

"Hell Yeah" count: 523

Leiland was by far my most favorite character in this series. His rivalry with Hamhead was beyond amusing and the way he played the part had me laughing at every interaction. Special shoutout to Sokhbar tho. He was another very fun character, and him remembering the "eating the stars" story from the first episode of the series made me laugh so hard. I would have never remembered that. Also, Lilith was very creative in the way she approached her combat. Such a better way to play the game than just "I step forward and attack" every turn of every fight.

I want more! I WANT MOOOOORE!!!! We need a sequel where we follow Leiland hunt Hamhead, and Marcus take his kingdom. It would be GLORIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love how this series begin as an Adult swim's parody style of Lord of the Ring and ended more like Noelle Stevenson She-Ra with a lots of ships, realisations of bad past relationships and friendships arcs.

1:05:09 The way Amy breaks Brennan here is insane. I love how one idea from a player can completely change the direction of everything a DM has in mind.

Man, I love Dimension 20 and their normal cast party, but GOSH DARNIT I NEED MORE OF THE BLOODKEEP. Markus was wicked, Leiland was adorable, Maggie was a powerhouse, Lilith is the best mom, Efink is a true prophet, and Sokhbarr and Jeremih are the beast kings

Efink choosing to kill and replace the Necro-Boatman might be my favorite PC power move in D20 history. It comes out of *absolute nowhere* but makes total sense for the character once it's out there, the narrative logic is exquisite, and Brennan could only ever have seen that coming if the exact same idea had independently occurred to him while he was planning the encounter -- it doesn't hinge on any specific spell or ability he could possibly have been able to account for. (I do love and cherish every single instance of players wrecking his shit through brilliantly applied rules lawyering, but managing to out-plot-twist the plot twister on a pure conceptual level? God tier.)

J'er'em'ih is better than Trinket, FIGHT ME

Boatman: hold on... why do *I* hear boss music?

When you realize that Old Pickering and Chungledown Bim are just the same guy in alternate universes

I like to think that Brennan can actually cast thaumaturgy and he makes the sound effects, they are not actually added in post (post production folks, I know it's actually you - you are doing an incredible job and bringing this stuff to life!).

And so, "Falling Off of Things: the campaign" comes to an end.

I'm with Matt: J'er'em'ih is the best companion there has ever been. Consistently, utterly horrifying, yet such a sweetheart at the same time. Hope he'll be *trilling* forever!

i’ve never been so emotional over a radiant? depressed man, a wet then not wet then wet again elf, a… bird? and his keeper, a great mom spider, and a rouge with family issues

I can never get over how these villain friends are constantly re-finding out that the real treasure was the friendship they made along the way 🤣

I might be wrong, but I think Marcus was trying to force Olag to be the new boatkeeper, so that Efink would be free. He said he wanted olag and his friend to switch places

Even as a CRC1 fan- Man, Trinket was almost entirely useless. I understand the point of Vex just having him as a pet and RPing it as it is my companion, my child. But at least Jeremiah here is pulling his weight. Also, Matt looking directly at the camera for "Trying to avoid hate messages"? Felt that

“There just goblins” *Riz has left the chat*

I love how Brennan's voice for Lelend Jr. is just The Godfather

I really enjoyed this series for a lot of reasons: 1) watching Matt step into a player role to Brennan's DM was amazing, 2) watching Matt and Brennan help Rekha learn how to play was very rewarding, 3) Ify and his pirating ass was about the most Ify thing I've seen in years, 4) John "Zoot Suit and Shades" Feathers...hell yeah!, 5) Erika Iishi just totally s rewing Brennan's final boss fight upside down was amazing and 6) those rolls when they mattered most!!!!

real Evil was the friends you made along the way

You know what’s great about this battle? The players played really smart. They’re really good.

Leiland is just so extra when he goes all wraith and I LOVE IT!

I find these really good. I really love the “friendly” evil you made.

knowing the story of Lilith and the fairytails about her and hearing "here, lilith take my baby. i trust you" makes me giggle

16:00 "We are evil but understand communication and content" One of my favourite parts of the whole series!

John and markus were so great. The inventive ways Ify used fog of war was so cool. Leiland just couldn't catch a break at all, matt did a really good job role playing a consumate loser that could come in clutch when needed. Even though Efink's motives were dubious at best, the "become boatman" moment was just brilliant. I have never wanted a halfling to die more then gelfast. I would kill to see two more campaigns spawn out of this "The hunt for Gelfast" and "Pirate shenangians feat. John Feathers as a PC."

Matt Mercer is a really good roleplayer, I wish there was a place where I could get so much more of him.

2:48:50 Is it me or does anyone else want to see John and Marcus have their own campaign

Matt looking at the camera with a look of fear saying 'except for Trinket' is low key hilarious though very understandable. (And to be fair he made up a magic item to keep that bear alive)

“Get off of my bottom of the blood keep”

When Efink's player laughs out of character, it still sounds like she's laughing in character and I love it

The one dislike is the old boatman

DOOR LORE! DOOR LORE! DOOR LORE!

I love that Liliths response to the earth literally opening up to consume the entire party like a light brunch is to just keep saying COOL over and over again in a deeply panicky voice 🤣

The most powerful and “evil” beings in all the realms have to openly proclaim aloud that they are indeed genuinely evil...deep down inside, they fear they’re actually good...because their love and friendship for each other transcends alignment. They are in truth Chaotic Neutral - because when you question whose side they’re on, the answer is simple: Their Own.

1:05:49 That...that ladies and gentleman is the face of what it truly means to grasp the horror of becoming the dm.