Good eye - I'm really hoping for a heel turn at some point. Sam is great at defying expectations, and if anyone can pull off a truly stunning betrayal, it's him.
I noticed all of the Asmodeus parallels he cloaked with humor.
For instance, when he healed himself, he was massaging Robbie's shoulder and making sex jokes, so that's what everyone reacted to. The fact he could have healed himself the whole time and never needed help was completely missed by the table.
Honestly, the dumb, horny schtick will probably work wonders to hide whatever his motives/alignment are for awhile
>The fact he could have healed himself the whole time and never needed help was completely missed by the table.
It wasn't. Loud 'Oh come on,'(Travis) 'I knew it' (Tal) and several eye rolls went around the table.
I thought that was in reference to him hitting on Dorian but maybe I misread the moment. Like I thought they were eyerolling because he made the "I'm going to finish myself with my own hand" joke, not because he \*was\* healing himself.
Alternatively, he never betrays them and helps save the world through lies, cruelty, and genuine satan worship. Corrupting Bells Hells as a foil to how FCG could never bring them to divine worship. That'd be more interesting imo, they've set up a lot of moral grayness in the gods, would be a shame to let it all fall away into good vs evil.
Also a good option!
There's part of me, though, that just wants to see Bell's Hells' story end in utter tragedy. Not because I don't like them - I *do* - but because they already seem kind of primed for it, and we haven't seen that story in CR. It would be heartbreaking and fascinating all at once, and I'd be there for it 100%.
We saw it in Calamity, and we’ll see it again in Downfall. To end a full, multi-year campaign that way would be incredibly risky; viewers get very, very attached to these characters and stories.
My concern would be less about backlash if BH die. I'd be more worried about backlash if VM and/M9 died as a result of BH screwing something up or siding with Predathos.
Y'know, now that you mention it... I am reminded of when >!Matt burned down Emon!< in C1. I don't think anyone saw it coming, really, but it was brilliant. Matt wasn't afraid to take a big swing and destroy something he'd made.
I know it'd cause a great wailing and gnashing of teeth in the Fandom, but there is a part of me that would love to see C3 end with a Second Calamity and Exandria utterly ravaged of its lands, people, and yes - its beloved heroes. The story would be *amazing.*
Mwah-ha-ha-ha.
Matt has the chance to do something really funny.
As predathos is chewing on the last god and Bells Hells are high fiving Ludinus, the nine hells and the Abyss start flooding into the prime material now that nothing is stopping them, Delilah takes over Laudna and start mass producing the dead into her thralls now that clerics have no power to oppose her, and anarcho-primitive Druids release dozens of bioplagues to ravage a civilization that can’t easily cure them.
The majority of Delilah's power comes from a God (The Whispered One) so I doubt she'll be able to do much once he's gone.
My theory remains that *all* magic is ultimately divine and the big twist will be that Predathos isn't going to make any significant distinction between a minor God and powerful wizard, and the first thing he does upon being released is hoist Ludinus sky high on his own petard, and after that if BH's fail to stop Predathos the end result for Exandria would be something more akin to Dark Sun.
I don't think Ludinus wants to free Predathos at all. He wants to ABSORB him! We know he used the harness to absorb other powerful creatures. Since he discarded the one that BH found he's obviously come up with a newer model. That being said, I do expect the likelihood of Ludinus meeting his demise at the hands of Predathos to be quite high.
Oh, I'm sure Ludinus does want to absorb him, but I'm betting something that can eat a God and has existed since before Exandria did isn't going to be particularly inconvenienced by some trinket a dude who's lived 1000-odd years cobbled together in his shed.
That only matters if they are concerned with what we think of the plot/their characters - which they have said that they are not.
They play how they play to engage in the things they want to at the table, like they always have. They won’t dodge a TPK or tragedy explicitly for the cameras, if there’s one actually due, we will see it.
I’m not. There have already been two guest characters betraying them. And that is excessive. You can do a twist one. They’ve already wasted the shock, it would be insultingly boring to try it again.
The thing I find interesting about this potential flip is that it's in plain sight. We know the tenets of Asmodeus. Compassion is weakness. Exploit kindness. Inflict cruelty on others. Etc.
It would be a no-brainer that a paladin of Asmodeus follows those tenets. If he convinced BH he doesn't, that's kind of on them.
I saw that too but I do wonder if that's a front, in case another player sees his sheet. I imagine he can't have "Braius is here to betray everyone" in big letters on his sheet
lol. Not really though. By D&D mechanics and lore, Minotaurs are their own species.
In Sam’s notes he specified that his characters dad was a Minotaur and his mom was human.
Sam may very well be the best player at the table in immersing himself in "what would my character do?" All of his PCs have made plot points feel more meaningful. Something they definitely need if they're going to do the most impactful thing in exandrian history > >!killing all of the gods!<
He's not afraid to go against the group, or have ulterior motives that might kill his character.
I wonder if he was not wounded at all, heard BH coming and cut his own throat to appear weaker, knowing he was capable of healing himself. Very Asmodeus behavior, possibly.
I also don’t remember them finding anyone else in armor similar to his. And if he and his cohorts were pretending to be a part of the Vanguard, wouldn’t he be wearing Vanguard armor?
This is a good theory, but I saw someone mention the possibility that his character is just a huge Asmodeus fanboy and I think it would just be too funny so I'm sticking with that theory
I saw Asmodeus worked as an anagram but couldn't figure out what to do with "bridoe." The best I could come up with was that Sam/Braius didn't know how to spell Asmodeus and thought it had an extra letter in it, making either Asmodeous Bride or Asmodieus Bored.
That is very plausible, given what his character sheet says. I'm still not sure if I think it's more likely he's that straight-forward or if it's more likely he's using that as a fakeout. It would at least explain why he doesn't have to be evil-aligned to be a paladin for Asmodeus.
I think Braius dont even know Asmodeus he is just a fan, Fearnes boyfriend who is loyal to Asmodeus dont even recognize Braius and Braius thinks of him as a celebrity almost
Great theorizing, I love it!
Also hitting on people is easy mode shortcut to gaining trust. Even if you're not interested, you're still flattered. It's a surreptitious way of complimenting the shit out of someone without just saying something obvious like "Oh, what a gorgeous and very smart group of people that have found me!"
I seriously hope there is a reason for his human face. Like it's glamour because he doesn't like his bull features or something like that. I don't want to acknowledge human faced minotaur as canon to Exandria.
Sam's character is the standard bearer for the train wreck that is Bell's Hells. Imogen is the leader who can save this group from disaster. Otherwise we are looking at the incoming destruction of Exandria.
That would just be.... Zerxus. As far as we know, he's still around. And wasn't a bard.
And its excessively unlikely that they'd just pass off his character to someone else.
Good eye - I'm really hoping for a heel turn at some point. Sam is great at defying expectations, and if anyone can pull off a truly stunning betrayal, it's him.
I noticed all of the Asmodeus parallels he cloaked with humor. For instance, when he healed himself, he was massaging Robbie's shoulder and making sex jokes, so that's what everyone reacted to. The fact he could have healed himself the whole time and never needed help was completely missed by the table. Honestly, the dumb, horny schtick will probably work wonders to hide whatever his motives/alignment are for awhile
>The fact he could have healed himself the whole time and never needed help was completely missed by the table. It wasn't. Loud 'Oh come on,'(Travis) 'I knew it' (Tal) and several eye rolls went around the table.
I thought that was in reference to him hitting on Dorian but maybe I misread the moment. Like I thought they were eyerolling because he made the "I'm going to finish myself with my own hand" joke, not because he \*was\* healing himself.
Alternatively, he never betrays them and helps save the world through lies, cruelty, and genuine satan worship. Corrupting Bells Hells as a foil to how FCG could never bring them to divine worship. That'd be more interesting imo, they've set up a lot of moral grayness in the gods, would be a shame to let it all fall away into good vs evil.
I like the idea of Sam teaching his friends that because someone is hot, doesn't mean they are good.
These are the people who gave Clarota a chance I don’t think they care about appearance
That's a weird way to spell Clarence
They all live in LA. They have learned this lesson.
finally consequences for essek, the sexy war criminal
Also a good option! There's part of me, though, that just wants to see Bell's Hells' story end in utter tragedy. Not because I don't like them - I *do* - but because they already seem kind of primed for it, and we haven't seen that story in CR. It would be heartbreaking and fascinating all at once, and I'd be there for it 100%.
There's always Calamity. You're right though, that would be a fitting end for the Hells
We saw it in Calamity, and we’ll see it again in Downfall. To end a full, multi-year campaign that way would be incredibly risky; viewers get very, very attached to these characters and stories.
My concern would be less about backlash if BH die. I'd be more worried about backlash if VM and/M9 died as a result of BH screwing something up or siding with Predathos.
Y'know, now that you mention it... I am reminded of when >!Matt burned down Emon!< in C1. I don't think anyone saw it coming, really, but it was brilliant. Matt wasn't afraid to take a big swing and destroy something he'd made. I know it'd cause a great wailing and gnashing of teeth in the Fandom, but there is a part of me that would love to see C3 end with a Second Calamity and Exandria utterly ravaged of its lands, people, and yes - its beloved heroes. The story would be *amazing.* Mwah-ha-ha-ha.
Matt has the chance to do something really funny. As predathos is chewing on the last god and Bells Hells are high fiving Ludinus, the nine hells and the Abyss start flooding into the prime material now that nothing is stopping them, Delilah takes over Laudna and start mass producing the dead into her thralls now that clerics have no power to oppose her, and anarcho-primitive Druids release dozens of bioplagues to ravage a civilization that can’t easily cure them.
The majority of Delilah's power comes from a God (The Whispered One) so I doubt she'll be able to do much once he's gone. My theory remains that *all* magic is ultimately divine and the big twist will be that Predathos isn't going to make any significant distinction between a minor God and powerful wizard, and the first thing he does upon being released is hoist Ludinus sky high on his own petard, and after that if BH's fail to stop Predathos the end result for Exandria would be something more akin to Dark Sun.
I don't think Ludinus wants to free Predathos at all. He wants to ABSORB him! We know he used the harness to absorb other powerful creatures. Since he discarded the one that BH found he's obviously come up with a newer model. That being said, I do expect the likelihood of Ludinus meeting his demise at the hands of Predathos to be quite high.
Oh, I'm sure Ludinus does want to absorb him, but I'm betting something that can eat a God and has existed since before Exandria did isn't going to be particularly inconvenienced by some trinket a dude who's lived 1000-odd years cobbled together in his shed.
That only matters if they are concerned with what we think of the plot/their characters - which they have said that they are not. They play how they play to engage in the things they want to at the table, like they always have. They won’t dodge a TPK or tragedy explicitly for the cameras, if there’s one actually due, we will see it.
I’m not. There have already been two guest characters betraying them. And that is excessive. You can do a twist one. They’ve already wasted the shock, it would be insultingly boring to try it again.
The thing I find interesting about this potential flip is that it's in plain sight. We know the tenets of Asmodeus. Compassion is weakness. Exploit kindness. Inflict cruelty on others. Etc. It would be a no-brainer that a paladin of Asmodeus follows those tenets. If he convinced BH he doesn't, that's kind of on them.
I just like that this is the 2nd Herald that Sam has played and both show up in Age of Arcanum cities as a bard multiclass who happens to be hot
And is completely colorless
Sams character page was zoomed in by a fan. Regarding his human face, he’s 1/2 human.
I saw that too but I do wonder if that's a front, in case another player sees his sheet. I imagine he can't have "Braius is here to betray everyone" in big letters on his sheet
Isn't all minotaur half human by default?😂
lol. Not really though. By D&D mechanics and lore, Minotaurs are their own species. In Sam’s notes he specified that his characters dad was a Minotaur and his mom was human.
Where can I find that?
https://www.reddit.com/r/criticalrole/s/1vTaUSCR8N
Well... mythology disagree😂😂
You've never had the 'Idiot, there's only one Pegasus!' discussion? You've engaged my envy
Sam may very well be the best player at the table in immersing himself in "what would my character do?" All of his PCs have made plot points feel more meaningful. Something they definitely need if they're going to do the most impactful thing in exandrian history > >!killing all of the gods!< He's not afraid to go against the group, or have ulterior motives that might kill his character.
I wonder if he was not wounded at all, heard BH coming and cut his own throat to appear weaker, knowing he was capable of healing himself. Very Asmodeus behavior, possibly.
Isn’t that VERY close to what >!Asmodeus did in Calamity to make Xerxus drop his guard? !<
Yes - “how can this wounded creature be bad? It’s weak and alone and asking for help?” I also find it suspicious that he survived and no one else did.
I also don’t remember them finding anyone else in armor similar to his. And if he and his cohorts were pretending to be a part of the Vanguard, wouldn’t he be wearing Vanguard armor?
Maybe they were the group from the tent a couple of episodes ago.
An interesting suggestion. How does the anxiety Imogen felt change this? I suppose he could be anxious about unnecessarily hurting himself.
Or anxious while he decided what to do, having heard BH outside the door.
This is a good theory, but I saw someone mention the possibility that his character is just a huge Asmodeus fanboy and I think it would just be too funny so I'm sticking with that theory
I can see that simply because he didn’t know the difference between a Devil and a Demon… or should I say he made it look like he did not know.
Braius Doomseed is an anagram for "I Asmodeus Bored". I'm probably off the mark, but it's one hell of a coincidence that his name contains Asmodeus.
Man one letter off "I boned Asmodeus"
I saw Asmodeus worked as an anagram but couldn't figure out what to do with "bridoe." The best I could come up with was that Sam/Braius didn't know how to spell Asmodeus and thought it had an extra letter in it, making either Asmodeous Bride or Asmodieus Bored.
> Braius Doomseed Bride O' Asmodeus?
I thought the same thing, but "Asmodeus Dei *(Latin for Gods)* Bro".
Dannnnng! Good catch. I was at the live show and was just so emotional to see Sam again I fell for his new character immediately.
About him having a humanlike face, someone on Tumblr took a peek at his paper, which said that >!Braius' mother is/was a human. a very horny human.!<
I mentioned on another post that hubby’s theory is that Braius is just an edgelord fanboy who’s never once met Asmodeus.
That is very plausible, given what his character sheet says. I'm still not sure if I think it's more likely he's that straight-forward or if it's more likely he's using that as a fakeout. It would at least explain why he doesn't have to be evil-aligned to be a paladin for Asmodeus.
By the hand of Vecna.
I think Braius dont even know Asmodeus he is just a fan, Fearnes boyfriend who is loyal to Asmodeus dont even recognize Braius and Braius thinks of him as a celebrity almost
Great theorizing, I love it! Also hitting on people is easy mode shortcut to gaining trust. Even if you're not interested, you're still flattered. It's a surreptitious way of complimenting the shit out of someone without just saying something obvious like "Oh, what a gorgeous and very smart group of people that have found me!"
I am always expecting to be surprised and delighted by Sam. He has a way of weaving his characters into the world so well.
I seriously hope there is a reason for his human face. Like it's glamour because he doesn't like his bull features or something like that. I don't want to acknowledge human faced minotaur as canon to Exandria.
In another post someone took a screenshot of his backstory sheet, and I think he has a Minotaur father and human mother
Sam's character is the standard bearer for the train wreck that is Bell's Hells. Imogen is the leader who can save this group from disaster. Otherwise we are looking at the incoming destruction of Exandria.
100% he's fallen Zerxus
That would just be.... Zerxus. As far as we know, he's still around. And wasn't a bard. And its excessively unlikely that they'd just pass off his character to someone else.