This week will be the final installment of Critical Role Spotlight. From here on out, if you’re looking to catch up on Critical Role, check out Critical Role’s very own recap series: Critical Recap! In that video series, Critical Role’s Production Coordinator Dani Carr summarizes, analyzes, and speculates on the latest episode, complete with video clips and visual aids. It’s a fantastic recap, and I hope that you’ll check in there every week to get your fill of Critical Role recaps.
Never fear, though, this isn’t the last of our Critical Role coverage. It seems like Critical Role is making D&D history more and more these days. Whenever a huge new announcement regarding Critical Role becomes public, you can count on D&D Beyond to break the news!
Episode Summary
Previously on Critical Role, the Mighty Nein purged the demonic forces inhabiting a stone giant fortress, and reclaimed it for the stone giant Landspeaker Soorna. That evening, Yasha had a grim vision of death, and responded by receiving advice from her friends, and then ventured out into the storm outside. She roared at Kord the Stormlord, and the god goaded her to push past her metaphysical bonds and reclaim her true strength.
This week, Beau pulled Jester aside in the morning. She took the swatch of blue fabric found in the Abyssal anchor and asked Jester for help by casting a scrying spell in order to find the owner of the fabric. Jester went off to speak with the Traveler and prepare the spell, and then spent ten minutes casting the scrying ritual. Jester’s vision swam as the spell took effect, and she felt the Traveler’s hands take hers. His voice whispered in her ears, “Well then, let’s take a trip, shall we?”
She roared through space at unspeakable speed, and then the mists parted. She saw an opulent den, and saw a tall figure in opulent robes of blue-dyed wool. He was tall, with long, blonde hair and a clean-shaven face—a human man—and he spoke into a speaking stone. “Yes, I have the emblem. Let’s plan for next Grisson… in six days, no the week after that. Thirteen days. I cannot dally for long. Angel’s eye, friend.” And then he cut off communication. Notably, the man had a Zemnian accent… perhaps he was one of the Cerberus Assembly?
Jester looked closely at the book he was holding; and on its cover was inscribed The King that Crawls. One of the Betrayer Gods, a god of tunnels, torturers, and slavers, was known as the Crawling King and goes by the name of Torog. The party put the matter out of their minds for a time, and talked about their own gods. The Traveler, for Jester. Ioun, for Beau. Kord, the Stormlord, for Yasha. They spoke for a time about Yasha’s past, her forbidden love, the loss of her wife Zuala, and the memories Yasha was missing between the time that she lost.
Jester then returned to man she scried upon, and used magic to take his shape. Caleb thoughtfully produced a sending stone that he acquired in Zadash. He had never spoken into it, and had no idea who it connected to.
With their quest completed, the party gathered their moor bounders and dashed back through the Vermaloc Wildwood, to the giant-occupied mining camp, then to the steelworks—to thoroughly disgrace the foreman by revealing the bawdy letter they discovered several days ago—and then returned to Ghor Dranas. The night they returned to the city, Fjord had a terrible dream, where Uk’otoa threatened to punish his disobedience. He awoke and tried to use his Mask of Many Faces invocation to cast disguise self… and found that the slumbering leviathan had rescinded all the magical power he had once granted to him.
That next morning—or what passed as morning in the eternal darkness of Ghor Dranas—the Mighty Nein returned to Professor Waccoh at the Marble Tomes Conservatory. Ultimately, they decided to accept several magic items, including a broken blade very similar to one that Caduceus possessed. Following that, they decided to wander about town… until they found the Overcrow Apothecary. This establishment is the location that the blue-robed gentleman that Jester scried upon said that he would meet his contact in two weeks’ time. They decided to investigate inside and case the joint, and wound up having a cheery, awkward conversation with a very forthcoming goblin. They decided to come back later.
Meanwhile, Yasha visited Wursh the blacksmith and requested some magic items that might improve her defenses. However, she discovered that Wursh only had armor, no magical implements. Fjord came along, and he made conversation with Wursh. He asked about Wursh’s upbringing among orcs and half-orcs, and spoke about the fury that runs in their blood. He’s seen a lot of orcs do terrible, violent things, “but hell,” he said. “Hell if I haven’t seen humans, elves, dwarves, and halflings do the exact same things.”
Once the party regrouped, Shadowhand Essik Theylas visited them and secured a home for them within the Firmament, one of the highest tiers of the city. All of their accommodations would be provided for free of charge. They went there immediately, and examined their new home: a two-story mansion paneled with gorgeous hardwood, and coasting a tower and a balcony on the second floor. Two stained glass windows glittered on the upper floor. It was provided with the good graces of Den Theylas.
They entered their new home, and already began to chatter about which bedroom would go to who.
Art by Caio Santos (@BlackSalander)
Beware: This Spotlight Contains Spoilers for this Episode of Critical Role
Read no further if you just came here for the spotlight, but nevertheless care about Critical Role spoilers.
All right, are you ready? Let’s go.
Spotlight: Warlock Patrons
Or, more accurately, losing them. A warlock pact is a deal between two entities: a patron and the warlock. It’s really something of a predatory bargain; the patron holds all the cards, while the warlock has to obey by their every whim. Or at least, that’s the way Fjord’s pact is working out. There are countless ways to roleplay a warlock patron in D&D. Just look at the relationship between Farideh and Lorcan in the Brimstone Angels series by Erin M. Evans; their relationship is much more personal, even romantic. Even Avantika’s relationship with Uk’otoa earlier in this campaign had a different tenor than Fjord’s, since she was thrilled to be the slumbering leviathan’s agent.
The idea of a class losing its powers has existed in D&D since time immemorial. Paladins have always been the ur-example of this trople; a paladin can “fall” by disobeying the tenets of their oath, and be stripped of all their magical powers. A paladin in this state is essentially a fighter, but without any of the things that make fighters special. In order to regain those powers, the paladin must go on a special quest to redeem themselves and take up the mantle of paladin once more. Story-wise, this has the potential to be a thrilling moment! What noble act, likely done for the greater good, would cause a paladin to violate their oath and be stripped of their divine power?
More often than not, however, a paladin falling is usually just frustrating for everyone involved. The DM likely set up a Kobayashi Maru-esque no-win scenario for the paladin, the paladin’s player often feels tricked by their DM, and the other players resent how the campaign must now refocus itself entirely around the fallen paladin so that they can go get their powers back and stop being dead weight on the party. That’s perhaps the most cynical take on this situation, but it’s also the one I’ve experienced the most.
Now, in fifth edition D&D, there are no rules for a paladin falling. Specific rules for having a paladin’s powers stripped (and potentially reinstated) were hard-coded into the class. Now, it’s much more ambiguous, and subject to the DM’s interpretation—save for the inclusion of the Oathbreaker paladin subclass, for the paladins who fell and fell hard. Broadly speaking, I think this is a good thing. It makes DMs less inclined to cause paladins to fall on a whim, or by tricking them. Fifth edition’s design decision to make a paladin’s oath less stringent also helped matters, as the threat of breaking the paladin’s oath to uphold the tenets of Law and Good in previous edition tended to make paladins a bit of a killjoy.
But we’re not talking about paladins, we’re talking about warlocks.
Art by Linda Lithén (@Darantha)
After all, what’s a warlock but a paladin who fell in with the wrong crowd? Especially when it comes to Hexblade warlocks like Fjord, they’re both charismatic, armored, sword-toting, smite-wielding warriors who receive magical power and cryptic guidance from a supernatural entity. I’m being glib, of course, the differences between a paladin and a warlock are many, but their similarities are significant. Especially the last bit… the part about receiving power directly from a supernatural entity. It makes you wonder why no one ever talks about a cleric falling from their god’s grace.
One big problem for Fjord is that his patron wants just one thing. Uk’otoa is not like an Archfey, who might just want to cause general mischief around the world, or like a Fiend who wants to vaguely weaken the forces of justice. Uk’otoa’s ambitions are highly specific. He wants to be free. He is imprisoned, and Fjord tacitly agreed to free him. Fjord tried to game the system; he gained Uk’otoa’s gifts by undoing the lock part of the way, and then scampered off to the other side of the continent when things got too hot.
The terms of Fjord’s “oath” to Uk’otoa weren’t clear to him. And so, when Uk’otoa capriciously decided that he broke those terms, the leviathan rescinded the power he granted to him. Just like a paladin falling. For a group like Critical Role, who are ardent storytellers and have the utmost confidence in their Dungeon Master to tell a good story and help them all have fun, this is a great moment. Even though Fjord lost his magical powers, I don’t think Travis is too upset. Not getting to play at full power is an irksome thing, but he knows it’ll work out. In fact, it even seems like Travis is willing to take fate into his own hands; at the end of that episode, Fjord showed a marked interest in other gods, like the Traveler and the Wildmother. This is just speculation, but I suspect he’s seeking a change of faith.
And the thing about Hexblade warlocks is that they also make great paladins. If Fjord had a change of heart and started gaining paladin levels, perhaps with the help of Caduceus or Jester, he would be a stunningly powerful Oath of the Ancients paladin. Especially if Matt allowed him to convert his warlock levels into paladin levels if he were to sever his pact with Uk’otoa.
What will the Mighty Nein do next week? There’s only one way to find out… is it Thursday yet?
Unless otherwise credited, photographs 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.
It's a shame that you won't be doing "Spotlight" anymore.
I wanted to point out a mistake in the "spoilers" section. "Caleb thoughtfully produced a [Tooltip Not Found] that he acquired in Zadash."
I also wanted to mention that Fjord was able to cast minor illusion towards the end of the episode, which means his powers may have only been temporarily suspended as a warning.
That is one nifty item.
Fun fact, typing "sending stone" won't create the correct tooltip, because the magic item is called "sending stones," plural!
I have a similar issue every time I attempt to search for an item with an apostrophe in it.
I'm very saddened to hear that this will be the last Critical Role article you do. I've greatly enjoyed them and looked forward to them every Friday.
All that said, I look forward to their replacement. James Haeck, you've produced a lot of great content for D&D Beyond, you're definitely a big selling point for the site as a whole.
He was also capable of conjuring his falchion and sending it back to its pocket dimension when gathering his belongings to move to their new house.
I'll miss this series so much it really helped me become a better dm. Sad to see it go.
the switch from a warlock to a paladin would make for an incredible story arc! I love that idea
Yeah, from "Eldritch Blast" to "SMITE!"
i also want to see the floorplans of this mansion. i hope Matt remembered to put in the Necessaries. That could be awkward if not. Oh, and soundproofing for Nott's room. Nobody needs to hear that at 3am.
Though i would love to see a butler or maid assigned to come by and
spy on themtidy up and serve tea and such. A bugbear in a tuxedo would be comical, while a drow in a maid uniform would likely be a ninja or otherwise dangerous as all get out.I could also see Fjord look for another Patron, staying a Warlock, but of a different type.
My dream scenario is for Fjord to find a new Patron and for that Patron to be played by a surprise guest (like how they didn't know Perkins was going to be more than a spectator before he pulled out Spurt), just to drive in the importance of the encounter home. If you REALLY wanted to screw with expectations, Matt could have everyone but Travis leave like he's done before, then give up the DM's chair to the guest for the encounter.
This requires a lot of trust (and planning) between the two DMs but I've been in a campaign where encounters with gods were handed over to a guest DM and it was fantastic. It really drives home to your players that gods are extremely powerful and not just another NPC by using the metagame as part of the story.
it was an interesting dynamic for fjord to lose his powers for essentially one day. this would have sparked something in the mind of Travis that he must consider very wisely. i hope that he is able to grow stronger not specifically in this pact but overall. i also wish that both Caleb and Caduceus have a talk with fjord not to verbally attack him but to seek understanding.
Too bad the spotlight item is ending - you guys did tremendously well in taking apart the sessions and bringing some insight into the anatomy of d&d! I'm sure other great content will be added in its place, so I'm not going to complain. Keep being awesome James & team!
Thank you so much, to you and everyone else for your kind words. There will be a whole host of new Friday articles that will fill the Spotlight-shaped hole in your hearts!
I'm sad to see this ending. Not only was it a well written and detailed recap, but I also appreciated the insights and explanations given. However looking forward to what may come in the future!
Fun fact about Warlock patrons in Ukatoas situation they do hold a ton of power and sway over the one they are patron over but to be freed at this stage with avantika dead and Fjord basically holding two of the three or a needed to release him he needs Fjord.
There has been a hint of a third party in this situation also but they can't do anything without the third orb that Fjord holds and if Ukatoa sent them after Fjord then they would have to go through the M9 as well to get it.
In my opinion Ukatoa was showboating taking away Fjords power but in the long run at least for now Ukatoa needs Fjord so could not leave him de-powered forever.
And even in the long run if Ukatoa abandoned Fjord I could see him finding a different patron or becoming a paladin since he is looking into other Faith's like James stated in the article.
No, actually if you look at the Deathlock in Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes - Fjord at this point is more valuable to Uk’otoa dead than alive.
This Critical Role Spotlights will be missed. Dani is great but you can just cover so much more in a written article. Thanks for all the insight.
One of the most exciting things I think a DM can do for their players, especially if they've been around a bit and sort of know the rules and goalposts, is to suddenly "slap the gun on the table" and say, "Not so simple now, huh?"
Matt's decision to at least make the credible threat of power loss is admirable and worked incredibly well in the moment. I trust Matt as well and hope that he does have a fair an equitable way for Fjord's story to progress that doesn't involve making up the player's mind for them based on severe mechanical consequences in-game. I think it's great to have heavy-handed warlock Patrons, to shake up otherwise mundane gameplay for somewhat veteran players that might be asking themselves "Can he do that? Is that allowed in the rules?", and kind of letting them stew on it before actually presenting a possible alternative...
I can envision a world where if Fjord does definitively break his pact then Matt perhaps presents him with a secret "homebrew" option similar to the Paladin's Oathbreaker subclass from the DMG. We know Matt likes to tool away at such things in the background, he has of course published several homebrew class options.
Ultimately what may be even better though, is Travis taking initiative and perhaps presenting a possible alternative himself. Ideally, this comes out during play, but I can also see a world where Matt sort of lets him be aggravated for a while... like a long time... Maybe Fjord turns inward, get's angry, grows to resent not only this elder demigod but the world itself, maybe he becomes selfish and callous. Right? Five stages of grief: Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, Acceptance. But once he comes out the other side of that, I'd love to see a new and improved rebuilt Fjord... Why was he so curious about the Solstrice Academy? Maybe he "goes back to school" (though perhaps not one run by twisted agent provocateurs and a misguided Empire), maybe he manages to pick up some Kryn abilities and learns the ways of the Dynasty. Whatever Fjord does though, I hope it's driven by courageous, thoughtful choices made by the players. We're in the mid-game folks, we're way passed character establishment, it's time to makes moves.
Pivotal heart-rending moments like Vax's Bargain don't happen without drastic action. Vax said those words, yes because that's what he would have done, but also because the player was willing and ballsy enough to stick their neck out and be bold. Grog wasn't necessarily faced with that same kind of gravity, but it seems Fjord might be tested in perhaps a similar way. I trust Travis as a performer, a storyteller and most of all as a fan. I suspect he wants more for that character than just the typical "hero's journey" arc that is so common, and sometimes that doesn't come through a well-crafted setup and paint-by-numbers gameplay. Sometimes, as in Vax's case, that comes through "emergent storytelling", limited options, and choices beyond your control as a player. It's when you step up to the plate and say "I don't know what I'm doing but I'm gonna try swinging for the fences anyway" that things really start to heat up. It's hard, but...
They got this. Period.
Couldn't agree more. A bit sad that Critical Role Spotlight is ending but all the other articles (encounter of the week, monster tactics, etc) are gold. I can't wait to see what you guys have in store. Thanks James (and team)!
I had a Warlock/patron fallout in one of my games. I ran it so that the patron couldn't revoke what he had already granted, but the character couldn't progress as a warlock any more.