#i LOVE patia

[words-writ-in-starlight]

I hope they don't all die.

Specifically, I want Patia to live. I want Patia Por'co, heiress to one of the greatest mages the Age of Arcanum ever produced and to some of the worst wizard hubris going around, to live.

I think it would be so much worse for her to watch her Age, her Age and her shining city in the sky and her magical brilliance that she was so sure would bathe them all in its light forever, crumble into dust and ruin.

#patia por'co #exu calamity #critical role #exu: calamity #exandria unlimited #calamity #i haven't decided yet if i want any of the others to live for this specific reason #(i want zerxus to live forever in the nine hells as the champion of the god he thought he could save with mortal kindness) #(but that's a separate thing) #but i REALLY want patia to live to see the fall of the age of arcanum #to see it and know intimately and bitterly its every step #and to understand more truly than anyone left alive how thoroughly their bright fire burned itself to death #after that she can die #i'll have an opinion on what i want to happen to the other four by the end of next episode don't worry #also to clarify: this is not because i dislike patia #i LOVE patia #that is why i want the worst imaginable fate for her #ring of brass

[totallynotzzombiecat]

Patia Por'co, the Keeper of Scrolls, Archmage of the Librarium Incantatum

The embodiment of Perfection.

#critical role #critrole #critical role fanart #critical role exu #exu calamity #exandria unlimited calamity #exu calamity spoilers #exu patia #patia por'co #archmage #fantasy #dnd #portrait #stylised #god i love her so much #she's flawless #so coool i just cant #wizards

[trashyshrew]

“All things end - lives, stories, even ages.” 

#critical role #exu calamity #critical role calamity #laerryn coramar seelie #loquatious seelie #nydas okiro #zerxus ilerus #patia por'co #cerrit agrupnin #the ring of brass #oh #my #god #this story was DEVASTATING and i loved it #if the characters don't look like they are supposed to oops #i drew first and looked things up later

[gingersnipe]

Zerxus pulls the true heart of the Lord of the Hells across the threshold of the sundered Tree of Names and into Exandria...

a master study of Nicolas Poussin's Agony in the Garden, EXU Calamity-ified

#critical role fanart #ahss #artists-guild-of-exandria #exu calamity #zerxus ilerez #patia por'co #nydas okiro #loquatius seelie #asmodeus #critical role #THE COOLEST THING I HAVE EVER MADE #a love letter to the greatest dnd actual play there has ever been #quiddie #my art #ginger art

[rabbit-exe]

rewatched exu calamity and brennan really rocked up to the critical role studio and said "I'm gonna hurt that paladin So Bad"

#the fuckin!! the hour-long second! in which brennan literally says to luis 'you get a front-row seat to watch what happens to them' #fuckin!! frozen in time!! watching his friends get Tree Exploded! GAH... #'zerxus you watch as patia's head twists past the point that she can remain alive' COOL GREAT THANKS BRENNAN #exu calamity #god I love all four episodes of that tragedy so much. perfect #brennan heard that zerxus is grieving his dead husband and estranged from his son and looked at luis like a lion looks at an injured gazell #Emotional Wound Time #all of these characters are so fucking tragic I love them #the way brennan plays evandrin too... AUGH #I'm chewing the legs off the goddamn furniture over here #hare.txt

[threadcountart]

The final fight of EXU Calamity really was the Ring of Brass playing hot potato, except the hot potato is Hope and the players are bleeding out and getting struck down the more they play, just barely doing what they can before passing on, ensuring the remaining players have a chance to do what they need to do to keep Hope in the air.

Zerxus defending the group, purposely taking blows before the sun rises and he is no longer himself.

Nydas making sure he “doesn’t miss” when he goes down

Patia releasing a nineth level Wish from her body as she falls

Cerrit diving in with the Natural 20 against Vespin Chloras

Loquatius’s readied Healing Word just in time as something that would have killed Laerryn hits her

Laerryn finishing the spell just in time and ensuring (with Nydas’s inspiration) that Cerrit makes it out to find his family.

Hell, even Vespin Chloras in that brief moment of clarity, buying Avalir more time through Zerxus. And Callum Staffwright and Orwyn too. The desperation and determination throughout the finale is just so heart wrenching.

#guys I love this mini series so much #exandria unlimited: calamity #ring of brass #vespin chloras #callum staffwright #cr orwym #EXU spoilers #cr spoilers #critical role #EXU calamity #Exandria calamity #threadcount ramblings #cr meta #zerxus ilerez #nydas okiro #patia por'co #cerrit agrupnin #loquatius seelie #laerryn coramar seelie

[burr-ell]

To expand on the previous post (with excellent addition by @kerosene-in-a-blender), I genuinely believe Laudna as a character would be a lot stronger in one of two scenarios:

1. Ditch the Whitestone stuff. I say this as someone who has produced almost nothing but de Rolo content—that is too big a part of Campaign 1 not to completely overshadow anything different the character tries to do in a long-form narrative. I think they could have threaded that needle, but that requires so much more focus and attention that a fast-paced story about a moon conspiracy just isn't built for. It's been 65 episodes and Whitestone nostalgia is all the character has meaningfully contributed to the narrative.

They put themselves between a rock and a hard place before the story even started. You can't bring in Delilah too often without inevitably treading on Campaign 1, but you also can't use her too little—not just because she's Delilah Briarwood, but also because that's the patron of a PC and your PCs need to be taking center stage. And yet there is nothing Delilah's presence has done in the story thus far that could not have been accomplished by a completely different, hitherto-unknown necromancer patron. Laudna's experiences in Whitestone could be replaced with a similarly traumatic backstory (it's not like Exandria is hurting for necromancers abusing power) and she'd have to actually elaborate on it and flesh out the worldbuilding and think about the backstory instead of being able to lean on "Hey, you guys remember that Briarwood arc? Freaky, right?"

2. Keep Laudna as she is and use her in an EXU miniseries. Set it in northwestern Tal'Dorei, where she's been wandering aimlessly for thirty years, spending half the time disassociating and half the time making her dolls. She meets a colorful group of people and they go on some adventures, and she finally decides to take back her life and do something about the voice in her head. You'd basically keep the Whitestone episodes of C3 as they are, give or take a few beats, as the climactic episodes of the series, and then the newly fire-forged friends set off for whatever new journey awaits them.

Maybe Laudna switches patrons; maybe she ditches the warlock thing entirely; maybe she ends the miniseries not knowing what she wants but excited to learn about it with her new companions. Mini-campaigns don't have to worry about that kind of thing! You can have your Whitestone nostalgia and some fanservice while still telling a pretty fun story, and it won't feel like a weird extra appendage to a main campaign that otherwise has very little to do with it. I wouldn't say it's a story I'd be interested in seeing continue, but it's perfectly serviceable for something small and self-contained.

What it has not been serviceable for is the long-form story of Campaign 3.

Honestly, I was a little concerned about all of this even before I started watching all the way through, but I wanted to give it time and judge it for myself. I don't believe in unfounded doomsaying, and I wanted to give the show a chance to do something interesting. And it has been 65 episodes, over 260 hours of content, which I think puts us well past the window of "give it a chance", and Laudna has spent the vast majority of her time not meaningfully engaging with her levels of warlock if it doesn't contribute to creepy girl vibes. (She frankly isn't engaging with her levels in sorcerer, either.) She's never even addressed potentially finding a new patron—so does she not want to? But then why is she so distressed about the idea of Delilah resurfacing? And if she does want a new patron, why has nothing actually happened in the almost-thirty episodes we've had since the Whitestone trip? If she's been "fighting Delilah for thirty-odd years", why didn't she take the chance to explicitly try to connect with, say, the Sun Tree? Or literally anyone else?

And honestly, as a Campaign 1 fan I have to say I'm also frustrated at how Delilah's presence specifically undercuts that story. Like, yeah, you have a technical reason for why she's still here, but "well she IS a powerful necromancer" is just a mechanical explanation, not a dramaturgical one. Her story is done. The chapter closed. She had ample opportunity, including when specifically asked by the Hells, to state any specific goals—any at all—and didn't. This is the woman who menaced Percy and Vex? This is the woman who permanently killed Vax? ...Really?

It could have been an interesting challenge to take on in referencing something from the past while bringing something new to the table, and it's not like they haven't done that before; they've already shown with Jester and the Traveler that it can be done. But they haven't done it here; any opportunity for Laudna to grow beyond her vague concepts—"What if Sun Tree Body...with Delilah patron? What if weird scary girl...but happy?"—has been generally ignored. Her killing Bor'dor is the first time in the entire campaign that she's done something that really got my attention, and in two episodes it's almost immediately papered over, followed by some inexplicable "must you continue to reconquer?" word salad about the gods.

Marisha explicitly refused to create a new character until she knew for sure whether or not Laudna would be resurrected. But if she enjoys her so much, when is she going to do anything meaningful with her?

#critical role #cr meta #long post #i would love to believe that something will happen with her but i've been hoping for something to happen all this time and it hasn't #it seemed like it would! and then it kinda just. fizzled out and got papered over #like you can't just say 'nono her character is great she really picks up after 300 hours of pure aesthetic and nothing else' #like. that's a lot of potential and increasingly diminishing returns #and it's WEIRD. because i've had beau for five episodes and she's so much stronger as a character #i've never been really into keyleth as a character but she similarly feels really grounded #and patia was around for four episodes and was an absolute tour de force #like we KNOW the player can do better. why isn't she

[pocketgalaxies]

i still can't believe marisha said "only the umbilical connection i have to this city" BEFORE brennan even brought up patia's parents. like marisha was just showing how visceral patia's tie to avalir was, but even saying something as charged™ as "umbilical connection" didn't make her think of her parents. and then brennan revealed that patia's memory of them was wiped. like how fucking meta is that? when marisha thinks of the words umbilical connection and patia por'co she doesn't even consider her parents?? because they don't MATTER to patia. and then brennan said there's a reason for that, a reason that you didn't even realize you seamlessly built into your character performance?? ROLE PLAYING IS VERY COOL

#this is just CRAZY TO ME i love it so much #text #nova shh #critical role #exu #exu: calamity #patia por'co #marisha ray #brennan lee mulligan #cr meta #marisha ray supremacy

[ladykeyleth]

Patia ✨boss bitch✨ Por’co

#criticalroleedit #critteredit #critical role #patia por'co #exandria unlimited calamity #exu calamity #mgifs #I love her your honor

[sleepymccoy]

been so long since i posted art on tumblr i had to learn the new post formatting process! i dont like change

these two made me gasp so many times, but i love this scene especially. Loquatius "Heart Eyes" Seelie

#cr calamity #loquatius seelie #laerryn coramar seelie #do they have a ship name i can tag??? #ah well i love them #hey spot patia in the bg there being badass #calamity fan art #cr exu calamity

[meduseld]

Something about the Ring of Brass though, that actually upon reflection enhances the viewing experience, is that it wouldn’t exist without Evandrin.

Like. The info we get is as follows: he was Laerryn’s oldest friend, and implied to have been tight with her and Patia beforehand. Loquatius joins the crew through Laerryn, and Cerrit, who would not have had reason to be tight with Hubris Mages otherwise, would have worked, and does, very closely with the First Knight of Avalir, bonded with Evandrin over Dad Stuff (as is implied) and joined the gang.

The two remaining members? Zerxus, who literally says he joined the Ring through Evandrin who was friends with them first, and *his* lifelong BFF Nydas, who wanted to join the city elite and was able to through that connection when Zerxus and Evandrin fell in love and thus clicked with the rest of the crew. Or alternately, he wanted in and inadvertedly or purposefully introduced his bff to hot Dad Knight Evandrin. Point being, they joined as a duo through that link.

So however you slice it, the only reason this crew came together as they did is through Evandrin’s friendship and presence. No wonder his “death” haunts them all, and is such an intense motivator, yes even to the point of madness. It’s love. 

#i have feelings #exu calamity #ring of brass #evandrin #laerryn coramar seelie #patia por'co #loquatius seelie #cerrit agrupnin #zerxus ilerez #Nydas okiro #all good stories are about love and grief baby

[crystallinerage]

~Rings~

#critical role #critical role fanart #cr #exandria unlimited #exandria unllimited calamity #ring of brass #cerrit agrupnin #zerxus ilerez #laerynn coramar seelie #loquatius seelie #nydas okiro #patia por'co #its finally finished!!! #this took forever but im so proud of how they all look together #i love the idea of metaphorical titles having a literal aspect to them so :] rings of brass :] #ngl cerrit was a struggle for me but i think he turned out pretty good #scribbles

[i-is-v-tired]

Okay Critical Role, Big time question:

What do we have to do to get a per-calamity book/comic, something or anything, about the Ring of Brass. Going into topics like:

How they all met and became friends

Laerryn and Loquatius falling in love (give me that slow burn mutual pinning love)

Pirate Nydas and him with his brother (more badass Nydas)

Zerxus and Evandrin’s relationship (mutual pinning) and being parents to Elia (domestic moments please)

Patia and Laerryn learning to trust the Ring of Brass (found family and family by choice)

Cerrit and Orwyn bring noir detectives (buddy cop / noir mix)

How did Cerrit became the Eyes of Avalir

Nydas and Zerxus friendship

Zerxus becoming the First Knight

Cerrit’s family and how they came to be on Avalir (more domestic moments!)

Nydas and his relationship with his brothers family

Patia and Laerryn being two badass wizards

Ring of Brass realizing what each other do and how good they are at doing (they are amazing and they deserve to be appreciated)

#also anyone that has any fanfics or ideas about any of these topics I would love to read them #critical role #exu #exu calamity #exandria unlimited calamity #exandria unlimited #laerryn coramar seelie #loquatius seelie #patia por'co #zerxus ilerez #cerrit agrupnin #evandrin alterra #mine #ring of brass #prompt list #nydas okiro

[sparring-spirals]

Laerryn, intently: "I don't pay attention to people dumber than me."

Patia: "That is... incredibly fair."

#i LOVE THESE TWO SO MUCH #critical role #cr spoilers #exu spoilers #exandria unlimited #exu calamity #exu calamity part 2 #cr liveblogging #laerryn exu #patia exu #laerryn/patia #scene #shitpost #faves #MENACES. <3

[captainofthetidesbreath]

It really is shaping up to be "Exandria Unlimited: Calamity: PLEASE stop not telling Cerrit things that he desperately needed to have known earlier or at all"

#Patia Laerryn Nydas Loquatius all like 'It's totally fine if Cerrit isn't told about this. It won't impede his case and doom us at all.' #Truly RIP Cerrit. No wonder Sam was like 'he's one of our moral centers' and the table is always 'poor Cerrit' when it's not 'poor Zerxus' #For the record: I support everyone's terrible choices bc it is fantastic story. But also I love poor Cerrit. #CR spoilers #EXU spoilers #Critical Role things #Critical Role #Exandria Unlimited: Calamity #Cerrit Agrupnin

[beedreamscape]

I know I've mentioned Bolo being cake in Portuguese (and the mispronounced Bola being Ball) but Idk if people know Porco, from Patia's surname, means Pig in Portuguese (and other romantic languages that use it as an alternative word for it) and I wish Marisha had talked more about it, if it was intentional or not.

#it's mentioned at the trivia section of her wiki page #i mean there could be some meaning relating to power and swines or that she just liked the sound of it #anyway #just a lil trivia #patia por'co #funny is laerryn's surname also sounds kinda latin #cora for corazon/coração means heart #mar means sea in both spanish and portuguese #but that surname. against what i first assumed. isn't actually common at all #ALSO if you tear it apart differently cor-amar. Amar means to love in portuguese 🙈 #not to mention luis bringing zerxus full on very spanish sounding names #all this to say it's not unreasonable to develop on my latin america inspired headcanons for domunas #critical role #exu calamity #cr stuff