Critical Role Spotlight: Episode 49

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Just like last week’s episode, this week has brought us revelation after revelation about the Mighty Nein’s deepest secrets. Just like in Campaign 1, it seems that about fifty episodes is the time it takes for the story to really kick into high gear.

Art by Hugo Cardenas (@Takayuuki_art)

Episode Summary

Previously on Critical Role, the Mighty Nein traveled to Nott’s hometown, the village of Felderwin. They knew that the town had just suffered a sneak attack from Kryn soldiers, but the heroes were not prepared for the secrets the village had in store for them. They visited the Brenatto Apothecary, the shop of someone Nott knew as Yeza. They learned that bizarre arcane experiments on a Kryn power called dunamis were being performed there by the Cerberus Assembly, aided by the loyal-but-foolish alchemist Yeza.  

They also met Nott’s son, Luke. A young halfling who believed that his mother was dead. That she had been killed by goblins.

This episode, Jester asked Nott for answers. Is Luke her real son? What happened to her? Nott explained that she was once a halfling woman named Veth. She and Yeza were married, and had a child named Luke together. (Note that “Nott the Brave” is an anagram of “Veth Brenatto” and Nott has used the aliases of “Veth,” “Bren,” and “Otto” while in disguise throughout the campaign so far.) Veth died. One long, hard winter, she and her family tried to flee from Felderwin to somewhere with more food, but they were attacked by goblin raiders in the wilderness.

Veth broke off from her family to draw the goblins off. It worked. The goblins cornered her, tied her up, and took her back to their camp. Veth flung acid her husband had made into the face of their chieftain, and he died from the burns. The chieftain’s wife, incensed, took Veth to the clan’s shaman and commanded her to make Veth suffer. They took her to a river and drowned Veth in it. Even now, Nott can still feel the water in her ears and eyes and nose—explaining her debilitating hydrophobia. And then she died.

But not long after, she woke up again. She looked at her hands and saw them green and shriveled. Somehow, she had been reborn as a goblin. The goblins bound her once more and enslaved her. Nott’s told the rest. She managed to escape. But now she has a new mission. Nott begged for Caleb’s help in finding Yeza Brenatto, her halfling husband. Caleb’s old organization, the Cerberus Assembly, probably has him in their custody, forcing him to help them with their dunamis experiments.

But Caleb had a secret to reveal, too. His name was Bren Aldric Ermendrud, not Caleb Widogast. He had revealed some choice details about his story to Nott and Beau several months ago, but he finally came clean to everyone else. He came from the imperial capital, Rexxentrum, and attended the Soltryce Academy to learn magic. He was plucked out of his classes by the Cerberus Assembly, and was being primed to study the secret art of dunamancy, but before his instruction in this unknown art could begin, he “went a little crazy, and ran away.” He’s been on the run from his former teachers for a long time. He warned them that, if the Cerberus Assembly caught even a whiff of him, everyone’s lives would be in grave danger.

With all this new information bouncing around in their restless minds, the group traveled to an inn in Felderwin and bought a room for the night. Jester cleverly asked after Yeza, but learned precious little new information. Beau interviewed some townsfolk, using her status as a member of the Cobalt Soul to get information out of people.

The party learned from a group of soldiers that the Kryn soldiers attacked after a creature with giant jaws burst through the ground. The next morning, Caduceus asked the Wildmother for guidance: “What is Yeza’s destination?” A voice on the wind whispered to him Ghor Dranas—the ancient citadel of the Betrayer Gods, and the capital of the Kryn Dynasty. Yasha said that the entire city was covered in perpetual night.

Jester risked contacting Yeza with sending, and he responded. He knew not where he was. It was dark, and he had to stay quiet, but he thanked her for telling him that Veth was still alive. Jester then arranged for Nott’s son, Luke, to be escorted to Alfield. They paid some Righteous Brand soldiers to help keep Luke and Old Edith safe on the journey.

The Mighty Nein then burrowed into the collapsed tunnel the Kryn dug to invade Felderwin, and began their underground journey towards Xhorhas. The true adventure has just begun.

Art by Caio Santos (@BlackSalander)

Spotlight: Reincarnation

It’s not exactly clear how Veth changed shape, but the spell reincarnate seems like a good bet. This 5th-level transmutation spell is a druid-only alternative to the more common raise dead, which is gained by clerics and bards at the same level. This druidic method of resurrection is less commonly used than its clerical cousin, because reincarnate “fashions a new body for the [dead] creature to inhabit, which likely causes the creature's race to change.”

The spell includes an extensive d100 table containing every race and subrace found within the Player’s Handbook. However, many new player character races have been added to D&D since the release of the Player’s Handbook. If you’re playing with books such as Volo’s Guide to Monsters, Elemental Evil Player’s Companion, Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes, or Guildmaster’s Guide to Ravnica, you may wish to have a more comprehensive table.

If you roll a race from a setting you aren’t playing in, such as Eberron or Ravnica, you must have the DM’s approval to use this new race. The Eberron races of Valenar high and wood elves, and Aereni high and wood elves have been omitted because of their connection to a specific culture within the setting; if you’re playing in Eberron, you can choose one these results if you roll a high elf or wood elf.

d100

Race

1–2

Aarakocra

3

Aasimar, fallen

4

Aasimar, protector

5

Aasimar, scourge

6–7

Bugbear

8–9

Centaur

10–11

Changeling

12–14

Dragonborn, chromatic (scale color DM’s choice)

15–17

Dragonborn, metallic (scale color DM’s choice)

18

Dwarf, gray (duergar)

19–20

Dwarf, hill

21–22

Dwarf, mountain

23

Elf, dark (drow)

24

Elf, eladrin

25–26

Elf, high

27–28

Elf, sea

29

Elf, shadar-kai

30–31

Elf, wood

32–33

Firbolg

34

Genasi, air

35

Genasi, earth

36

Genasi, fire

37

Genasi, water

38–39

Githyanki

40–41

Githzerai

42

Gnome, deep (svirfneblin)

43–44

Gnome, forest

45–46

Gnome, rock

47–48

Goblin

49–50

Goliath

51

Half-elf

52

Variant half-elf, aquatic

53

Variant half-elf, drow

54

Variant half-elf, wood

55–56

Half-orc

57

Halfling, ghostwise

58

Halfling, lightfoot

59

Halfling, stout

60–61

Hobgoblin

62–63

Human

64–65

Kalashtar

66–67

Kenku

68–70

Kobold

71–72

Lizardfolk

73–74

Loxodon

75–76

Minotaur

77–78

Orc

79

Shifter, beasthide

80

Shifter, longtooth

81

Shifter, swiftstride

82

Shifter, wildhunt

83-84

Simic hybrid

85–86

Tabaxi

87–88

Tiefling

89

Tiefling, feral

90

Tiefling, infernal*

91–92

Tortle

93–94

Triton

95–96

Vedalken

97

Warforged, envoy

98

Warforged, juggernaut

99

Warforged, skirmisher

100

Yuan-ti pureblood

 

If you rolled a result of Infernal Tiefling, roll once on the table below to determine which Infernal Legacy your tiefling has inherited.

1d8

Infernal Legacy

1

Baalzebul

2

Dispater

3

Fierna

4

Glasya

5

Levistus

6

Mammon

7

Mephistopheles

8

Zariel

 

What lessons can we learn from Matthew Mercer and the Mighty Nein next week? Is it Thursday yet?

Unless otherwise credited, all images in this article are courtesy of Chris Lockey and Critical Role.  

James Haeck is the lead writer for D&D Beyond, the co-author of  Waterdeep: Dragon Heist and the Critical Role Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting, the DM of Worlds Apart, and a freelance writer for Wizards of the Coast, the D&D Adventurers League, and Kobold Press. He loves watching Critical Role and wants everyone he knows to get into it, too. He lives in Seattle, Washington with his partner Hannah and his very own Frumpkins, Mei and Marzipan. You can usually find him wasting time on Twitter at @jamesjhaeck.

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