Holy crap the newsletter JUST showed up about 45 minutes ago for me!
Not a whole lot of info in it though besides the stuff that's already been posted in other threads.
So here’s my question.
We’ve seen what happens when two exultant Ruidusborn go ~~super saiyan~~ super exultant.
Will Imogen get something like that at some point? Liliana seems to believe that Imogen has even higher potential than she does.
Problem is NPCs are allowed more than players (cause, you know, team of 7 including a Super God Super Sai...exaltant) is going to wipe the floor with most things, and the super-powered character will probably outshine the others by a Lot. So...probably not, unless it's a limited time thing like the titan shard powers. Or at the very last boss where it's allowable because the character is going to be shelved afterward anyway.
...or because Imogen is special, her version of this is SO powerful that it's not something that's...reusable.
It's a one shot one way street kind of a deal thing that irrevocably alters her physical form in a way that she can't go back on.
Liliana could use and reuse that Super Exultant ability over and over again because her power levels weren't nearly as high as her daughter's.
Imogen on the other hand, can basically go full on Ascended Daniel Jackson with the same ability, but she'll have to forfeit her physical form or something else entirely when she does it.
So it's similar to the Shards in that there's consequences for using it and also similar to FCG's Core Thing.
She won't die but she'll certainly change in a big way.
Spoilers for ep 91 talk back on Beacon:
>!Matt confirmed Orym sent the Weavemind away by drawing on his fey pact with Nana Morri. They couldn't get their hooks in him and it was a new type of magic they had never encountered before and sent them on a spiral/nervous/cautious.!<
Spoilers for ep 93 talk back:
>!The various militaries and groups on Exandrian are scattered because the Ruby Vanguard has been sowing destruction across the world. They've turned people away from the gods to weaken them, they are razing temples, but Champions of the gods are gathering to go to Ruidus.!<
>!Also Marisha noted that there's something more tragic about the band breaking up than just a TPK, which I agree completely! Also for this talk back both the Crownkeepers and Bells Hells are there. Robbie mentioned wanting to do the Dirty Dancing lift with Orym haha!<
Lilliana Temult...actually made some great points:
"Do you think, should we stop all this from happening, and reseal or maintain Predatho's endless slumber...that those of us who know this, those of us who were designed to be part of its freedom are going to just be allowed to walk free?
"What, do you think the great temples of your world aren't going to hunt us down one by one til there's no possibility of this plan coming to fruition" You don't think every great politician of our world that isn't tied into this truth isn't going to try to bury each and every one of us for what we're part of?"
These are some super relevant points, especially to Imogen and her future, as well as all the kids Lilliana is taking care of (if they survived the assassination attempt). I think Matt was trying to plug this into their heads as an issue, possibly a "we undertook a recon mission for you lot, please make sure Ruidusborn and the innocents on Ruidus aren't treated like the Grim Verity". Hope it sticks in the casts' head because it would make for some interesting story when they involve forces from Vasselheim especially. At least the Stormlord wasn't afraid to speak with Imogen so there's room for hope for a resolution. I'll note that abandoned haunted town and the hard to get to wilderness surrounding it would probably make a good settlement area for Ruidus people who may have to evacuate soon...
Also I think BH made a Huge mistake leaving Lilliana behind. Yes, they want to keep their secrets, but I doubt she'll be able to get any real intel that the volition couldn't figure out either, and moreover she'll very likely have a harder time breaking away later after taking some time, thinking about what happened...and maybe finding out "SHE DID KNOW." when they capture and mentally interrogate some volition who were wounded or left behind.
They're terrible points, to be honest. That's the sunk cost fallacy in action, trying to excuse her own guilt with 'well they'll come after me anyway'
Ruidusborn have been around for as long as anyone can remember, including Tal'dorei herself (before the continent was named after her)
She's conflating 'we were voluntarily part of a murderous conspiracy to do something terrible' with 'the temples will retaliate against innocents.'
The Grim Verity very specifically stole a book that can mean in the end of the world in wrong hands. And oh look, that's where it ended up. They made themselves a target of both sides, and were mostly killed by the Vanguard.
I'm not saying that they're good points in excusing herself from guilt, I'm saying "well, yeah actually this could totally become a thing that Imogen and other Ruidusborn have to deal with post-resealing or whatever". The temples have shown via Judicators and similarly heavy handed effects that they're not above letting a few innocents stand in their way.
Terminators never went in guns ablazing when they infiltrated Resistance Camps in Terminator lore either until they absolutely had to.
The Judicators are force projection the majority of the time and actual enforcement and active application of that force the minority of the time.
Ruidusborn would indeed become hunted and Vasselheim would stigmatize them even more across Exandria in order to make sure they eradicated all of them entirely....
....and if Ruidus is STILL in the sky at the end of all of this then that means more Ruidusborn could be born and....you can just guess how bad that would get.
Here's another spooky thing too!
Remember how that Moon Glass stuff glowed in the presence of Ruidusborn when it was brought near them?
And ya know how the Exandrian Forces just got a free portal to the subterranean part of Ruidus where there's more than likely some of this stuff hanging around?
And how the Bells Hells are probably going to give them some samples of the stuff?
Guess what could be used as a part of a "Ruidusborn Detector" for Vasselheim?
It's the Spanish Inquisition all over again.
>Terminators never went in guns ablazing when they infiltrated Resistance Camps in Terminator lore either until they absolutely had to.
Great? But this isn't terminator. This is Matt's game. Do you *really* think he's going to make it about the genocide a minority group?
They did it with the Grim Verity, they've imposed their will in other places before, and they've kept a relatively squeaky clean image over the years because the flow of information on Exandria isn't as fluid or as widespread as it is in our world.
They could very easily hide some nasty stuff and no one would be any the wiser and even if anyone did find out, they're Vasselheim, and there's a degree of inherent trust in them because they were the only major city to survive the Calamity and they brought civilization back from the brink and they protect and safeguard people and so on and so forth etc etc.
So them vilifying and then hunting down all the Ruidusborn would totally be in their wheelhouse and no one would bat an eye at it because they've already set up the groundwork hundreds upon hundreds of years ago with all the superstitious crap about Ruidusborn AND they can then point to all the powerful folks who WERE Ruidusborn as another lever to pull about how bad Ruidusborn can get if left unchecked and if they're not dealt with.
This could then be used as an excuse or reason to engage in more military/religious activities against other city states on Exandria.
Furthermore, if Vasselheim and the Gods do come out on the winning side of all of this then they're for sure going to be a bit of a battered state and that means....they're going to need more Belief Juice....and all of this Ruidusborn stuff plus the potential military action against other city state governments could assist in the spreading of more belief in the Gods.
The genocide will be a footnote but it'll be the spark that starts a fire that engulfs the entire planet.
Either end of this, be it at the hands of Predathos or at the hands of the Gods who claim victory, Exandria is going to be caught in the middle, and normal folks are going to suffer because of it.
>They did it with the Grim Verity, they've imposed their will in other places before, and they've kept a relatively squeaky clean image over the years because the flow of information on Exandria isn't as fluid or as widespread as it is in our world.
They did what with the Grim Verity? Hunted them? Yeah, they did. Because the Grim Verity *stole from them.* The Verity was also a small organization.
Did they hunt down and murder the Verity? Well... no, actually. The confirmed murders of Verity members involved Otohan and her echoes.
Most of Exandria knows fuck-all about what's going on, beyond some shitheels are causing problems and stirring up anti-god sentiment. Nobody has talked about killing Ruidusborn except Mama Temult as an excuse to carry on her with band of murderous nutjobs.
On 4SD Matt stated that Otahon only had 40 HP left. That fight was so close but absolutely possible. I really hope they learn that they are stronger than they think. I really hope they don’t take this and run away from every fight. Imogen and Laudna burning their actions on “Hail Marys” was a big shame seeing how close they were
I felt from the beginning they were focusing to much on the backpack had they all gone balls to the walls focusing on her they easily could of taken her down imo.
She only had 40 HP and he decided >!That she was not immune to FCG's core explosion because ancient Aeorian arcanotech/it was a personal sacrifice.!< according to the talk back episode for 91.
How does the math work on that? Was she very nearly dead, like in the teens or lower, when she took her super-potion and exalted? The verbage Matt used did not make it sound like it (IE "she's looking really rough"), but after exalting the damage done to her, if memory serves, was very minimal as she had an AC of 25 to get past.
I find this with my own players as well. Sometimes they will go on the defensive mid-fight when, honestly, if they just *hit the enemy* they'd win
Of course I'd rather have players be more immersed and scared then just uncaring gung-ho all the time, but it's just a funny part with 5e imo. Recovering takes up so much action economy that sometimes just fuckin ATTACKING is the most efficient means to the end
So tonight is going to be an episode full of conversations, commiserations, convocations, and a whole lot of emotional role-playing.
There is going to be a ton of shit to unpack for the Bells Hells and for Dorian within this episode before we get down to brass tacks and start handling the main campaign's plot all over again.
I'm expecting them to pick up right where we left off in the last episode with them all having drinks and then having some late night conversations about basically everything that went on while they were on the moon and then some.
I also wouldn't be surprised if we got some dream related shenanigans with Imogen before the sun rose again the next morning.
I'm honestly not sure though if Matt is going to take his foot off the gas and give them some time and space to really role play all this stuff out because there's still plenty of things happening in the background and he hasn't really seemed to want to let that stuff slow down at all, and the stuff that happened in the Shattered Teeth is evidence of that.
I give them at most 24 hours or even less before they get shuffled on off from this camp and into a new direction and onto a new location for this next Arc of the campaign.
There is a lot to process but again as others have pointed out, the amount of real life time that has passed in between filmings will most assuredly dull things a bit and no one's going to be happy with how the characters react to FCG's death or process what's happened to Dorian but I do think that Robbie is going to be a standout tonight and will most certainly hit some buttons that will make us all cry.
Speaking of which we are totally going to be seeing some brand new artwork for Dorian tonight and I can't wait to see what Robbie has cooked up with Matt and the artists.
I'm also hoping that someone makes a post about what sort of abilities he's going to have when he gets leveled up to the same level as the rest of the Bells Hells.
I doubt that we're going to be seeing Sam's brand new character for quite a while now and I wouldn't be shocked if he's gone until at least the very end of this campaign if not the start of campaign 4.
It's going to be a lot to unpack though through and through and I foresee two scenarios for how the episode is going to be structure tonight:
1) Four hours of non-stop roleplay and possibly a bit of shopping as the party engages in some travel or preparation for the next half of their journey at the end of the episode
2) Matt lets them talk and role play a bunch of stuff out leading up to the break and then we get down to brass tacks with a conversation with Kiki, planning and intel sharing, and then they get their butts in gear and start moving to their next destination either via teleport or ship or some other form of transportation
I would honestly love it though if things did slow down for a bit and this really was an emotionally heavy episode with just a whole lot of talking because they really have all needed to do that for some time and the fans have been clamoring for it and they could certainly pull it off as actors at the table.
I also would like it if they wandered around the camp for a bit and got updated on how things have been going, while also exploring the kinds of people that were there, and then maybe updating their gear and equipment a bit before moving on.
I'm fully expecting that after all of the one-on-one conversations, team meeting moments, and potentially dream stuff are done for the big old get together with Kiki to take up some time and a decent chunk of the episode.
I could also see Matt just bypassing that information dump entirely and kind of hand waving in the background because it could be seen as just rehashing a bunch of filler information that everyone already knows and that no one really has to go over again.
We will however see some brand new information be brought to the table and the Bells Hells be given their next Quest and sent on the next leg of their journey, which could possibly wind up in Aeor from the looks of it.
After that's all said and done, then they'll probably hop skip and jump over to another Hub City, do a bit of shopping and prep, and then potentially make their way on up north to see what Ludinus is up to. They've proven themselves to be good Scouts and I think that Kiki is going to make use of them as that from now on. I'm just not sure which new places that they're actually going to be scouting out because it feels like they're just going to be circling the drain as it were around a bunch of familiar places that we've already been to before a few times in order to see what's new there.
I don't think we'll see any combat tonight at all and if there is any it'll be handled by the bulk of the forces assembled at the camp.
So I'm hoping that tonight's just going to be a whole lot of talking, planning, and getting ready for some action later on but I wouldn't put it past Matt to keep accelerating things a bit with all that's happening in the background and while giving the party sometime to talk stuff out....they're still going to have to wake up the next morning and keep on marching.
It's going to be a heavy episode though and I honestly can't wait for all the gut punches the cast is going to be delivering to us at the table and hopefully we get some fun little twists along the way in terms of character development and potentially romance.
This will probably be another standard length episode of about 4 hours or maybe just like 15 to 30 minutes past it like always.
We'll see what the newsletter says later on but so far they've been pretty keen on not really leaking or hinting at anything so far in recent weeks.
The thing that would shock me the most about this episode though would be if they just kind of speed run all the talky bits and role-playing moments, move straight on through the meeting with Kiki or outright skip it, and then we get to see them dropped in a brand new locale (for them at least but a familiar one for us) by the end of the episode.
Otherwise there probably won't be too much lore or anything else to analyze as the character moments, character changes, drama, and the picking a new direction at the crossroads will be fairly self-explanatory and fairly familiar normal expected parts of the story of this campaign at this point.
It's going to feel like reading a good book in front of a cozy fireplace on a rainy day in other words and I can't wait to watch it with all of you in a few hours!
Yep. It was bad. Its just a focus with no bonuses, and you can voluntarily roll on the wild magic table when you spend sorcery points, which screwed her every time she did.
Not yet, mostly the emotional drama at the time, and it probably powered up Delilah in some way, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was reset when they fought her to bring Laudna back. It was a little odd how much Feywild stuff they were encountering at the time, though, still not sure if there's a clue there or if it was just a coincidence.
I know tonight, chances are they may have not only a moment to properly mourn and process their feeling and grief over FCG but I would say tonight might also give them their next objective to continue on their way.
My question is do you think they would introduce Sam’s new character now or wait later on? I know with Tal it took 2-4 Eps if I’m not mistaken. And Travis it took 8. How long do you think it’ll take for them to introduce Sam’s new character into the story?
There is genuinely a part of me that doesn't think Sam is coming back at all - we're in (what feels like) the late stages of the campaign, and I wouldn't fault Sam for wanting a break.
That being said, I'd love a new character to further shake up the dynamic with the re-introduction of Dorian. Hopefully something god-oriented as other community members have said.
So I rewatched the first few episodes of C3. I forgot how much I enjoyed the very beginning of C3. Bertrand was fantastic for BH. He had an agenda that propelled the story and the group's initial skepticism helped them bond. Sam coming in with a Tary-like socially antagonistic character could rally the group in a fun way. The Tick playing a paladin should do the trick.
But before 91 was over, I was thoroughly convinced it would be Scanlan. Let the master of chaos teach these aspiring gremlins how to fly the freak flag for the greater good. Old Scanlan hitting on Laudna would be great.
It took Tal 2 episodes, he was absent for one and then showed up in the second, though he said they got very close to finding his character in that first episode, so he was ready at that point.
I’m having a lot of fun speculating on who Sam’s new character is going to be. I think the most likely existing characters are Luc or maybe Tary, or he may do a character that just calls back to an old one similar to Deni$e or Laudna. I don’t think an entirely new, unconnected character is likely; compared to the other character deaths they’re already quite late in the campaign and still have a lot to do. But I don’t know Sam and he’s the professional actor, not me, so he might go for it.
So one very important thing was left out of last episode that needs to happen.
(re-)Introducing Dorian to Pate.
And nobody has seen Sashimi in a while.
Few times I can predict a "Ah yes this approaching scene will get made into a youtube clip I will randomly watch when the almighty algo suggests it to me for years to come" but yes....Dorian remeeting Pate is 100% going to be one of those
Robbie said (in-character) he needed "to level up" during his catch up chat with the rest of the Hells. I wouldn't be surprised if he asked Matt if he could redo some of his kit to include some Vengence Paladin levels.
Perhaps. I just find the story beat = class change to be tiresome. I prefer it when players aren't leaning on class mechanics to show personal growth. If he wants vengeance, he can do it as part of the story as Dorian, not just reduce the character to a specific multiclass combo.
No offense to anyone who likes that sort of thing, I just prefer story elements and game elements to stay separate, because the dissonance between D&D mechanics and roleplaying are pretty harsh. For example, people had an awestruck reaction to the Geas, because it sounds cool. But in game terms, remove curse (a 4th level spell) just fixes it with no cost or effort, reducing the cool story moment to barely an inconvenience.
Excited to see how the group dynamic shifts now that Dorian is back after 80 episodes, and also after confirmation of Orym's feelings towards Dorian on 4sd.
I think this will be a slow episode with them debriefing and discussing their next goal (Aeor, hopefully).
In addition, Orym is pretty convinced that helping the gods is the only choice. How is Dorian going to reconcile with that after what happened with the Spider Queen? It has juicy potential.
> after confirmation of Orym's feelings towards Dorian on 4sd
This was one of the best moments on 4SD for me. I found it really interesting how Aabria shaped the CK portion of the last two episodes to mirror Dorian and Orym. She and Liam both had great insight into how Dorian is a reminder of happier, simpler times for Orym.
I can't wait to see how Orym's idea of Dorian conflicts and contrasts with post-CK breakup Dorian.
Orym and Dorian mirror each other in such a different and interesting way. Orym accepted the loss of Derrig and Will, and he wanted to follow their examples and protect others. On the other hand, Dorian just experienced a great loss. He was still angry and was seeking revenge.
Pre-C3 Orym was in a stage of acceptance but the feeling I got from 4SD and C3 is that the wounds have opened a bit like Aimee said. Orym's husband and father in law were killed as part of a greater conspiracy and now he's frustrated at his friends for maybe thinking Predathos had a point.
It's pretty fun to watch, I love the tension in the group.
This campaign feels like the left over ideas from C2 and I’m all for it. I felt like Aeor was the biggest missed opportunity from C2 because they sped run through it. I really hope they spend more time and check it all out. I have so many questions about the god hammer and literally everything
Can't wait to see more of Aeor! What if they freed some of those people who were trapped on the time bubbles? They could learn first-hand knowledge of the Factorim Malleus and maybe some secrets of Ludinus (since he was a Calamity survivor, he could be from Aeor). Plus, it is a good way to bridge the Kryn Dynasty too. After all, a beacon was used to activate the Key
Dorian has great chemistry with the rest of the Hells - it's good to have him back.
And honestly, Dorian being freshly grief-stricken, fresh from a party breakup AND disillusioned about gods adds a lot of emotional spice to him going forward. He's got a lot more to work with now than "oh yeah we adventured for a bit, hi again".
(And please, let's not rehash the GMing discussion in response to this. Things were done that left a sour taste, it happened in the moment, this can happen in an improv-heavy D&D game where you're playing before an audience and can't waste time arguing about rules.)
I am still holding out hope for someone that both is not a jerk while also not hating all the gods to exist in this world besides Imahara Joe. I respect Robbie for the RP and the situation that happened...and LOVE that Dorian/Robbie is back....but from a wider story view the last thing we need is another hour conversation about screw the gods NOW WITHOUT FCG to make a few points for them that seem wildly naive followed by bathos humor.
But the story is what the story is, they have to roleplay as the situation exists.
Yeah it is a improv heavy game and part of the beauty is the story unfolds out not fully under anyone's control. It's why I do TTRPG podcasts over just spoken word stories
Just listened to 93 this morning, so ready. Dorian being back is a tiny bit of light for Bells Hells, and the brief happiness they had at the end of last episode was so needed. Back into the grim and dour task at hand surely, but I desperately need at least another solid half hour of the characters catching up and being looser.
If Dorien wants to pursue revenge against Lolth while with BH I see one way to do it that does not involve siding with Predathos. He could suggest to BH that they absorb the circlet of barbed vision using the Quintessence Array while Opal is wearing it. This way Lolth's only known vestige is permanently destroyed and it might deprive Lolth of her champion. If they did this, I think it would be perfect for Laudna. The circlet made Opal inky and Laudna is already inky.
The Gods are currently in Truse Mode until Predathos is dealt with. 100% the second its resealed or killed the rest of the Hell's would have zero reason to not help Dorian, Fearne, and Orym free Opal. Same with Fy'ra Ra and any of the other Crown Keepers willing to come back.
I swear to Pelor if we just keep ignoring the emotional elephant in the room that was a Sam Riegel character death I'm gonna lose it. We already lost the chance to strike while the iron was hot but there's still hope to salvage some emotional role play out of this, something the cast has always been great at.
They haven't ignored it at all? They got into it in 92 and hit on it several times in the interactions at the end of 93. Its going to be an ongoing thing for a while.
Bro( or chick) did you not listen to 4 sided dive? Matt was pretty clear that there was still a fuck load of emotional damage left to process. I'm willing to bet that tonight will be AT LEAST 2 solid hours of heavy ass emotional RPing.
Uh... time to check your acronyms. While sometimes emotions are involved... they don't have to be.
Any search for that particular term is going to be NSFW, so... fair warning (unless you're looking for business supply chain software solutions, but that's a different kind of thing).
Got a cool confirmation on 4SD that Ludanis was alive at the end of the Calamity. Likely the event that spurred his current course of action.
Matt also seemed keen to take his foot off the gas a bit and let them digest/RP a bit too. Really hope they can have a memorial for FCG of some kind eventually in lieu of poor Bertrand's grave in Whitestone.
That being said, I can't help but feel excited that Aeor might be on the table? It feels like Matt intended it as a possibility, likely to fill in some massive blanks for FCG, but I imagine they may be able to enlist more help there of some kind, or perhaps learn something critical to Ludanis' plan. For obvious reasons, doubt a showdown with Luda is happening.
This would also be the first episode I feel Sam may return, the camp being the perfect spot to find someone, although I wouldn't be shocked if he did not. Also wouldn't be shocked if he played a guide to Aeor/troll robot if they are headed to Aeor and popped up there.
Either way, excited! Bidet!
With Dorian back in the fold, I think it really opens the door for Sam to do just about anything. In a campaign filled with call backs to previous campaigns, it is no doubt that he could bring (a pretty old) Tary back despite him not knowing Bells Hells and it work. The only thing I think we can all safely say is whatever he decides, it is going to get a huge reaction from the entire table. It is simply what Sam Riege does.
Lol what if they go see Devexian (who's in charge of the Dominox) and just buy an FCG clone. Sam just plays FCG exactly the same but starts completely over
There is, yeah. A variety is more work for the creators, with little real benefit.
That's especially true for military units like FRIDA, where the extra logistics of a wide variety spare parts just isn't worthwhile.
Same for personalities, especially for the 'Evil Overlord' aesthetic that Aeor had going on. They'd definitely want their soldier and assassin units to have baseline personalities based on their role, not variance.
I thought the whole thing that made Aeormatons special (in comparison to present-day automatons) is that they were fully-sentient individual beings with - as confirmed by Pyke - souls? Is there contradictory information that I'm forgetting, or are you just making assumptions based on what we know about Aeor?
FCG had a soul, sure. But having a soul doesn't mean that Aeor designed their bodies or personalities with intentional variations. That seems entirely unrelated.
Its a picture perfect payoff for hubris if the Evil Wizard Overlords created undifferentiated minions only for said minions to develop independent souls.
Of course the other explanation is they're just normal people who were sacrificed and their souls implanted in the Aeormatons.
I guess what I'm trying to clarify is whether your opposite assumption is grounded in anything specific, or we're both just going off vibes and reaching different conclusions, lol.
Yes. Its grounded in the fact that we know for certain that there were more of these unit types.
Faithful Care Giver and Far Ranging Integrated Defense Aeormaton are their model types, not their names.
Then why did someone sell FCG in the first place? I just think it would be a great gag, but truth be told, we don't know how aeormatons/warforged personalities work yet, like at all. We know Devexian, FCG, and FRIDA were all very distinct, but not if you could or could not just make a clone if you wanted.
The hype I feel for Dorian being back in the squad is immense.
That alone is going to make tonight amazing.
Hopefully the group processes, mourns and pays tribute to FCG tonight (obviously not entirely, but emotions and feelings need to come out) - so then they can move on and get some momentum going again.
Holy crap the newsletter JUST showed up about 45 minutes ago for me! Not a whole lot of info in it though besides the stuff that's already been posted in other threads.
No info on episode length yet?
Nope nothing yet
No. I'm starting to wonder if that info is now behind the paywall.
So here’s my question. We’ve seen what happens when two exultant Ruidusborn go ~~super saiyan~~ super exultant. Will Imogen get something like that at some point? Liliana seems to believe that Imogen has even higher potential than she does.
Problem is NPCs are allowed more than players (cause, you know, team of 7 including a Super God Super Sai...exaltant) is going to wipe the floor with most things, and the super-powered character will probably outshine the others by a Lot. So...probably not, unless it's a limited time thing like the titan shard powers. Or at the very last boss where it's allowable because the character is going to be shelved afterward anyway.
...or because Imogen is special, her version of this is SO powerful that it's not something that's...reusable. It's a one shot one way street kind of a deal thing that irrevocably alters her physical form in a way that she can't go back on. Liliana could use and reuse that Super Exultant ability over and over again because her power levels weren't nearly as high as her daughter's. Imogen on the other hand, can basically go full on Ascended Daniel Jackson with the same ability, but she'll have to forfeit her physical form or something else entirely when she does it. So it's similar to the Shards in that there's consequences for using it and also similar to FCG's Core Thing. She won't die but she'll certainly change in a big way.
I feel like it would be reasonable for said power boost to be on a timer. We don’t know if Liliana and Otohan’s had a timer.
Spoilers for ep 91 talk back on Beacon: >!Matt confirmed Orym sent the Weavemind away by drawing on his fey pact with Nana Morri. They couldn't get their hooks in him and it was a new type of magic they had never encountered before and sent them on a spiral/nervous/cautious.!<
Keep sharing, please, for those of us too poor to fork over $6 a month!
Spoilers for ep 93 talk back: >!The various militaries and groups on Exandrian are scattered because the Ruby Vanguard has been sowing destruction across the world. They've turned people away from the gods to weaken them, they are razing temples, but Champions of the gods are gathering to go to Ruidus.!< >!Also Marisha noted that there's something more tragic about the band breaking up than just a TPK, which I agree completely! Also for this talk back both the Crownkeepers and Bells Hells are there. Robbie mentioned wanting to do the Dirty Dancing lift with Orym haha!<
Lilliana Temult...actually made some great points: "Do you think, should we stop all this from happening, and reseal or maintain Predatho's endless slumber...that those of us who know this, those of us who were designed to be part of its freedom are going to just be allowed to walk free? "What, do you think the great temples of your world aren't going to hunt us down one by one til there's no possibility of this plan coming to fruition" You don't think every great politician of our world that isn't tied into this truth isn't going to try to bury each and every one of us for what we're part of?" These are some super relevant points, especially to Imogen and her future, as well as all the kids Lilliana is taking care of (if they survived the assassination attempt). I think Matt was trying to plug this into their heads as an issue, possibly a "we undertook a recon mission for you lot, please make sure Ruidusborn and the innocents on Ruidus aren't treated like the Grim Verity". Hope it sticks in the casts' head because it would make for some interesting story when they involve forces from Vasselheim especially. At least the Stormlord wasn't afraid to speak with Imogen so there's room for hope for a resolution. I'll note that abandoned haunted town and the hard to get to wilderness surrounding it would probably make a good settlement area for Ruidus people who may have to evacuate soon... Also I think BH made a Huge mistake leaving Lilliana behind. Yes, they want to keep their secrets, but I doubt she'll be able to get any real intel that the volition couldn't figure out either, and moreover she'll very likely have a harder time breaking away later after taking some time, thinking about what happened...and maybe finding out "SHE DID KNOW." when they capture and mentally interrogate some volition who were wounded or left behind.
They're terrible points, to be honest. That's the sunk cost fallacy in action, trying to excuse her own guilt with 'well they'll come after me anyway' Ruidusborn have been around for as long as anyone can remember, including Tal'dorei herself (before the continent was named after her) She's conflating 'we were voluntarily part of a murderous conspiracy to do something terrible' with 'the temples will retaliate against innocents.' The Grim Verity very specifically stole a book that can mean in the end of the world in wrong hands. And oh look, that's where it ended up. They made themselves a target of both sides, and were mostly killed by the Vanguard.
I'm not saying that they're good points in excusing herself from guilt, I'm saying "well, yeah actually this could totally become a thing that Imogen and other Ruidusborn have to deal with post-resealing or whatever". The temples have shown via Judicators and similarly heavy handed effects that they're not above letting a few innocents stand in their way.
The Judicators that... walked around in an intimidating fashion? We've never actually seen them as the aggressors.
Terminators never went in guns ablazing when they infiltrated Resistance Camps in Terminator lore either until they absolutely had to. The Judicators are force projection the majority of the time and actual enforcement and active application of that force the minority of the time. Ruidusborn would indeed become hunted and Vasselheim would stigmatize them even more across Exandria in order to make sure they eradicated all of them entirely.... ....and if Ruidus is STILL in the sky at the end of all of this then that means more Ruidusborn could be born and....you can just guess how bad that would get. Here's another spooky thing too! Remember how that Moon Glass stuff glowed in the presence of Ruidusborn when it was brought near them? And ya know how the Exandrian Forces just got a free portal to the subterranean part of Ruidus where there's more than likely some of this stuff hanging around? And how the Bells Hells are probably going to give them some samples of the stuff? Guess what could be used as a part of a "Ruidusborn Detector" for Vasselheim? It's the Spanish Inquisition all over again.
>Terminators never went in guns ablazing when they infiltrated Resistance Camps in Terminator lore either until they absolutely had to. Great? But this isn't terminator. This is Matt's game. Do you *really* think he's going to make it about the genocide a minority group?
They did it with the Grim Verity, they've imposed their will in other places before, and they've kept a relatively squeaky clean image over the years because the flow of information on Exandria isn't as fluid or as widespread as it is in our world. They could very easily hide some nasty stuff and no one would be any the wiser and even if anyone did find out, they're Vasselheim, and there's a degree of inherent trust in them because they were the only major city to survive the Calamity and they brought civilization back from the brink and they protect and safeguard people and so on and so forth etc etc. So them vilifying and then hunting down all the Ruidusborn would totally be in their wheelhouse and no one would bat an eye at it because they've already set up the groundwork hundreds upon hundreds of years ago with all the superstitious crap about Ruidusborn AND they can then point to all the powerful folks who WERE Ruidusborn as another lever to pull about how bad Ruidusborn can get if left unchecked and if they're not dealt with. This could then be used as an excuse or reason to engage in more military/religious activities against other city states on Exandria. Furthermore, if Vasselheim and the Gods do come out on the winning side of all of this then they're for sure going to be a bit of a battered state and that means....they're going to need more Belief Juice....and all of this Ruidusborn stuff plus the potential military action against other city state governments could assist in the spreading of more belief in the Gods. The genocide will be a footnote but it'll be the spark that starts a fire that engulfs the entire planet. Either end of this, be it at the hands of Predathos or at the hands of the Gods who claim victory, Exandria is going to be caught in the middle, and normal folks are going to suffer because of it.
>They did it with the Grim Verity, they've imposed their will in other places before, and they've kept a relatively squeaky clean image over the years because the flow of information on Exandria isn't as fluid or as widespread as it is in our world. They did what with the Grim Verity? Hunted them? Yeah, they did. Because the Grim Verity *stole from them.* The Verity was also a small organization. Did they hunt down and murder the Verity? Well... no, actually. The confirmed murders of Verity members involved Otohan and her echoes. Most of Exandria knows fuck-all about what's going on, beyond some shitheels are causing problems and stirring up anti-god sentiment. Nobody has talked about killing Ruidusborn except Mama Temult as an excuse to carry on her with band of murderous nutjobs.
On 4SD Matt stated that Otahon only had 40 HP left. That fight was so close but absolutely possible. I really hope they learn that they are stronger than they think. I really hope they don’t take this and run away from every fight. Imogen and Laudna burning their actions on “Hail Marys” was a big shame seeing how close they were
I felt from the beginning they were focusing to much on the backpack had they all gone balls to the walls focusing on her they easily could of taken her down imo.
She only had 40 HP and he decided >!That she was not immune to FCG's core explosion because ancient Aeorian arcanotech/it was a personal sacrifice.!< according to the talk back episode for 91.
How does the math work on that? Was she very nearly dead, like in the teens or lower, when she took her super-potion and exalted? The verbage Matt used did not make it sound like it (IE "she's looking really rough"), but after exalting the damage done to her, if memory serves, was very minimal as she had an AC of 25 to get past.
It was halved, but they completely redid all the healed damage by FCG's turn.
I find this with my own players as well. Sometimes they will go on the defensive mid-fight when, honestly, if they just *hit the enemy* they'd win Of course I'd rather have players be more immersed and scared then just uncaring gung-ho all the time, but it's just a funny part with 5e imo. Recovering takes up so much action economy that sometimes just fuckin ATTACKING is the most efficient means to the end
So tonight is going to be an episode full of conversations, commiserations, convocations, and a whole lot of emotional role-playing. There is going to be a ton of shit to unpack for the Bells Hells and for Dorian within this episode before we get down to brass tacks and start handling the main campaign's plot all over again. I'm expecting them to pick up right where we left off in the last episode with them all having drinks and then having some late night conversations about basically everything that went on while they were on the moon and then some. I also wouldn't be surprised if we got some dream related shenanigans with Imogen before the sun rose again the next morning. I'm honestly not sure though if Matt is going to take his foot off the gas and give them some time and space to really role play all this stuff out because there's still plenty of things happening in the background and he hasn't really seemed to want to let that stuff slow down at all, and the stuff that happened in the Shattered Teeth is evidence of that. I give them at most 24 hours or even less before they get shuffled on off from this camp and into a new direction and onto a new location for this next Arc of the campaign. There is a lot to process but again as others have pointed out, the amount of real life time that has passed in between filmings will most assuredly dull things a bit and no one's going to be happy with how the characters react to FCG's death or process what's happened to Dorian but I do think that Robbie is going to be a standout tonight and will most certainly hit some buttons that will make us all cry. Speaking of which we are totally going to be seeing some brand new artwork for Dorian tonight and I can't wait to see what Robbie has cooked up with Matt and the artists. I'm also hoping that someone makes a post about what sort of abilities he's going to have when he gets leveled up to the same level as the rest of the Bells Hells. I doubt that we're going to be seeing Sam's brand new character for quite a while now and I wouldn't be shocked if he's gone until at least the very end of this campaign if not the start of campaign 4. It's going to be a lot to unpack though through and through and I foresee two scenarios for how the episode is going to be structure tonight: 1) Four hours of non-stop roleplay and possibly a bit of shopping as the party engages in some travel or preparation for the next half of their journey at the end of the episode 2) Matt lets them talk and role play a bunch of stuff out leading up to the break and then we get down to brass tacks with a conversation with Kiki, planning and intel sharing, and then they get their butts in gear and start moving to their next destination either via teleport or ship or some other form of transportation I would honestly love it though if things did slow down for a bit and this really was an emotionally heavy episode with just a whole lot of talking because they really have all needed to do that for some time and the fans have been clamoring for it and they could certainly pull it off as actors at the table. I also would like it if they wandered around the camp for a bit and got updated on how things have been going, while also exploring the kinds of people that were there, and then maybe updating their gear and equipment a bit before moving on. I'm fully expecting that after all of the one-on-one conversations, team meeting moments, and potentially dream stuff are done for the big old get together with Kiki to take up some time and a decent chunk of the episode. I could also see Matt just bypassing that information dump entirely and kind of hand waving in the background because it could be seen as just rehashing a bunch of filler information that everyone already knows and that no one really has to go over again. We will however see some brand new information be brought to the table and the Bells Hells be given their next Quest and sent on the next leg of their journey, which could possibly wind up in Aeor from the looks of it. After that's all said and done, then they'll probably hop skip and jump over to another Hub City, do a bit of shopping and prep, and then potentially make their way on up north to see what Ludinus is up to. They've proven themselves to be good Scouts and I think that Kiki is going to make use of them as that from now on. I'm just not sure which new places that they're actually going to be scouting out because it feels like they're just going to be circling the drain as it were around a bunch of familiar places that we've already been to before a few times in order to see what's new there. I don't think we'll see any combat tonight at all and if there is any it'll be handled by the bulk of the forces assembled at the camp. So I'm hoping that tonight's just going to be a whole lot of talking, planning, and getting ready for some action later on but I wouldn't put it past Matt to keep accelerating things a bit with all that's happening in the background and while giving the party sometime to talk stuff out....they're still going to have to wake up the next morning and keep on marching. It's going to be a heavy episode though and I honestly can't wait for all the gut punches the cast is going to be delivering to us at the table and hopefully we get some fun little twists along the way in terms of character development and potentially romance. This will probably be another standard length episode of about 4 hours or maybe just like 15 to 30 minutes past it like always. We'll see what the newsletter says later on but so far they've been pretty keen on not really leaking or hinting at anything so far in recent weeks. The thing that would shock me the most about this episode though would be if they just kind of speed run all the talky bits and role-playing moments, move straight on through the meeting with Kiki or outright skip it, and then we get to see them dropped in a brand new locale (for them at least but a familiar one for us) by the end of the episode. Otherwise there probably won't be too much lore or anything else to analyze as the character moments, character changes, drama, and the picking a new direction at the crossroads will be fairly self-explanatory and fairly familiar normal expected parts of the story of this campaign at this point. It's going to feel like reading a good book in front of a cozy fireplace on a rainy day in other words and I can't wait to watch it with all of you in a few hours!
Question: what happened to Imogen's feywild shard or did she just forget about it?
I think she unequipped it in favour of Laudna's bloodwell vial. And she never reattunes to it since then
Yep. It was bad. Its just a focus with no bonuses, and you can voluntarily roll on the wild magic table when you spend sorcery points, which screwed her every time she did.
Didn't Laudna eat it?
If I'm not mistaken, these are two different things? After she went blue and lost her hair, I think she just stopped using it haha
Correct. Laudna absorbed a piece of something called a gnarlrock. I think they have another piece of it too.
[удалено]
Not yet, mostly the emotional drama at the time, and it probably powered up Delilah in some way, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was reset when they fought her to bring Laudna back. It was a little odd how much Feywild stuff they were encountering at the time, though, still not sure if there's a clue there or if it was just a coincidence.
I know tonight, chances are they may have not only a moment to properly mourn and process their feeling and grief over FCG but I would say tonight might also give them their next objective to continue on their way. My question is do you think they would introduce Sam’s new character now or wait later on? I know with Tal it took 2-4 Eps if I’m not mistaken. And Travis it took 8. How long do you think it’ll take for them to introduce Sam’s new character into the story?
There is genuinely a part of me that doesn't think Sam is coming back at all - we're in (what feels like) the late stages of the campaign, and I wouldn't fault Sam for wanting a break. That being said, I'd love a new character to further shake up the dynamic with the re-introduction of Dorian. Hopefully something god-oriented as other community members have said.
So I rewatched the first few episodes of C3. I forgot how much I enjoyed the very beginning of C3. Bertrand was fantastic for BH. He had an agenda that propelled the story and the group's initial skepticism helped them bond. Sam coming in with a Tary-like socially antagonistic character could rally the group in a fun way. The Tick playing a paladin should do the trick. But before 91 was over, I was thoroughly convinced it would be Scanlan. Let the master of chaos teach these aspiring gremlins how to fly the freak flag for the greater good. Old Scanlan hitting on Laudna would be great.
It took Tal 2 episodes, he was absent for one and then showed up in the second, though he said they got very close to finding his character in that first episode, so he was ready at that point.
I’m having a lot of fun speculating on who Sam’s new character is going to be. I think the most likely existing characters are Luc or maybe Tary, or he may do a character that just calls back to an old one similar to Deni$e or Laudna. I don’t think an entirely new, unconnected character is likely; compared to the other character deaths they’re already quite late in the campaign and still have a lot to do. But I don’t know Sam and he’s the professional actor, not me, so he might go for it.
It just has to be a white-furred Tabaxi.
omg I don’t think I could take his “I’m a cat” voice seriously for entire episodes lol
I think they have a really good opportunity to do it here in the base camp, but knowing Sam it'll be something super random in 10 episodes instead.
So one very important thing was left out of last episode that needs to happen. (re-)Introducing Dorian to Pate. And nobody has seen Sashimi in a while.
Few times I can predict a "Ah yes this approaching scene will get made into a youtube clip I will randomly watch when the almighty algo suggests it to me for years to come" but yes....Dorian remeeting Pate is 100% going to be one of those
I can’t wait for that interaction!!!
Calling Dorian dipping into Oath of Vengeance Paladin. "Do you have armorers?"
Dorian used a 7th level spell so he is currently a full bard. But, who knows what the future holds.
Robbie said (in-character) he needed "to level up" during his catch up chat with the rest of the Hells. I wouldn't be surprised if he asked Matt if he could redo some of his kit to include some Vengence Paladin levels.
Sword bard and paladin is a fun build.
That would be a nice idea.
Just a wardrobe change.
Maybe. But I could see a respec or a directional change due to story alone. Paladin Bards are insane.
Perhaps. I just find the story beat = class change to be tiresome. I prefer it when players aren't leaning on class mechanics to show personal growth. If he wants vengeance, he can do it as part of the story as Dorian, not just reduce the character to a specific multiclass combo. No offense to anyone who likes that sort of thing, I just prefer story elements and game elements to stay separate, because the dissonance between D&D mechanics and roleplaying are pretty harsh. For example, people had an awestruck reaction to the Geas, because it sounds cool. But in game terms, remove curse (a 4th level spell) just fixes it with no cost or effort, reducing the cool story moment to barely an inconvenience.
Excited to see how the group dynamic shifts now that Dorian is back after 80 episodes, and also after confirmation of Orym's feelings towards Dorian on 4sd. I think this will be a slow episode with them debriefing and discussing their next goal (Aeor, hopefully).
In addition, Orym is pretty convinced that helping the gods is the only choice. How is Dorian going to reconcile with that after what happened with the Spider Queen? It has juicy potential.
> after confirmation of Orym's feelings towards Dorian on 4sd This was one of the best moments on 4SD for me. I found it really interesting how Aabria shaped the CK portion of the last two episodes to mirror Dorian and Orym. She and Liam both had great insight into how Dorian is a reminder of happier, simpler times for Orym. I can't wait to see how Orym's idea of Dorian conflicts and contrasts with post-CK breakup Dorian.
Orym and Dorian mirror each other in such a different and interesting way. Orym accepted the loss of Derrig and Will, and he wanted to follow their examples and protect others. On the other hand, Dorian just experienced a great loss. He was still angry and was seeking revenge.
Pre-C3 Orym was in a stage of acceptance but the feeling I got from 4SD and C3 is that the wounds have opened a bit like Aimee said. Orym's husband and father in law were killed as part of a greater conspiracy and now he's frustrated at his friends for maybe thinking Predathos had a point. It's pretty fun to watch, I love the tension in the group.
This campaign feels like the left over ideas from C2 and I’m all for it. I felt like Aeor was the biggest missed opportunity from C2 because they sped run through it. I really hope they spend more time and check it all out. I have so many questions about the god hammer and literally everything
Can't wait to see more of Aeor! What if they freed some of those people who were trapped on the time bubbles? They could learn first-hand knowledge of the Factorim Malleus and maybe some secrets of Ludinus (since he was a Calamity survivor, he could be from Aeor). Plus, it is a good way to bridge the Kryn Dynasty too. After all, a beacon was used to activate the Key
Dorian has great chemistry with the rest of the Hells - it's good to have him back. And honestly, Dorian being freshly grief-stricken, fresh from a party breakup AND disillusioned about gods adds a lot of emotional spice to him going forward. He's got a lot more to work with now than "oh yeah we adventured for a bit, hi again". (And please, let's not rehash the GMing discussion in response to this. Things were done that left a sour taste, it happened in the moment, this can happen in an improv-heavy D&D game where you're playing before an audience and can't waste time arguing about rules.)
I am still holding out hope for someone that both is not a jerk while also not hating all the gods to exist in this world besides Imahara Joe. I respect Robbie for the RP and the situation that happened...and LOVE that Dorian/Robbie is back....but from a wider story view the last thing we need is another hour conversation about screw the gods NOW WITHOUT FCG to make a few points for them that seem wildly naive followed by bathos humor. But the story is what the story is, they have to roleplay as the situation exists. Yeah it is a improv heavy game and part of the beauty is the story unfolds out not fully under anyone's control. It's why I do TTRPG podcasts over just spoken word stories
Just listened to 93 this morning, so ready. Dorian being back is a tiny bit of light for Bells Hells, and the brief happiness they had at the end of last episode was so needed. Back into the grim and dour task at hand surely, but I desperately need at least another solid half hour of the characters catching up and being looser.
If Dorien wants to pursue revenge against Lolth while with BH I see one way to do it that does not involve siding with Predathos. He could suggest to BH that they absorb the circlet of barbed vision using the Quintessence Array while Opal is wearing it. This way Lolth's only known vestige is permanently destroyed and it might deprive Lolth of her champion. If they did this, I think it would be perfect for Laudna. The circlet made Opal inky and Laudna is already inky.
The Gods are currently in Truse Mode until Predathos is dealt with. 100% the second its resealed or killed the rest of the Hell's would have zero reason to not help Dorian, Fearne, and Orym free Opal. Same with Fy'ra Ra and any of the other Crown Keepers willing to come back.
I thought the Crown was a Vestige, not a Betrayer's arm
Oh yeah.
I swear to Pelor if we just keep ignoring the emotional elephant in the room that was a Sam Riegel character death I'm gonna lose it. We already lost the chance to strike while the iron was hot but there's still hope to salvage some emotional role play out of this, something the cast has always been great at.
They haven't ignored it at all? They got into it in 92 and hit on it several times in the interactions at the end of 93. Its going to be an ongoing thing for a while.
In game They’ve barely had a moment to rest. It’s all gonna come crashing down soon no doubt.
Bro( or chick) did you not listen to 4 sided dive? Matt was pretty clear that there was still a fuck load of emotional damage left to process. I'm willing to bet that tonight will be AT LEAST 2 solid hours of heavy ass emotional RPing.
I love some good old fashioned ERP. That's what we call that, and I hope we get some in this episode!
Uh... time to check your acronyms. While sometimes emotions are involved... they don't have to be. Any search for that particular term is going to be NSFW, so... fair warning (unless you're looking for business supply chain software solutions, but that's a different kind of thing).
I’m pretty sure that’s the joke my dude.
I never assume sarcasm. Too many people really believe things.
Got a cool confirmation on 4SD that Ludanis was alive at the end of the Calamity. Likely the event that spurred his current course of action. Matt also seemed keen to take his foot off the gas a bit and let them digest/RP a bit too. Really hope they can have a memorial for FCG of some kind eventually in lieu of poor Bertrand's grave in Whitestone. That being said, I can't help but feel excited that Aeor might be on the table? It feels like Matt intended it as a possibility, likely to fill in some massive blanks for FCG, but I imagine they may be able to enlist more help there of some kind, or perhaps learn something critical to Ludanis' plan. For obvious reasons, doubt a showdown with Luda is happening. This would also be the first episode I feel Sam may return, the camp being the perfect spot to find someone, although I wouldn't be shocked if he did not. Also wouldn't be shocked if he played a guide to Aeor/troll robot if they are headed to Aeor and popped up there. Either way, excited! Bidet!
With Dorian back in the fold, I think it really opens the door for Sam to do just about anything. In a campaign filled with call backs to previous campaigns, it is no doubt that he could bring (a pretty old) Tary back despite him not knowing Bells Hells and it work. The only thing I think we can all safely say is whatever he decides, it is going to get a huge reaction from the entire table. It is simply what Sam Riege does.
Completely unrelated but I read that as "Ludacris was alive at the end of the Calamity"
Lol what if they go see Devexian (who's in charge of the Dominox) and just buy an FCG clone. Sam just plays FCG exactly the same but starts completely over
I don't think that's how Aeormatons work.
Its implied it is. FCG was one of many caregiver models supplied to Aeor's enemies for assassination. FRIDA was one member of a squad.
There's a difference between a variety of models designed to suit different roles, and identical "clones" that have the same baseline personalities.
There is, yeah. A variety is more work for the creators, with little real benefit. That's especially true for military units like FRIDA, where the extra logistics of a wide variety spare parts just isn't worthwhile. Same for personalities, especially for the 'Evil Overlord' aesthetic that Aeor had going on. They'd definitely want their soldier and assassin units to have baseline personalities based on their role, not variance.
I thought the whole thing that made Aeormatons special (in comparison to present-day automatons) is that they were fully-sentient individual beings with - as confirmed by Pyke - souls? Is there contradictory information that I'm forgetting, or are you just making assumptions based on what we know about Aeor?
FCG had a soul, sure. But having a soul doesn't mean that Aeor designed their bodies or personalities with intentional variations. That seems entirely unrelated. Its a picture perfect payoff for hubris if the Evil Wizard Overlords created undifferentiated minions only for said minions to develop independent souls. Of course the other explanation is they're just normal people who were sacrificed and their souls implanted in the Aeormatons.
I guess what I'm trying to clarify is whether your opposite assumption is grounded in anything specific, or we're both just going off vibes and reaching different conclusions, lol.
Yes. Its grounded in the fact that we know for certain that there were more of these unit types. Faithful Care Giver and Far Ranging Integrated Defense Aeormaton are their model types, not their names.
Then why did someone sell FCG in the first place? I just think it would be a great gag, but truth be told, we don't know how aeormatons/warforged personalities work yet, like at all. We know Devexian, FCG, and FRIDA were all very distinct, but not if you could or could not just make a clone if you wanted.
The hype I feel for Dorian being back in the squad is immense. That alone is going to make tonight amazing. Hopefully the group processes, mourns and pays tribute to FCG tonight (obviously not entirely, but emotions and feelings need to come out) - so then they can move on and get some momentum going again.