Fire and Ruin | Exandria Unlimited: Calamity | Episode 4 

HEY, there might be some SPOILERS under the thing 1:25 Familiar Problems 3:10 Murder us all 3:55 Intro cinematic 5:30 EPISODE STARTS 9:35 We believe that you can fail, Patia 10:55 Elbow or shoulder 13:55 Cerrit is fine 16:25 Patia’s items get hit 18:30 Loquatius’s items get hit 21:55 Nydas’s items get hit 22:55 Laerryn’s items get hit 23:50 Taking it easy on them (Zerxus’s items get hit) 26:10 The Holy Avenger 28:00 The Calamity is Marisha’s fault 29:20 Brennan is cheating with this damage (call Gygax) 31:10 Patia dies 32:45 Laerryn is the only one left 33:40 Laerryn fails against physics 35:25 The time stop 36:40 Nydas’s expression 37:50 Patia’s expression 39:00 Loquatius’s expressions 40:00 Laerryn’s expression 42:15 Zerxus in the time stop 45:55 Zerxus reaches out 49:15 Zerxus and Asmodeus 51:05 Zerxus and Zerxus 53:15 Lou is crushed by emotion 58:30 The problem of atonement 59:15 The Godless 1:01:05 The sin of pride 1:02:05 Zerxus gets killed super hard (Cerrit is just chillin) 1:03:10 Overlapping time stops 1:03:50 Family strife 1:05:45 It’s a living 1:08:45 Zerxus has pity 1:10:40 An offer 1:13:20 The second ends 1:17:05 Leaving Loquatius 1:19:45 Death saves 1:22:25 Asmodeus’s plan 1:24:05 Don’t worry, Laerryn will save us (Sam ruins death) 1:26:15 Brennan is not nice 1:29:10 Maya and Kir 1:31:10 Cerrit’s ring glows 1:34:20 Cerrit walks through his house 1:44:30 Evandrin and Zerxus 1:57:10 The Age of Salvation 2:02:45 Zerxus takes control 2:05:55 Redeeming touch 2:08:40 Redeemed Vespin 2:12:30 Loquatius’s gift saves the day 2:14:20 Vespin will not be forgotten 2:16:55 Coming back together 2:26:55The Hall of Prophecy 2:28:45 Jinxing Aabria 2:35:10 Please ignore me 2:36:00 Healing smooch 2:37:25 Disrespecting this dragon 2:38:30 Blaze it 2:41:20 BREAK STARTS (the character growth of Brennan getting better at calling breaks) 2:50:30 Art Montage 2:52:30 BREAK ENDS (scablamity) 2:54:00 Patia and her grandfather 2:57:05 Preserving a history of Avalir 2:58:30 Patia’s parents 3:04:55 Eldamir actually sucks 3:08:40 Mock this dragon 3:10:05 Nydas gives an inspiring speech 3:11:55 Betrayal 3:17:45 HDYWTDT 3:19:45 Alessander got a promotion 3:22:55 Ferromine 3:25:20 Now for wrath, now for ruin, and a red dawn! 3:27:05 Aria is on call (Bolo has been calling) 3:29:40 Elmenore calls her children home 3:34:55 Throw in some ad reads 3:36:10 Elena Tuvaris 3:39:35 Wall of force 3:41:10 Loquatius Seelie’s greatest broadcast 3:45:05 Mercer’s spell ink 3:47:25 Laerryn still hates Aria (resignation) 3:52:15 Zerxus and his son 3:56:40 Hard to have kids in this game 3:57:40 Commanding the fiends 3:59:45 Transport via plants 4:01:25 Laerryn gets to work 4:07:00 Getting the map out 4:10:00 Nydas’s tattoos 4:11:35 Prepping for Zerxus 4:14:50 Difficult placement 4:16:10 3 rounds 4:19:40 Battle begins (Round 1) 4:23:55 FOR AVALIR (off keto) 4:27:50 Vespin is the archmage of drip 4:34:50 Nydas has set the bar 4:36:00 Vespin is weak 4:41:10 Brennan is bad 4:44:25 Bonus action propose 4:47:20 DnD Beyond is a snitch (Round 2) 4:49:25 Cerrit always gets his mage 4:56:00 AC 30 4:58:50 We’re still up 5:02:15 Laerryn makes a tough call 5:04:25 Stained glass 5:09:15 Tempus is a good boy 5:11:30 Power Word Kill 5:18:05 HDYWTDT 5:19:30 Round 3 5:21:10 Nydas makes a leap of faith 5:25:25 Nydas doesn’t miss 5:27:30 Patia falls 5:31:25 Readied heal 5:33:15 The spell finishes 5:38:00 Shattered Teeth 5:38:55 The sorcerers escape 5:39:55 Zerxus makes his choice 5:43:55 Nydas and his brother 5:46:30 Patia chooses the dreamer 5:49:50 Cleareye to Wingspan 5:53:30 Loquatius and Laerryn 5:57:15 Cerrit makes his escape 6:00:05 Brennan wraps up 6:05:40 Why do we tell stories? 6:07:10 Episode Ends The in-game start date for the episode was not technically in the year 0, as I believe the dates count from the defeat of the Betrayers, rather than their release. Next week I will be starting at a new job, working in a lab to develop new carbon-neutral aviation fuel and water desalination technologies, fighting in my own small way against the Calamity of our own world. I almost let my dream job pass me by while I focused on my everyday grind, and I just wanted to remind everyone that you deserve to spend your time doing work that matters to you, and that to hope and strive and fight together against the end is the only rational course in the face of the apocalypse. And don’t worry, I intend to still post these timestamps for the foreseeable future. Any moments I missed? Feel free to post them here. Is it Thursday yet?

Travis: I want a ring that detects deception Brennan: it’s a surprise tool that will break him later

"How many dice is that, you fuck?" I adore Lou

I love that for nearly an hour and 15 minutes, Brennan Lee Mulligan would actually _not give them just one second_

Nearly a year later, and this is still the greatest session of D&D I've ever seen.

"Dad, why is your ring glowing?" BRENNAN. WHAT. THE ACTUAL. HECK. ARE YOU DOING TO ME.

Huge thanks to Marisha for crying through 90% of this so I don't feel like I'm the only one.

Sam only breaking at the moments when Cerrit's kids are scared and calling out to their dad made me cry, feeling how much he loves his own kids 🥺😭💔

It’s fitting that Cerrit should survive, he’s the only one who wasn’t directly responsible in some way

Lou summoning his dragon again and right away going “SHUT THE FUCK UP” was pure comedy gold amongst this tragedy.

I love that "dad, why is your ring glowing?" because you just fucking know that the moment Travis said he wanted a ring that detects lies Brennan came up with that heartbreaker of a line

I had no clue who Luis was, but his portrayal of Zerxus Ilerez was literally perfect.

2:13:00 can I just say how absolutely wild it is that this Chekov’s Gun of an extra spell slot was set up last episode with a crazy counter-spell, and then only survived the explosion due to a nat 20, and this was entirely improv and chance rolls. Incredible.

Brennan really came into this session with " Imma kill that dog" energy.

Anyone- “Brennan, I’ve been shot in the leg and I’m actively dying.” Brennan- “Incredible, let’s roll initiative”

The poetry of Cerrit's first and last rolls of the show to be 31s paired with the little blurb Brennan gave in episode 1 about most DC's not even mentioning anything above a 30 is literally the perfect summation of this show.

I just realized one of the reasons Travis is losing it over killing Vespen is the fact that this has been some mystical big baddy legend lore guy Matt Mercer had been using for like all of the Critical Role Campaigns. And he's here like 'Holy shit, it was MY character that did it?? WTF'

"At the beginning of time the gods made all the gold that ever was. There will always be more people." Cold shit.

Brennan is such a chameleon. He was terrified to look at when he was Asmodeus. He looked soft and lost when he was Cerrit's children. He embodied Elias enough to bring Sam and Travis to tears.

"Cool. He counterspells it with a 9-th level spell slot and breaks your spine" Stone. Cold.

Luis: "Do I have a moment to do anything? Then I cast a spell!" Brennan: Allow me to demonstrate how badly you have misunderstood the nature of this dialogue. 1:02:45

"You´re trying to atone me, and I *didn´t do anything wrong"* CHILLS CHILLS CHILLS

“Because I did nothing wrong” might have been the single greatest line of character I have seen this decade.

Portia having as many hit points as she does fingers is morbid and hilarious to me

Brennen improvising multiple pages of narration: Put's Shakespeare to shame. Brennen needing to get through the basics of intro/outro: Deer in headlights. God damn is he a good DM.

The "Is this a spell effect?" only to be responded with, "No this is physics," is just glorious. God what an episode

brennan has successfully weaponized the naivety of these bird children to break my heart like 5 times this episode.

The reveal of Farrowmine coming in to save the day put the biggest smile on my face. Everything was so intense and grim and then you get a callback to this comic relief bit from the beginning of episode 1, and it changes the game.

Sam went full Nick Fury there. "I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid decision I've elected to ignore it."

Izzy's tweet about how every night Brennan would come home and say "I just played the best D&D of my life" was so sweet and incredibly accurate.

Vasselheim banning magic and its extreme distaste for it does make a lot of sense now.

“At the beginning of time, the Gods made all of the gold that there ever will be. There will always be more people.” Hardest line I’ve ever heard god damn that’s metal

Lol Aabria at 3:54:15 looking at the camera like “yep the irl dads are going through it”

"You don't get to give your kids the world they deserve, but you get to give them the world that they can fight for with you."

My gods, the karmic energies that were active through the "less than a second" start of this episode: - Patia losing not just an arm and digits that help her somatic components in her greatest pride: spellcasting, and then dying with most of the knowledge she just learned. - Quay the changeling, ever shifting in the eyes of the public, losing his Shiftweave, but still keeping his gift from his wife. - Nydas the merchant, losing his bag of holding and getting blasted by coins. - Xerxus the First Knight of Avalir, protector, losing his shield. - Laerryn surviving the blast consciously to see the damage she wrought. - Cerrit, the Eyes of Avalir, absent and unable to see the calamity upon his closest friends.

Brennan convincing himself to let Cerrit attack with mage slayer again is such a mood as a DM.

Travis: I'm increasingly attracted to Nydus. (no one hears it because Lou is too busy explaining his 30 AC) Travis: *looks around like OH GOOD NO ONE HEARD THAT*

"My greatest heartbreak is that when I have gathered every mortal soul, and all of my siblings into my pit, that I will *only* have Eternity to punish them." WHAT THE FUCK BRENNAN.

There is something so great about hearing Lou say "How many dice is that, you fuck?!" to Brennan as he rolls all those dice. It resonates with me on a deep personal level.

Luis brings an intensity to his character that fits so well

I did not come into this series expecting it to be my favourite thing to come out of Critical Role, but here we are. The Brass Ring endures.

"Dad, why is your ring glowing" Holy shit Brennan, that hits so deep and was sooooooo quick.

Travis Willingham once again demonstrating his incredible power to roll natural 20s exactly when the story demands it.

One day I will RP like Travis. Holy shit. His interactions with his kids when it all hit the fan had me dead.

During Loquatius’ last broadcast, at the end he says to remember everyone in the party but HIMSELF. Being someone who loved fame and adoration, I thought this was a brilliant touch to point out, whether intentional or not, I really think that it shows Loquatius’ true character.

"Dad did I do something wrong?" Crushes the runestone in his son's hand. 100% HEARTBREAK, ABSOLUTELY SOUL CRUSHING

“I’m buttering you up because I’m about to make you QUITE SAD!” The man is not lying. Have some tissue and water handy, and enjoy the ride.

Who else thinks that in the moment Loquacious and Laerryn decided to get divorced, Loquacious tried to use the threat of it as a wakeup call to Laerryn and she just accepted it instead.

The pirate was more of a paladin than the paladin. Amazing character growth by Nydas. So so incredibly impressed by Lou's choices.

Him describing THE PEOPLE GETTING CUT IN HALF because there were too many people in the teleportation circle made a visual so horrible in my head my stomach dropped and I felt ACTUALLY scared

Brennan wasn't kidding with "I came here to hurt people"; even he choked up when he delivered that line about Cerrit's kids not getting the world they deserve... 😭

The Travis Willingham-Lou Wilson connection is amazing, would love to see Travis on D20 someday

Zerxus really said I can change him, he's not like other devils" 😂 to the horror/confusion of everyone

"My greatest heartbreak is that when I have collected every last mortal soul and all of my siblings into my pit, that I will only have eternity to punish them."

We came in from the last three episodes thinking "The Calamity killed 2/3 of Exandria. What did these people do that led to the death of 2/3 of Exandria." and we leave realizing that what they actually did led to the survival of the remaining 1/3. Edit: The Brass Ring did not personally cause the Calamity. The ball was already rolling. We learned that Vespin Chloras' ritual happened two weeks before this evening (the entire mini-series takes place in a single night!) and Brennan said on an interview that if Laerryn hadn't been the ones to destroy the tree themselves, his contingency was that the cultists would have done it. The Calamity was an inevitability as soon as the game began and everyone contributed a bit of themselves. Nothing that happened in the course of the game *caused* the Calamity. As they put it, the wheel was already spinning, its gilded fulcrum rotting from within.

2:37:27 When Lou says, "...I am the Last Dragon of Avalir..." oh man, what a line, such a good line. Underrated.

Wow, what a fun 6-hour party! I'm glad the holiday of Replenishment went so well :)

Damn all it took was for Brennan to mention Maya was proficient at history one time for Marisha to create a beautiful scene where she passes on all of her knowledge and dreams to the child of her best friend to atone for her selfish decisions and pass on the torch. In my opinion this was the moment that showed her brilliance as a player and her ability to latch onto small details meant for other players and RP off of it. Well Done.

The fact Brennan came into this show knowing how much pressure there was on him and how important this moment in Exandrian history was and managed to come out of it with - I'll just say it - the best thing Critical Role has ever done is nothing short of unbelievable. I don't know how Mr. Mulligan managed to wrench this many emotions from me within a 4 episode mini series but I feel like I've known these characters for a lifetime. The cast also embodied these short-lived characters better than most players could do over 100 sessions. Everything about this was bottled lightning. I'd be really interested in knowing what sort of prep went into this because I honestly have no idea how they pulled this off. How much homework did the players do to seem like they've lived in this world for an entire lifetime? How much homework did BRENNAN do? I barely saw him look at his notes and he was spouting off the deepest most intricate lore like it was seared into his brain. Fan-fucking-tastic.

I adore how, without context, the entrance of Asmodeus into the material plane is almost framed like a "yay, friendship power, everything is fine!", with the gentle music, the smiling Xartasa and the positive and sentimental exchanges between Zerxus and Asmodeus. It truly feels so nefarious. The shift between the "yay, redemption!' to "murder murder murder" is beautiful.

Loquatius realizing Zerxus has horns now then just yelling is really funny

"DAMN the Ring of Gold, the people of Avalir must survive!" Full body chills. Lou is on another level. God I hope we get him back soon.

God every time Lou shouts FOR AVALIR I feel like I could fight a bear unarmed and naked in the middle of a Siberian winter and come out unscathed

I know why Brennan said "incredible" 16893 times in this 4 episodes. Because that's what describe it the best.

The greatest feat of magic wasn't that mortals made a city fly or cross planes. It was the skill and wisdom to re-seal two primordials when the chips were down and gold meant nothing.

"Domunas is the smile of Exandria" "All that remains is the chain of islands known as the Shattered Teeth." Poetry, pure poetry.

Nydas has a bunch of gold coins burst out of him like Sonic’s rings.

4:10:26 Travis and Marisha saying "Uk'otoa..." at the EXACT same time was everything to me

Oh man. I was not expecting to tear up when the Arch Fae of the Seelie Court said, “My child, my heart breaks. But, I would rather mine break, and yours be kept whole.” Brennan is killing me with some of these lines. Incredible.

There's just something about Nydas Okiro, once a small cabin boy who dreamed of living in a city that flies in the skies. And with sheer passion and genius, became the richest and most powerful sorcerer in Avalir. A man who dreamed so big and lived so fully, that beneath all the riches and hubris, believed in uplifting EVERYONE the most. Building the Sorcerer's University, providing automatons to the citizens of Avalir, funding Laerryn's Astral Leywright to bring the city to new planes - all of this, built beneath his true purpose: to help everyone that cannot rise on their own. It's in this sincerity that he views gold not by what it is, but by its value of what it could accomplish. So when the world was about to end, he fights and he saves everyone as much as he can. And when his life was about to end, all he felt was content that his beautiful dream can be a beacon of dreams far greater than his. So he smiles, in the memory of a young boy's dream - content with the life he lived. GOD Lou really shined with this character UGH HE'S JUST TOO GOOD

“I am aware that the septarium has made a decision, but seeing as it’s a dumbass decision, i have elected to ignore it”

I love at 3:10:30 when Lou almost says “Basrar” instead of “Badran”. Like, yeah, an ice cream djinn *would* be pretty nice right about now

Brennan prior to the start campaign: yeah guys choose as many magical items as you want :) Now I see why

"The one thing Brennan wants more than anything, is to be a dad." And you can really feel that in the story telling with Travis and Cerrit's kids.

Can we just admit that Brennan’s Asmodeus is probably the best representation of the character ever. I swear everything he does is spectacular. Make him a regular please!

3:16:22 the fact that brenan was probably trying to drop Nydas to shock the party but instead Lou just deals a butt load of damage

No storyteller has surpassed the climax of this story, and likely never will. Those last 30 minutes are emotionally destructive in the best of ways: brutal, heartfelt, and honest. My gratitude to everyone involved for this story, it will remain with us always.

The mage slayer being the only survivor of the group in this age of arcanum is so meaningful.

The entire arc of that single vial of Ether was genuinely straight out of a movie script

Okay but Lou's delivery as Nydas during his time with Badran and Alessander, oof such passion having his laugh turn to tears in true desperation to save the people of Avalir.

I've rewatched this episode more times than I care to tell, and i'll always marvel at that answer from Lou ''it was real to us'' at 5:45:44 It not only tells the tale of Calamity, but why storytelling is so powerful. Bonus points for getting an actual physical reaction from stoic Travis

According to Aristotle "The tragic hero must be neither a villain nor a virtuous man but a character between these two extremes, a person who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty". He continues, "A perfect tragedy should imitate actions that excite pity and fear.” Can we all agree that EXU: Calamity is a perfect Tragedy?

I think the Market of Wonders joke from Sam is one of the best jokes I've ever heard. Doesn't kill the emotional moment but actually rounds it out. Perfect

Watched this again and went through th comments. Not seeing enough love for Lou. He was incredible. That epilogue with his brother had me squeeze out a tear.

We need a session with Luis and Liam, getting to be emotional heavy actors. And we need a session with Aimee and Sam being absolutely chaotic together. That's my pitch thanks

58:41 "You're trying to atone me...and I didn't do anything wrong" gives me so many chills, it's unbelievable how good Brennan is at building character scenes.

Man, that line about Cerrit solving the mistery of who his children were was amazing. I mean, how does Brennan comes up with that on the fly? Just incredible.

The Cerrit and his kids stuff hits so much harder knowing Travis's story with his father and knowing he has a young son himself. How many of those scenes were overlapping in his head with memories and wishes and dreams.

58:30 You can see as Lou realizes the Brennanism about to unfold well before everyone else. He's been trained. He knows and doesn't flinch when it happens. XD

Brennan: "I'm bad. I'm bad and I just came here to hurt people." The real Brennan comes out.

Now that the episode’s up on RU-vid, the whole community can watch Sam and Travis repeatedly take 10d10 Dad damage. Happy Fathers Day from Brennan!

Zerxus is the definition of “I can fix him”

I love that players are usually excited when the dm calls on them, while in this episode they all look like students praying the teacher will forget they exist

NGL, I was hoping Bola would barge in at a critical moment with a tray of healing potions. “I got da drinks.”

I think Vespin having a moment of redemption is possibly one of the the best “new lore” pieces to come from this.

So it’s august 2023. This is my 4th time watching this series… I still cry. I still think this is the best DND ever put onto camera. I love these people

There's nothing I would want more than an animated series of the Calalmity.

🔥🔥🔥

Is anyone going to talk about how he said he’d break the smile and all that’s left of the continent is a string of islands called the broken teeth?? That’s some gorgeous lore, history and world building.

There are very few pieces of media that I treasure as much as these four episodes of doomed play pretend.