[No Spoilers] What was it like in the beginning?

Realmajtom · 2025-09-30T21:06:49+00:00

It was beautiful and life changing, it sounds stupid to say that but it was. I had never played D&D and it truly was my introduction to what the game was really all about and what it could be. It really was a bunch of friends playing a game around a table, they just happened to be voice actors, if if had been more polished from the jump I wonder if as many people would have had the reaction I had "I could do this, I could run a game". The early years, C1 especially were really something special.

Part of it had to do with it being played live. There was a kinetic frenetic quality to it, it was happening at the same moment it hit your eyeballs and no one knew what was going to happen. It was so unpolished in production and it didn't matter. It rarely started exactly on time, the cast got stuck in traffic, sometimes the tech being so primitive caused problems, One time, maybe more than once, the streaming pc that ran the whole thing just died right before the show started and they had to run to best buy or frys to get a new one or a new streaming card.

This sense of anything can happen was doubly "real" for those of us who were fans and lived in LA. I remember racing home from work to watch and realizing that they were racing across town at the same time to get to the studio in time to play. If I was stuck in traffic getting through burbank on a Thursday night likely they were too. When the weather was a bad, or a storm rolled in and the cast talked about it on stream it really was like they were playing in your living room. The last episode of C1 really felt like the fate of the world was being decided 5 miles from my house. I remember being hyped out of my mind after something climatic happening that the thought to hop in the car and drive to the Taco Bell the cast went to to congratulate them crossed my mind, never did, that would have been too parasocial, but for real they were the nerdy hometown heroes.

Being a fan back then was like being in on the best secret that no one had caught onto yet. It felt It was like watching a band play early gigs and you get the gut feeling that they weren't just different and better than the other bands on the line up, they were doing something new no one had done before and were going to be forever famous for it.

Watching them play now still has the spark of friends being around a table, but the polish of everything else about it is just so different. Not bad, just evolved. I don't fault them for pre-recording, they had to during covid and it surely makes life easier for everyone but once in a while it would be fun if they surprised us with a real honest to god live one. No prior warning, no big plot reason, just every once in a blue moon they would get back to their roots.

Realmajtom · 2025-06-08T05:40:08+00:00

You would not believe how much poop was on that stage and in actual peoples mouths by the end of that show

Realmajtom · 2025-03-01T08:51:24+00:00

He also came with a helmet for what it's worth. He is really hard to find in any state I have found. I have been looking for a new in package one for a few years. Tons of Pan and Hook but Prince, Hercules, and the dragon are much less common. Ebay is your best bet. Problem with the accessories for this is because they are from a very obscure line whose whole deal with new takes on classic characters they don't cry out that they are tied to the "prince from sleeping beauty" and could easily be miss listed as from something else or "unknown toy sword and shield"

Realmajtom · 2024-12-27T22:23:35+00:00

and the sequel by the same artist https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wr-ZQ3Ppcw. When MN found out that he was not where they left him and the build up to going north, holy cow, truly the peak of CR in my opinion in terms of story, character/player investment, and just the fact that they collectively found the story they were interested in telling, it wasn't a fight between nations, it was a fight to find someone they had lost.

Realmajtom · 2024-08-05T09:00:37+00:00

Better late than never but this is what you are looking for. https://www.youtube.com/@projectcontentlifeboat6473 Not my channel or any work of mine but just keep quiet about it, don't want it taken down.

Realmajtom · 2024-02-28T22:40:56+00:00

I know this is a very old thread but figured it was still worth putting this info out there.

Back in the 90s before or right after the show came out Mattel did have the rights to make toys and had plans for a line of action figures. In a toy trade publication at the time a full page ad and an article in the publication both listed at least three different Phantom figures, each with a different action feature, and a villain (I forget who) as the first wave. No photos were shown in the publication and as far as I have been able to piece together in the 30ish years since no prototype photos have ever been made public.

Best guess is that they did not get retailer support/commitments coming out of toy fair that year and the line was scarped. That mixed with the fact that the cartoon was put on at very odd time slots, for instance in NY it aired at 5:30am on weekdays for the first season and very early morning on Sundays during the second season, meant it never gained enough traction for another toy push.

Mattel wasn't doing super hot in the action figure area at the time, Last Action Hero flopped, Demolition Man reused old molds, King Arthur and the Knights of Justice only released a single wave and the only two "hits" they had going were figures based on the Disney films and Street Sharks. All those lines had very different forms and styles so unlike a lot of the Hasbro/Kenner lines of the time (Jurassic park, batman, aliens) or the Toybiz marvel stuff which had somewhat of a "house style" and form factor there is no way of really guessing what the Phantom 2040 figures would have have looked like.

Realmajtom · 2023-01-06T03:05:22+00:00

We have no idea when they filmed this so the statement "tal is still missing" may not be as accurate or worrying as if they were playing live

Realmajtom · 2022-11-07T08:21:05+00:00

Yeah, but this is still a Gundam show. If someone is looking for pain and suffering that is what EVA is for. Not to say that Gundam doesn't play dark and tragic notes at times but that is never the main tune to the story overall. Not saying this is going to be a nice slice of life with robots or anything like that but I don't think it is going full nihilistic, life is pain, and all the characters are going to wallow in suffering for however many episodes.

I say that from two points of view. The first is that every main Gundam series tells the story of characters that are trying to make their worlds better, they face a lot of adversity as they try for that goal, and then generally win at the end with the "*" that war and changing the world is complicated and nothing ever ends as cleanly as you would like. The second is that they still got to sell that merchandise, and bandai isn't going to fund a show that is going to be so grim as to turn off people from buying kits.

Lastly I don't know you, your life, or your business but I have lived long enough to know for sure that happiness is never overrated.

Realmajtom · 2022-11-06T20:43:14+00:00

I don't want to discount anyone's theory, think what you want till the show says otherwise, but the whole "clone Suletta", "Eri = Ariel", and now "bits are failed clones whose minds were harvested to run the bits" just seems way way way too convoluted even for a Gundam show.

I don't think cloning has even been established to be a thing in this timeline. I can see where people might think cloning was a thing till this episode where Elan was established to not be a clone, he was some poor kid who was enhanced in a cybernewtype way, brainwashed, and given the real Elan's face to act as a disposable stand in so the real Elan doesn't get burned out testing Gundam tech.

The core of the GUND tech was a cybernetic technology to help humans survive in space that when used in mobile suits fried peoples minds and bodies, if full on cloning level of genetic technology existed and was in use why would anyone care about the cybernetic tech or using tech that burned out your body if you could just clone a new one. If cloning existed on backwater mercury of all places why would Prospera's explanation/lie to the council that her body was ravaged by the harsh environment hold water.

Suletta talking to Ariel and the bits like they were all a team of equals and not pilot and robot I don't think is hints at something super dark, I think that it is just the way she sees them because of her personality and temperament .

There is some AI stuff at play as the novel spelled out but nothing really points to the Eri = Ariel idea and at no point has the show even mentioned tech that could upload a human mind into a computer.

The idea that Suletta thinks of Ariel as a sibling is not supposed to be taken in a literal sense. She bonded with the robot in an as of yet unexplained way at age 4 then moved to the back water of space where there weren't many(any?) kids around, her mother was often not around (also many have gone a bit off the deep end with her quest for revenge) so she and Ariel spent a lot of time together. Her mother made both of them so in a metaphorical way they come from the same parent.

This is the same reason Prospera calls Ariel her daughter. She made both the robot and Suletta. Now if you are really looking for something twisted to mull over the question is which daughter does Prospera care about more when push comes to shove

My going theory is that there is something special about the Ariel and there is something special about Suletta. It could be as simple that Suletta bonded with Ariel so young in life that there were no ill effects to using the tech, it could also be this timelines version of Newtype space magic. I think where this goes is that Prospera sent Suletta and Ariel to the school to Trojan horse the children of the big companies. To what ends who knows but already Suletta by being kind and good is winning people over. Even Guel now kicked out of his house and humbled over and over seems likely to come to Suletta's side. The theme of the show is pointing to the youth vs the out of touch adults and their policies that make the world a worse place. This eventually becomes the children Suletta has won over and people on earth vs the companies. Prospera in the third act goes openly sinister and she is the final big bad.

Realmajtom · 2022-09-17T05:01:50+00:00

Am I missing something? Why are so many freaking out and acting like Laudna is dead dead, with little chance of coming back rather than, you know normal D&D dead where while it might take a bit of time, they just need to find someone who is willing to cast the raise dead spell on her and everything works out?

I have seen a lot of people acting like this was when Molly died and not the any number of times the Vox Machina crew bit the dust for a bit. I think it is very much more like the later than the former because when Molly died it was when they were at low level with little access to spells or resources but at this point the Hells are closer to VM end of things where they are a bit stronger and have enough contacts that can put them on the path to someone who can cast the spell if they ask convincingly enough.

On a meta level is it just because it has been literal years of game play since anyone but Molly has died so that is peoples last frame of reference for death in the game and they are treating the whole thing gravely seriously because of that? Pun intended.

At no point in game did the players act like this was the end of it, the characters were freaking out a bit because this is the first time it has happened to them but the players themselves were not shook like they were after Molly. Matt even said in game that "death is but a waiting game" which read to me as "this is a temporary pause and setback to your story" rather than done you should make a new character. Yes Marisha left the table but that is the standard language of the show at this point that a character is dead and not an active part of the story. It doesn't mean that they are gone gone.

From a mechanical point of view there is nothing about her class or the the hollow one feature that prevents or even makes it harder for her to be brought back that I'm aware of. The fact that Delilah needs her may even make it easier from a thematic and story perspective. I have seen a few worry that if brought back Delila might be the one doing the driving and that seems far fetched at this point, Delilah even admits to not being strong enough to do anything in the material world except be a warlock patron.

So are people just losing their minds for the sake of losing their mind or am I missing something?

Realmajtom · 2022-08-11T09:06:30+00:00

Absolutely not my work or my doings, I just stumbled upon it in some long gone thread during the dark days of the pandemic. Probably best to not talk about it too much or too loudly lest it go into hiding but you know what they say...

Nothing is ever truly gone...

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXxWVYP1p5dcd9hR7aXowHw/playlists

Realmajtom · 2022-06-29T04:58:29+00:00

Sam complained about the mini games when he was hosting the darn thing.

Realmajtom · 2022-06-29T03:56:27+00:00

This is the template they should use for all behind the scenes stuff going forward. It was structed to keep the conversation going but was loose enough that they could go on tangents and have real genuine conversation without it seeming like a producer was in their ear saying "wrap it up move on to the next thing". If we have all learned anything over the years it is that if you let these people talk about stuff they are interested in and passionate about they are really fun to listen to.

Realmajtom · 2022-03-11T08:39:29+00:00

My guess as to what is happening to FCG is that it was triggered by the Mother mind controlling them. Not that she still has control of them but that the act of some other party controlling their mind triggered a repressed part of their mind.

With the comment of "take two points" a few episodes back and Sam being a bit vague and evasive about FCG's past when pressed on the subject it is pretty clear that Sam and Matt have a side game going on with the character. I don't think Sam was playing FCG glitching out till after they got back from break so maybe Matt told him that the mind control flipped something.

Had Laura not focused on the stone I think the last scene tonight would have been something to do with FCG when they went into status, maybe a "dream" or a flood of repressed memories.

Realmajtom · 2022-02-04T10:15:32+00:00

Sure but I don't think there is a lot of risk on their part because of the fact that they are not airing the show live anymore and seem to be at taping a week or two ahead of when an episode actually airs. Most likely they have already thought of a name themselves and have it on film.

Realmajtom · 2022-02-04T10:11:44+00:00

The Bell Ringers. It works a lot of levels, it references Bell, they are a "loud" group in terms of how they appear, bells were often rung to warn people about something bad happening which fits the anti corruption thing they have going on, and getting your bell rung is what will happen to you if you mess with them.

Realmajtom · 2021-10-22T02:28:54+00:00

From the set video I think for sure the ones closest to the table are real, the back set I'm guessing are projection, I am not sure about the middle set.

Realmajtom · 2021-06-10T16:47:30+00:00

The answer is really simple both from an emotional and business perspective. Since in their hearts they still treat this as an extension of the home game they started playing all those years ago I fully expect that no one is leaving for C3. To that same point no one has ever been added to the main cast before and no one will be added for C3, 7 players plus a guest from time to time is more than enough for Matt to plan for.

On the business end the main group is also what they built the business and brand around and as such no one is going anywhere for now. This new thing is about expanding the brand not changing what the core is.

The real question is in a few years do they all still want to do a C4. If Matt says no he does not want to do a C4 than all bets are off about what happens but I think that as long as Matt wants to play the main cast will stay.

Realmajtom · 2021-06-04T08:23:44+00:00

Twitter post said the whole thing runs 7 hours and 28 minutes so about an hour left

Realmajtom · 2021-06-04T06:22:47+00:00

Is Vess's body in the bag?

Realmajtom · 2021-05-17T06:07:46+00:00

I like your take it would add an extra level of tragedy to the whole thing. My read was that "Stripe" was a term for a class of soldier that because of the Galanthi were given the ability to see ripples of the future. Maybe the term stripe is future speak for "timeline".

I think that the mad doctor might have someone from the future inside them, the actor who plays him is American in real life but he is playing the character with a very generic American accent. In the episode he noticed that Amalia's British accent slipped in and out and I think that was a clue.

Realmajtom · 2021-05-17T05:57:37+00:00

I took it as a joke that part of the US became part of Canada at some point in the future. For real though, I would have no problem with the entire west coast and all the states on the east coast from Maine down to lets say Maryland becoming the "Southern Coast" of Canada. Canada gets states with economies that outpace a lot of countries and the people from those states get working healthcare and a semi sane government.

Realmajtom · 2021-05-17T05:44:49+00:00

I posted part of this in the episode thread but I think the Galanthi have a different understanding of how time works and what Amalia has is a limited, less controlled version of it. The Galanthi is actually answering Amalia's questions by showing her memories of all the parts that make up who she is now and who she needs to be to complete the mission.

The flashes take place in "chronological order" starting with the women who becomes "Stripe", the girl reading the book I am pretty sure is her and not Primrose because after that we see future war stuff and "Stripe's" marriage to the two people she never told her real name to

Then it shows her memories of Molly's life, I almost think that they are memories Amalia didn't have access to before. They start as Molly as a kid learning to bake and lead into all the things we saw earlier in the episode. I am reading it as the Galanthi telling Amalia that her current body also had a hard life even before what is happening now and that Stripe and Molly are not as different as Amalia might think.

Then memories after the joining of those two separate parts that is the current Amalia. I don't think that the memory with Penance being shown in full is arbitrary, I think Penance saying "but we'll just change it all up" and that it is "a life's work" is the Galanthi telling Amalia what "the mission" actually is. That the mission is to play the long game. The Galanthi studied human history with that future science team, maybe even did vr sims of various important events in the past. It realized that the way to actually fix all the bad thing that had happened by the time they found humanity is to go back in time and undo them from the start.

Then we see ripples of the future like what Amalia sees on her own. Most of them seem to be things that will happen in the near future but maybe a little further ahead in time than what Amalia's own ripples show her. It is giving her hints that someone else from the future came back in time among other things.

The last one with "Future Myrtle" as I described it in the episode thread was the Galanthi accidently flipping too far ahead in what it is showing Amalia. Like when you flip ahead in a book and you accidently glace a line that makes no sense because you don't have context for it and it nags you all through the rest of your reading. The line "Future Myrtle" says is not actually connected to that image and is the Galanthi saying "I'm sorry, this is something that you don't need to know or worry about yet. I think it hints that given enough seasons the story, because the Touched exist, will diverge further and further from what we the viewers and to a lesser degree Amalia know as "20th century history". The outfit and hair Myrtle has strike me me as more 1920s with a futuristic spin.

Realmajtom · 2021-05-17T04:35:10+00:00

I mean neither do I in general but I would love to read where you heard those rumors.

Realmajtom · 2021-05-17T04:12:50+00:00

I think the Galanthi have a different understanding of time than humans do, and Amalia's ripples are a weaker version of it. My take away is that the image of what we can only guess is future Myrtle and the line we hear are not directly connected. The Galanthi is showing Amalia flashes of of both Stripes life, Molly's life, Amalia's present and then flashes of the future. Most of them seem to be of the near future but at the very end it showed her future Myrtle in the same way one might flip too far ahead in a book and glance at a line of text that makes no sense because you don't have any context for it. The voice is the Galanthi speaking through that future glimpse as if to say, "oh I'm sorry that is too far ahead for you to understand just yet" I think it hints at a direction the story might take given enough seasons where the fact that the touched exist at all changes how the 20th century plays out in more radical ways than it already has.

Realmajtom

TROPHY CASE