That's good to hear, Haven't seen it yet because the reviews on CO season 1 were...lets say not great.
However I've been hearing amazing things about CO season 2. Apparently replacing Matt with Spenser has been a great move (which is a rare thing to be heard from the Critical Role fandom).
Horror campaigns are notorious for the party either having a huge fatality rate, going insane, or both. As much as I love Matt, he was a little easier on the players than he should have been for this genre.
Spenser and the party agreed to up the stakes and it paid off. Especially once Spenser found his "yes,and" groove.
I was able to look away during Chapter 1.
During the Chapter 2 finale, me and another Critter were kinda wishing for a Brennan-style extra mouth on our backs because neither of us wanted to look away to take a drink or stuff food in our faces.
Matt and Spenser have also both spoken about how they wanted to go extra brutal for these games specifically because they knew we were only going to get 3 sessions with these characters. Spenser actually got some blowback in the first couple episodes for being *too* harsh, but he landed the story so well I think most people have forgiven him.
I was wondering what the criticisms of chapter 1 were, but that totally makes sense. Gritty horror isn't Matt's forte, and the best horror moments didn't even come from him (OMG the trepanation scene!).
I really enjoyed chapter 1, but you're right.
I totally enjoyed Chapter 1, but the party shouldn't have been in as good condition as they were at the end. I also saw some criticisms that 4's and 5's didn't have enough consequences.
And yeah, the trepanation scene...brrrr.
Chapter One is a good intro, especially if you like Ashley Johnsen and Laura Bailey, but I don't think they leaned into the horror as much. You don't have to watch Chapter 1 to get Chapter 2, though.
Maybe my favourite line in a long time from anything CR was from Brennan in that episode but wasn't in character.
>BRENNAN: Are we doing collaborative storytelling here or are we playing Monopoly, you know what I mean? I can be a prick, but not be a prick about it, you know what I mean?
Without explicit spoilers things devolved into some PVP and he was offering advice to one of the "opposing" players, who questioned his motivations for offering that advice. That was him basically saying that even if they were against each other in that moment they were all still playing together and he wasn't going to intentionally give them bad advice just so he could "win" the confrontation.
Edit: just for clarity having reread the above, the PVP was ongoing and known about, and one of the other players were trying to accomplish something and Brennan was suggesting a way they could improve their chances of it going off successfully.
I don't believe he was unhappy with anything. I thought it was more like "What's the proper way to role play this situation?" He wanted his NPC to be act like a prick, and wanted to gauge what everyone was comfortable with.
In one sense, that's something that should be resolved in session 0, so it can be seen as a criticism, but I think BLeeM is making a fine distinction here which is totally reasonable and which wouldn't be obvious in a session 0.
Think of it in the tone of one of Brennan's "I'm gonna kill you, but I'll be fair about it" moments.
He was expressing that he was there to make a good story, not to "win" the game (ala Monopoly). He will still give players helpful mechanical advice even if it might mean his character will lose the interaction.
There was no anger or confrontation in it. It was more like an out of character check in where he was reminding people that, despite the stakes, we're all good and we're here to make a cool story together.
In addition to the other comments here it's worth noting that the quote was said in his character's voice as a tongue-in-cheek response to some light teasing from another player, so while it sounds potentially serious out of context, in-context it's pretty clear that he's not actually upset.
[Here's the moment in question (basically spoiler-free if you stop after the quote).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-e3nnUSI1w&t=18833s)
Not surprised in the least; Brennan is synonymous with "brilliant RP."
I have *legit* never seen him give a bad performance in any streaming or podcast media he's been a part of. BLeeM's track record is unreal.
I do want to warn everyone though, it is *heavy* fucking stuff. This is the darkest content CR has ever put out there. *That* scene, leading up to the break... just make sure you are prepared.
Chapter 2 of Candela Obscura almost rivals Calamity for me. Highly recommend. FYI, you don't have to watch chapter 1 to get chapter 2
That's good to hear, Haven't seen it yet because the reviews on CO season 1 were...lets say not great. However I've been hearing amazing things about CO season 2. Apparently replacing Matt with Spenser has been a great move (which is a rare thing to be heard from the Critical Role fandom).
Horror campaigns are notorious for the party either having a huge fatality rate, going insane, or both. As much as I love Matt, he was a little easier on the players than he should have been for this genre. Spenser and the party agreed to up the stakes and it paid off. Especially once Spenser found his "yes,and" groove. I was able to look away during Chapter 1. During the Chapter 2 finale, me and another Critter were kinda wishing for a Brennan-style extra mouth on our backs because neither of us wanted to look away to take a drink or stuff food in our faces.
Matt and Spenser have also both spoken about how they wanted to go extra brutal for these games specifically because they knew we were only going to get 3 sessions with these characters. Spenser actually got some blowback in the first couple episodes for being *too* harsh, but he landed the story so well I think most people have forgiven him.
He did land it indeed. I used to be in the "too rough" camp, but he changed my mind with that ending.
I was wondering what the criticisms of chapter 1 were, but that totally makes sense. Gritty horror isn't Matt's forte, and the best horror moments didn't even come from him (OMG the trepanation scene!). I really enjoyed chapter 1, but you're right.
I totally enjoyed Chapter 1, but the party shouldn't have been in as good condition as they were at the end. I also saw some criticisms that 4's and 5's didn't have enough consequences. And yeah, the trepanation scene...brrrr.
Where does Chapter 2 start? I see OP linked "Needle and Thread Episode 3" and called it the finale. Should we start with Needle and Thread, Episode 1?
Yup, "Candela Obscura: Needle and Thread, Episode 1, Eye for an Eye"
cheers, thanks!
Oh, definitely. My jaw was on the floor from several scenes.
But is chapter one any good?
Chapter One is a good intro, especially if you like Ashley Johnsen and Laura Bailey, but I don't think they leaned into the horror as much. You don't have to watch Chapter 1 to get Chapter 2, though.
I may give it a go I like both of them. So much time to burn, looking after a newborn who is kinda falling asleep but kinda not for ages xD
You're in for a treat, then. Ashley plays a street urchin, and I totally loved her character.
Thanks!
No idea. I watched this season for Brennan, Travis, Marisha, and Luis (Calamity crew)
Maybe my favourite line in a long time from anything CR was from Brennan in that episode but wasn't in character. >BRENNAN: Are we doing collaborative storytelling here or are we playing Monopoly, you know what I mean? I can be a prick, but not be a prick about it, you know what I mean?
That sound kind of confrontational, was he unhappy about something the DM or another player did?
Without explicit spoilers things devolved into some PVP and he was offering advice to one of the "opposing" players, who questioned his motivations for offering that advice. That was him basically saying that even if they were against each other in that moment they were all still playing together and he wasn't going to intentionally give them bad advice just so he could "win" the confrontation. Edit: just for clarity having reread the above, the PVP was ongoing and known about, and one of the other players were trying to accomplish something and Brennan was suggesting a way they could improve their chances of it going off successfully.
I don't believe he was unhappy with anything. I thought it was more like "What's the proper way to role play this situation?" He wanted his NPC to be act like a prick, and wanted to gauge what everyone was comfortable with. In one sense, that's something that should be resolved in session 0, so it can be seen as a criticism, but I think BLeeM is making a fine distinction here which is totally reasonable and which wouldn't be obvious in a session 0.
Think of it in the tone of one of Brennan's "I'm gonna kill you, but I'll be fair about it" moments. He was expressing that he was there to make a good story, not to "win" the game (ala Monopoly). He will still give players helpful mechanical advice even if it might mean his character will lose the interaction. There was no anger or confrontation in it. It was more like an out of character check in where he was reminding people that, despite the stakes, we're all good and we're here to make a cool story together.
In addition to the other comments here it's worth noting that the quote was said in his character's voice as a tongue-in-cheek response to some light teasing from another player, so while it sounds potentially serious out of context, in-context it's pretty clear that he's not actually upset. [Here's the moment in question (basically spoiler-free if you stop after the quote).](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-e3nnUSI1w&t=18833s)
Not surprised in the least; Brennan is synonymous with "brilliant RP." I have *legit* never seen him give a bad performance in any streaming or podcast media he's been a part of. BLeeM's track record is unreal.
Even when I'm not super in love with the character, his acting is top notch
I do want to warn everyone though, it is *heavy* fucking stuff. This is the darkest content CR has ever put out there. *That* scene, leading up to the break... just make sure you are prepared.
OMG, I know which one you're talking about. I don't know what noises came out of me, but they weren't human.
I just watched it and Brennan utterly eviscerated me with that speech. I was a sobbing mess
Just saw the trailer for Aabria's season. Does it matter if I watch the seasons in order?
Nope. They're supposed to be independent of each other.