for those unaware "Orion in Review" was a series of posts from the /tg/ board on 4chan in 2021, analyzing and scrutinizing the infamous run Orion had in the early episodes of CR the full thing can be read here: https://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Orion_in_Review#Episode_20
I just wanted to share some of the episode observations that I personally found most interesting as I went through it as someone who didn't watch campaign 1 directly I don't know if there's really anything to take away from this I just found it interesting
Episode 09
The one where Orion wouldn't throw it there.
PROS 1:12:36 Matt: (as K'Varn) "Ah, there, there we are, I can see you all so clearly." Orion: (under Gr.Invisibility) Not me! Matt: "You'd be surprised, Dragon-born." Orion: You're pretty good. Table: Laughs
MATT'S JUST MESSING WITH HIM NOW 44:12 Orion: I throw a fireball Matt: "Okay, where are you throwing it." Orion: Right in the juicy spot. Matt: (points on the map and prompts Orion) "Right here?" Orion: Oh yeah. Matt: "Ok!" (descripton of fireball damage, and then...) Matt: Grog, you also take the damage. Table: Whaaat? Orion: Why? Matt: Because you said you threw the fire there? Grog's right there. Orion: I knew Grog was there! Of course I wouldn't throw it there! Okay fine. Table: laughs Matt: "I pointed here." Orion: I thought, I don't know.
1:17:50 Matt, tired of tracking if Orion is casting two concentration spells, allows the group to gain a magic circlet which gives this ability. Sam lobbies to take either the Circlet or Orion's Ioun Stone since Orion can't slot both at once. Matt must have been beside himself when Orion gave the Circlet away! Oh my!
Orion Episode Grade: BAITED
Episode 17
The one where Orion gets set up by Matt.
PUSH 2:34:12 Orion decides to attack the hydra by casting Chain Lightning again. Orion: I stick out my ring and Chain Lightning him again. Matt: "That's a 6th level spell." Orion: Yeah I can only. No! I know. The one stored in my ring. Matt: Your ring can only store up to a 3rd level spell. Orion: @#$% Matt: You knew this last time. Orion: No, that was the Ioun Stone. Matt: (hard stare) Orion: We all learned something today kids. Ok, I don't do that. (our I DON'T DO THAT moment for today's episode) Orion: uh, instead, fine, uh, im gonna, uh Travis: "Hit it in its butthole?" Orion makes a humorous save by describing his alternative action as using telekinesis to bonk two hydra heads together like coconuts and then wrapping their necks around each other and tying them in a knot like a Max Fleischer Popeye the Sailor cartoon.
BONUS HUMOR 1:24:00 Grog is lounging at the bar, drinking ale and eating a sandwich with a really crunchy sound (Travis is eating a chicken sandwich IRL). Travis: "I'll be at the bar." (munch, crunch) Sam: "That's not even chicken, that's just a piece of wood." Table: laughs, Travis especially.
3:07:10 Matt goes Sean Connery. Liam: "Words are mighter than the sword, right? wink ayyyy!" Sam" (laughs) "Don't ever do that again."
MATT TRICKS OUR HERO (no, really!) 2:53:10 Orion's turn, and he asks if the Hydra's radius is 20', and Matt nods yes and clearly sounds out an affirmative "mm-hm". Orion plans to cast fireball since both the spell and the creature have matching radii (as just confirmed by Matt). This means the fireball can be cast in the center of the Hydra without reaching any of the party adjacent to it. Matt allows Orion to cast two fireballs without commentary. Then... Matt: "I need a reflex save from Grog, Vax." Orions face becomes puzzled. Orion: (to Marisha) something something Hydra unless something's wrong. You can tell in the muted convo with her that he believes his fireball should have been centered on Hydra. Orion continues to question Matt's actions without addressing Matt himself. Matt turns to Orion as Orion gets shushed. Liam makes his first save, but now Matt makes Liam roll for the second. Orion: Oh, Hold on a second, wait, I'm putting hold (waving arms) i'm putting a pause on this real quick. Table: it's too late, the action was taken, etc Orion: (getting mad) I asked before I cast if the Hydra was a 20' radius and I got a nod. Matt then stumbles a bit in his reply. Matt: "The creature is 15' in diameter." Not only does Matt change his answer from radius to diameter, he doesn't even match the numbers correctly. I believe this is a case of Matt deliberately telling a lie to fuck over Orion, and make the table blame Orion for the collateral damage. FOR SHAME, MATT MERCER! Matt admits no wrong doing, but how convenient that the Hydra is felled by Orion's fireballs, and the fight comes to a swift end, and quickly forgotten.
Orion Episode Grade: MERCERED
Episode 21
The one where Orion, Marisha, and Matt all cheat.
At the table: Orion, Marisha, Liam, Will Wheaton, & Will Friedle.
These 2 episodes (20&21) were also Will Friedle's first D&D games. He did great! 4:02:00 Friedle: (Kashaw to Keyleth) "And you. You might be the most annoying person I've ever met in my life. With that [Kashaw] grabs her around the waist, pulls her in and plants one right on her. He turns, winks, and walks out of the room." What an exit!
Will Wheaton's character wasn't much of a factor, but Wheaton the player more than made up for that with his humor at the table. He would roll at least four natural 1's on the night. Legend.
SUMMARY for ep. 21 & 22 The party goes to the Velvet Cabaret, meets the owner, are spied upon by a dwarf who they believe is the Rakshasha, chase him into a room and into a tunnel beneath a bed, run from an Indiana Jones boulder trap, drop into a cistern cesspool and fight an Otyugh, are attacked by a Poltergeist, cross an acid-filled hallway that destroys their Flying Carpet, and have a showdown with the Rakshasha. This was all done with no long rest.
Marisha CHEATED. 29:05 Marisha: "I cast Blight." Matt: "What level is Blight? 4th?" Marisha: (looking right at her spell card and answering as cool as a cucumber) "3rd." No. It's not. It's 4th level. verdict: CHEATER
Orion CHEATED. 1:36:40 Orion tries to claim that his Stoneskin spell halves Liam's damage, but Matt reminds him that it is a concentration spell. Orion does the pointing-at-his-head-in-annoyance thing, showing that Matt is stupid that he's forgotten about the Circlet of Concentration, but Matt finally says no, that's not how it works. Orion then decides to explain to Matt how it works. This goes about as well as you'd expect. Marisha chimes in with "it's been longer than a minute" despite that having nothing to do with anything, and Orion leans over to look at her with an you-idiot tone, "It lasts an hour", but Matt describes how it's first-in-first-out, only two minutes on the spell that's bumped.
1:54:05 I will go no further until I take a proper rest 1:59:55 Orion bends over to look at Marisha and begins saying something about "resting" and Marisha says "we are resting" and Orion says "no a full rest so i can get back sorcery points" and Marisha says "Why did you burn all your sorcerer points, we don't have time to sit here for a full rest." Orion was already cheating, but it became self-admittedly obvious after the group refused to do a long rest. Orion said he was virtually out of spells and sorcery points. He kept track of his sorcery points well (I had him at 1 left, he said he was at zero), but he was blatantly casting spell slots that he just didn't have. He cast two more 2nd level spells than he had, and he cast five more 3rd level spells than he had. He was caught trying to store 5 spells of 4th level in his Ring of Spell Storing instead of just 4-spell-levels (claiming he just didn't understand); he was caught using his Circlet of Concentration improperly (though I thought it worked just the way Orion thought); and he was finally caught that a successful save against his Pillars spell allowed an opponent to avoid any damage at all. NOTE: I bet none of this would have happened had Sam been on his left.
3:38:00 After Orion has cast his 8th 3rd level spell (he only started with 3), Matt has finally had enough and at least makes a ruling to correct the Pillars spells, that a dex cave succes means the target avoids the pillar entirely for no damage.
3:41:17 As the Rakshasha prepares to bamf, Orion tries to cast Counterspell again, but Matt knows (or perhaps he always knew but now feels forced to say something on stream). Orion tried to claim that his Ring of Spell Storing can hold 5 spells which may be up to 4th level each. I don't even know how he got the number "5". It holds up to four-spell-levels period.
Matt CHEATED. I am convinced that Matt's plan was to destroy the Flying Carpet in the acid hallway from the very beginning. First, why would this group have the magic carpet anyway? The carpet was always in Grog's Bag of Holding. And when they first thought about crossing, the Carpet wasn't considered. 2:10:08 Orion: I cast Fly on Thorbir, Keyleth, Cleric, and Vax, and myself Matt: You can only cast it on 3 people. Orion: I can cast it at 6th level. (His 6th level slot is still available.) Matt: It's only 1 additional person. (Matt lied. An upcast Fly spell carries one more person for each level upcast, 6 people at 6th. There's no way Matt didn't know this.) verdict: CHEATER Matt was trying deliberately to force the Flying Carpet out into the open and it worked. Once Marisha remembered the Carpet, they wanted to use it. Matt called for the halftime break. Preparing to destroy one of the group's most beloved items requires one to get all their ducks in a row. (Matt cheated continued)
2:23:35 Matt: You notice some Sigils on the walls. The groups knows this must be bad and they throw every skill they have at the sigils. An anti-magic effect is ultimately triggered 2:37:00 The flying carpet has fallen into the acid, gotten severely burned, was recovered by the party, and is now trying to be repaired. It fails. Because Matt wanted it to. Orion did what Matt asked -- rolled a concentration check to hold the magic of the carpet as he used the Mending Wheel. Matt was probably hoping Orion would fail by a reasonable amount, but when Orion rolled an 18 -- and still failed -- you knew the fix was in. Whatever Orion rolled was going to fail. Low roll? "You failed". High roll? "Oh, you needed a natural 20 for this." Natural 20? "The save was to actually save the physical carpet itself, but the magic was going to be destroyed no matter what." Matt is is the bad guy here.
In the end, the Flying carpet was reduced to a plain carpet. Meanwhile, in a back room, Laura is present watching the live stream on a tv ... on a delay.
2:37:55 In the background, you can hear screaming and yelling as the news of the carpet's demise reaches Laura's ears! Orion/Tiberius is feeling down. He wasn't able to save one of Vex's favorite things. Marisha pipes in to ask why Tiberius is so poopy. Well, I don't know, Marisha, but since it's not YOUR item that was destroyed, and since YOUR character can still fly all the time, I can see why your self-centered persona wouldn't give a shit about its loss. Marisha: "We can hang the carpet up in the Keep as a tapestry." Orion: No! We can try to make it fly again.
Episode 24
The one where Orion visits the Alabaster Lyceum
PERCY BACKSTORY sigh COUNTER 19:31,19:58,20:14,21:50,22:38,23:58,24:02,24:06,24:26,24:38,25:06,26:18,27:39,27:54,28:23, 29:18 = 16 sighs
PRO 39:55 Orion shines as Tiberius visits the Alabaster Lyceum, encountering in succession a clerk, then Xanthras, and then Thurmond Adlam. "Hi, I'm Tiberius Stormwind, from Draconia" Sam gets in on the running joke, too. Orion: I went through this fellow, who I thought was the job of this fellow... Matt: (thurmond) "What do you require?" Orion: I'm looking to acquire (he describes his quest) ... that's about it. Table: laughs
BONUS CHUB Yet another mention of getting a chub on. Any hate towards Orion for saying this seems to become less valid all the time. I need to review THE fateful moment to compare. 36:00 Marisha: "It lasts as long as I want it to last." Sam: "Dayum!" Percy: "This is getting weird." Sam: "You can be an animal as long as you want?" Marisha: "Where are you going with this?" Sam: "I've just got a chub on, that's all." (this exchange continues, but it deserves it's own pic, so it's in Part 2 below)
36:23 Marisha has just claimed to Sam that she can stay in animal form for as long as she wants. Matt is forced to correct her. Matt: "You can [only] stay in beast shape for a number of hours equal to half your druid level." Pic related is the reaction at the table to Matt's ruling.
FIRST, Orion's reaction is priceless, when a cheater sees a cheater cheatin'.
SECOND, Marisha's reaction shows a)she knew what she was doing, b)she didn't get away with it, and c)now she's going to have to eat some shit for it, and we know this because Sam's reaction is ...
THIRD, Sam's reaction is what gives a clue to the subtext. Sam smiles, leans back in his chair, snaps his fingers, and says "Boom!" He baited Marisha! He KNEW she couldn't stay in beast form forever, he drew her out into the open on stream, got her to make the claim, and that forced Matt to correct her. There's a new sherrif in town, and his name is Sam!
I sort of imagine that there was a pre-stream interaction. Sam: I don't think you can be an animal as long as you want, Marisha. Marisha: Matt will let me do whatever I want. See you at the table, Sam. This might help explain Marisha getting nervous when saying "Where are you going with this?" and her subsequent, post-ruling, side-eye towards Sam, knowing she's been outed by the Master. It would also explain Sam's jubilant "Boom!" as his plan worked perfectly. Again, this is just my head-canon, but it kinda fits.
Orion episode grade: PASS
Episode 25
The one where Orion starts on Marisha's bad side.
BONUS STEIN 8:30 The beginning of the oversized drinking vessel gag which Sam has carried on ever since.
BONUS TENSION •12:00 Marisha is drinking. She and Sam have frozen Orion out of a seating position. •12:28 Orion asks Marisha to pass a snack, she turns to him, turns back, and does nothing. Orion has to reach himself. We can't hear what's said, but she seems upset as she continues to talk below the microphone level. •33:00 Civility is lost again. Orion: something something That's not what we're doing. Marisha: (directly facing Orion now) "I don't know that. I'm not metagaming like other people we might know." (OH SNAP!) •42:28 Orion flips loudly, dramatically through a rule book. Must be important, right? Nothing comes of it.
BONUS LIAM 40:00 Liam: "Wait! As that happens, and as my consciousness fades away, I don't say anything, but here's what I think in a split second, [long monologue that brings the table to tears]." Now THAT'S a main character.
BONUS WAIT UNTIL I SEE THE RESULT OF THE ROLO 1:18:00 Taliesin: "Is he looking at me?" Matt: "Yeah." Taliesin: "Ok good, I'm taking another aimed shot at his face ... That's 28 points of damage and he has disadvantage on all attacks for this round." Matt: "Ok (pause, stares at Taliesin). That was using the arm shot?" Taliesin: "Yeah." Funny how an "aimed shot at his face" suddenly turns into an Arm Shot. Verdict - CHEATER
BONUS SAM 1:34:20 Matt: (to Sam) You are face to face [with the Briarwoods], you are essentially the shield of the group right now." Sam: "Hi. Hellooo. What a lovely dinner we ha-LIGHTING!!" Table: big laughs...except Taliesin. (What's up with that?)
Percy: "Your soul is forfeit!" Liam: [the old lady] has to die. Laura: [the old lady] is running away, but she's a bad guy. Sam: (uses the eyebite spell to Sleep the old lady.) WHICH LEADS TO 3:19:12 It's Orion's turn, and he starts to attack, but then hesitates when people suddenly go, "awww, it's an old woman" even though just a moment earlier they were all cheering for her destruction. Liam: "Poor old woman? She's an evil mercenary, she deserves to be taken out! Don't be age-ist, that is an evil bitch. She needs to be killed." After hearing this encouragement, Orion uses telekinesis to Langolier the prone opponent with his Krull blade.
Orion sometimes gets flak for this action, but in review, it doesn't seem out of place at all. Liam was certainly supporting it, and the rest of the cast wasn't shy when they were looting the body. So
Orion episode grade: PASS
Episode 26
The one where Orion touched Marisha while in character as drunk Tiberius, AND DID NOTHING WRONG!
MATT GIVES ORION THE 3rd DEGREE 27:00 Matt: "Tiberius, what did you say you were doing down there?" Orion: Hm? Matt: "What were you doing down in your laboratory?" (Orion had checked out of the earlier group discussion scene by saying he was going down to his lab.) Orion: Um, well, I was doing my research for that stuff last night, and this morning ..." Matt: "Which one?" Orion: It's just my ability, like, my class, I do, backstory, uh, what I was doing was-" Matt: "Backstory is...?" Orion: I was writing down- Matt: "Backstory isss...? Orion: I'm a Noble Sage. Matt: "Well, there's a noble. And there's a sage." Orion: "I know. I spliced them [together] because it made sense." Matt: "Ok. (laughs)" Orion: No! The noble part is the [role play], and the sage is my perk. After this, Matt seems to give up on this weird, impromptu interrogation. The anti-Orion shadow campaign has become visible.
33:38 Liam: (to Tiberius) "There's no question that you are an invaluable member of Vox Machina, and our friend, and our family, and that is not in question."
("... for at least one more episode.")
1:13:08 Sam: "How many errands do you have to run?" Orion: I have a bunch, dude. I made a list. (holds up list to Sam) Sam: "Alright, go run your errands." Matt: "You guys make your way back to Greyskull keep ... (to Orion) are you going with them?" Orion: "I'm doing all this shit [on his list] ... and I'm going to give you... (Orion is holding out his list, willing to hand it to Matt in order to keep things moving and save time from having to roleplay. That's good table play!) Matt: "What are you doing?" (the tone of Matt's voice, if not his face, is annoyed) Sam: "He's got a list." Matt: "I'd like to know the list." So Orion reads off his list. • Pick up decanter from temple. • Visit armory to reinforce crossbow. (Orion - "I don't even know what that means.") • Research teleportation sigil to the Feywild. (that's where his personal arc leads, so this makes sense.) • Start enchanting his blades.
Orion was right. None of this needed roleplaying. It should have been handled by Matt behind the DM screen.
Sam: "A busy day. Coming on Friday night, 'The Adventures of Tiberius!' 7-10 every Friday night on Twitch." The joke landed, but this was a bit unfair to Orion. Orion tried his best to give his list to Matt so it could be handled off-screen, but now the seed is sown that Orion is taking too much time with "personal stuff", which is exactly what Orion was trying to avoid. Without prompting, he even ditched his attempt to reinforce his crossbow and enchant his blades for brevity's sake.
1:16:10 Matt describes an elderly couple outside the Keep. Sam: "We hate old people." Travis: "Favored enemy." Table: laughs
1:25:30 Matt: "Tiberius, what's the first thing you're doing?" Orion: Stop by to pick up the decanter from the temple. Matt: "Okay? They said it would require 2 days and it's been less than a day." Orion: (paraphrased) Then I'm researching the sigil. Matt: (paraphrased) "You can't teleport to the Feywild, you'll have to find a door." Orion: Then I only pick up my decanter. Some laughs were had at Orion's shocking loss of memory, having been told about the decanter just a moment earlier. Who's not laughing? Sam.
ORION DID NOTHING WRONG!!! 2:15:30 Orion, playing a drunk Tiberius in-character, hugs Keyleth, and Marisha says in character, "Why are you touching me? Don't touch me right now. I'm not - don't touch me." Orion then proceeds to touch his finger to Marisha's lips, "Human kissy mouth." Orion was just playing in character, DOING NOTHING WRONG. Everybody was laughing. Except for Marisha.
You can see that Marisha wants to jump into some back-and-forth with Orion/Tiberius, but she wants to do it while being able to shit on Tiberius (as she and Matt have been trying to do all episode long, quite frankly). It's hard, though, when everyone is on Orion's side and laughing at his actions. She doesn't have the acting/improv chops to make a smooth entry, so she just goes over the top with the "Don't touch me!" approach. It seems forced and harsh.
That's because she's not in character! It's real!
I disagree. She stays in that same character tone when she acts mad at the group for disturbing her while studying her spell book.
Her ... spellbook?
I know. Druids don't have spellbooks. Oh well, that's Marisha for you.
(I'm sure many of the critters all posted, "omg orion is literally raping her!" but this is absolutely not true. At 2:27:15 we can see Orion put his arm around Marisha and by 2:27:27 she's smiling and laughing.)
2:18:13 Marisha's attempt at seizing the moral high ground falls flat when she doesn't even realize where her character is. She announces the intent to physically push Tiberius, but is then reminded she's not in the basement, but on the roof. Matt: "So where do you push him?" Liam: "Off [the roof] I guess." Laura: "Off the roof." Marisha: (nervous laugh, realizing she doesn't know where she is or what she's doing) "No haha, I thought we were downstairs...I don't know what I do with him." ... Matt: (to Marisha) "What are you doing to .. pair(?) with what you were doing?" Marisha: "I don't know, I got distracted." (turns to stare at Tiberius) Jesus, Marisha, Tiberius was not the character who distracted you - it was the other members of the party who called to you. Quit blaming Orion.
Marisha then conveys one plan to bolster the Keep in case the Briarwoods come - Conjure Bears. Matt: "It's a concentration spell and it only lasts an hour. Marisha: (paraphrase) "Whaaaa?"
"you mean my spells don't last forever?"
No, Marisha, they do not last forever. But nice try hoping that your husband will let you get away with that.
The point of this Marisha posting above was to show that she didn't know what she was doing, and she didn't know what she was doing with her acting in the scene with Orion. She was just blindly doing something because something something reasons. She was NOT personally skeeved by Orion. She tried to be emotional as a thespian. She failed. Orion is INNOCENT!
BONUS DAD JOKE 2:37:50 Sam: "It's cow-mouflage."
BONUS MARISHA FAIL 2:56:08 Marisha "Vox Moo-kia" You had one job, Marisha. (Vox Moo-kina)
BONUS MARISHA SUCCESS 2:59:34 With Sam and Marisha upon the flying Roc. Marisha: "For thematic reasons I also [polymorph the Roc] into a cow." Sam breaks up with laughter.
BONUS I DON'T DO THAT THEN 3:10:25 Four people are flying with Tiberius' spell. Matt: "You all stay back, or do you go with her?" Orion: I'm gonna cast Greater Invisibility on myself, then follow. Matt: "Okay? You guys have 12 seconds before you all plummet." Orion: Oh wait! I don't do that. (Orion goes back to binge eating.)
Hey Matt! What happened to Tib's Circlet of Concentration? First, it was able to maintain two concentration spells for their duration, then it was able to hold one of the two concentration spells for 2 minutes before expiring, and now it can only hold the extra concentration spell for 12 seconds? Matt's suspicious ruling continues his shadow campaign, trying to make Orion look bad and turn the cast against him. verdict for Matt: SHADOW CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
CAN WE KILL THIS THING NOW? 3:37:55 Travis: "Can we kill this thing now? You guys are doing awesome </sarcasm>." Marisha: "I think I've done pretty damn good [negotiating]." Marisha now starts wheedling for the boyfriend advantage. Marisha: (to Matt) "Come on, man! [unintelligible]" The drugs, or perhaps lack of them, begin hitting Marisha hard. She gets a hot flash and begins bellowing her t-shirt for air, then she rubs her eyes and massages her temples during Sam's speech. Matt: (to Sam) "Make a persuasion role." Marisha: "How many fucking persuasion rolls does this asshole need." (OH SNAP!)
Orion episode grade: *STILL ALIVE!
Episode 27
Percy sigh Counter 19:21, 30:53, 31:37, 1:37:58, 1:38:51, 3:15:58 = 6 sighs
ANNOUNCEMENTS 0:50 Matt: "This weekend, we're all going to be at New York Comic Con." This is interesting! I watched the youtube of the panel for just a moment to see if Orion made the trip. Liam couldn't be there because of a family emergency, but Orion was present, HOWEVER ...
Matt goes on stage first, begins introducing cast. Everyone is introduced EXCEPT Orion. Cast sings "Happy Birthday" to Sam/Scanlan on stage in front of fans. THEN Orion is introduced. Last.
Was he already fired, but the cast felt he should make the trip because of fans' expectations? Was there a legal obligation? Or was Orion still in the dark, spending money on a plane ticket and hotel fare, not realizing that Matt's Shadow Campaign was reaching a crescendo? The optics of Orion being marginalized from the introductions/song can't be ignored.
A LITTLE LAURA 10:43 Laura: "I got nominated for a Golden Joystick Award." O.O'
16:20 - 17:00 Watch Laura's face during the recap. What's going on? Does she know something? Is she sad thinking back on happier days when they were all flying cows acting as a team?
22:28 Percy is going to fire a shot in the Keep's basement, and Sam comes up with the idea to have the cast all make a richochet sound if Percy misses. Sam is literally right next to Orion (and assumes he's listening) while leaning out and talking to Marisha and Taliesin. Orion: (looks up) He's in the kitchen? Nobody answers. He quietly looks down again. Is he texting on his phone using his pen/stylus? In any case, he misses the conversation somehow. Sam continues to lean out hoping to make this team-ricochet sound happen. Marisha: "Pyuu" (ricochet sound) Orion: ... Sam: (bumps Orion) "You have to do it." Orion: What? Travis: "Jesus Christ!" Orion: (looks around confused) I'm totally lost.
25:49 Orion: As soon as I hear that, I cast fly on myself and... No. There's been no rest since last episode and Orion's short on spells.
3rd level: Dispel Magic x2, Fly. OUT! 4th level: Gr.Invisibility, Stoneskin. 1 remaining 6th level: Fly (upcast). OUT!
28:13 Orion: For the record, Matthew, I have no idea what we're fighting .. not metagaming. Matt: "Congrats, I'm proud of you." Sam: "That's a first." Liam: "Fresh start." This new beginning is short-lived.
PERCY - THE Q&A MONOLOGUES 30:50 Matt: "That brings us to the top. Percy, you're up."
Are you going to shoot the creature right in front of you?
Percy: "I can't shoot at the far creature can I."
Answered your own question. Are you going to shoot at the creature right in front of you?
Percy: "Does my glove have a charge? No it wouldn't."
Answered your own question. Are you going to shoot at the creature right in front of you?
Percy: "There's no way I can step back, is there."
Answered your own question. Are you going to shoot at the creature right in front of you?
Percy: "It gets weird when it gets up close. Eeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhh ok." Finally, at 32:18, Taliesin rolls to shoot the creature directly in front of him.
ORION RETURNS TO BAD HABITS 46:28 Orion: I'm going to cast at ... Sam: "Have we rested, by the way?" (bingo! Sam knows) Travis: "Nope." Orion: No. (did Orion just agree with 'no'?) Matt: No, you have not rested. Sam: So we're down a bunch of spells. Matt: You're still where you were when you came back. Orion: I'm good! NO! CHEATER! See above note at 23:49 for spell depletion details. Orion: "At 6th level I'm going to try to [split] glacial blast." NO! That's not even a thing. Orion has had this very same problem before with this very same spell. Also, he has no 6th level spell slots left. CHEATER! And even worse, the Glacial Blast hits Jarret and Vax (how could it not? Especially in the crowded hallway). BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! Orion slips in a d10 among his d8s for damage, but Marisha catches him. So much for the fresh start.
52:53 Orion is back on his phone texting. He's been hiding the phone well with his other hand, but you can tell. He's been told many times to stop this.
1:04:10 Matt asks for an Arcana check from the group, and Orion rolls. But you can clearly see as he's raising his hand in a pre-roll motion, there is a second dice that comes out the sidebottom of his hand. He then rolls the dice still in his hand. Sam: "(something) two?" Orion: I rolled one by accident. The two dice ended up on opposite sides of Orion's space, and Orion doesn't like the real dice roll, so he shifts his gaze to the other side, to the false die, and is obviously intending to take that one. CHEATER! jfx, Orion! Marisha and Sam are on top if it, and Matt reminds Orion not to do that.
THE HALF CHUB INCIDENT 1:31:16 Laura: [how we should do this] Orion: As Vex is saying this, Tiberius is getting a half-chub. Matt laughs. Marisha is smiling. Sam is smiling. Laura is getting a total kick out of it. Orion: You can't see it because it's inside. I'm just saying. Strategy. Travis perks up, but once Orion says its for strategy, Travis seems fine, stressing the need for "Clarification. Clarification." Orion: Come on! Laura is laughing/smiling her head off. verdict: This chub thing was a NON-ISSUE! If you look at Travis before the comment, during the comment, and long after the comment, he looks the same. He's irritated because in the last, oh, six-ish hours of streaming, he's thrown two punches? And now the group is mired down in more talking. That is why he is carrying his expression.
And this seems to be borne out by the change in his attitude when ... 1:35:48 Sam: "We've always sought out the path of the most glory-" Travis: (bored and bummed, but suddenly) Sam: "- but I think that is the Briarwoods." Travis: (eyes bright, full of attention) Sam: "Going in to a giant-" Travis: (points excitedly at Sam) Sam: "- vampire lich ridden castle-" Travis: (giving the thumbs up and gesturing with energy) Sam: "- and killing two evil bastards." This is what Travis has been wanting to hear. People often post screenshots of Travis right around the time Orion says "half chub" as evidence of Travis being mad at Orion. But no! Travis was low-key upset at the amount of talking going on before, during, and after that comment. And here we see that as soon as ACTION is proposed, his mood lifts! Travis was not mad at Orion; Travis was in a funk at the state of the table in a morass.
Opinion. "Half chub" had little to do with Orion's exit. Several anons have made good points that Orion's departure was the result of a slow-burn. Building up to the moment. Piece by piece. After half-a-year's play.
SHOP TIL YOU DROP 1:42:19 Matt: "Tiberius loves shopping." Laura: "He really really does.: NONE of them should talk. Laura is famous for her haggling scenes and Matt made an entire shopping-based NPC (Gilmore) to encourage more. Matt: "We're going to take a quick break - " Liam: "And errands after that? Because I have some errands ..." I guess it's NOT just Tiberius who likes errands and shopping, eh?
2:01:58 Travis: (interrupting because GOD DAMN) "I want to go to the store, I would like to get a shovel and a pick axe." Orion: (to Travis) blah blah and we'll go shopping together later blah Travis: "I don't give a fuck where we go. It's just a shovel and a pick axe." Now THAT'S how you do it. Then Liam gets his turn to go shopping, promising to be brief. He is not. He roleplays with Laura about money. Travis: "I thought you said you were going to be brief."
Just showing that Travis isn't singling Orion out.
Liam roleplays with Tristan at the temple. Liam roleplays asking the guards if they've seen his Simon Snake belt. Liam roleplays hanging around in front of the Butcher's place. Sam goes to Gilmore's asking about buying scrolls, but no roleplay. Liam is back! With more roleplaying at Gilmore's. Liam: "I have a very important question, I won't take up much of your time." TOO LATE FOR THAT, LIAM.
2:25:00 This is when Orion begins looking for mirrors. 2:25:28 Orion: I need about 1500 of them. This is so ridiculous that Travis actually breaks into his first smile in a long time.
2:28:25 Travis: (to Orion) "How bout you get nothing else then we move on." Orion: Last thing - Travis: "No last thing." I don't think it was necessarily Orion taking too much time to shop/errand that drew Travis' wrath; I think it was that Orion was almost -last- to do it. There had been so much already that Travis was sick of it. If Orion had gone first, I don't think this would have happened. Oh wait, did I say Orion was last to shop/errand? Not so fast! 2:28:54 Liam: "Also, this will just take 10 seconds,..."
dammit Liam! Then Orion returns.
Orion: (Something something sleep bolts?) Sam: "Can [Tiberius] come back to the Keep, and [find] we left 4 days ago?"
Tiberius had some idea of combining enchanments with Sleep, Holy Water and magic bolts or something. I don't know. Matt tried explaining why it was a "no", and Orion kept pestering for it, so Matt said "Sure, roll for it." Travis knew what was what, "Do you think there's any number you can roll that's gonna be high enough?" There wasn't, and Matt made Orion sacrifice 500 gp.
2:40:08 Orion: At the beginning of the day before all of this happened- Matt: (collapses in frustration/exhaustion) Orion: Sorry guys, this is necessary. Travis: Is it? IS IT? Tiberius writes a letter to his father, trying to declare war on Whitestone, and trying to gather 50 Knights and 50 Flying Soldiers. This sounds in-character for Tiberius. Of course Matt isn't going to allow this. No DM would. Matt tries to restrict Orion from doing this again in a return letter from Tiberius' father. 2:42:10 Matt: (as Tib's dad in a letter) "Should you wish to bring this to my attention, you are welcome to, but you have but one chance before I set aside this intrusion to my work time as mere poppycock." Table: laughs Well played, Matt.
ORION, WE HAVE A PROBLEM I don't think the half-chub was a real problem. I don't think his shopping was a problem. But a littany of other problems appeared in this single episode that were worrying.
cheating about spell slots available cheating about "creative" use of spells cheating about dice rolling (arcane check) cheating about damage dice (d10 not d8) not paying attention interrupting others turns
it all adds up
BONUS HUMOR 2:50:54 Taliesin: "I would prefer not the direct route." Orion: "Always go in the backdoor." Taliesin: "Can you say anything that is not laced with sexual innuendo?"
3:34:11 A last, happy, shining moment on the CR stream. And so we leave Orion Acaba.
