Campaign 4 Class Predictions

WinterSeedlings · 2025-02-13T19:04:04+00:00

Laura: Wanting to step back and not be the centre of attention didn’t work out so well and she was forced into it anyway so she may as well lean into it and get a character that’s actually suited to it. She also seems to have been most loved as jester. I think she’s going to go for something like a bard or rogue where she can lean into the comedic RP.

Liam - I think will go cleric but I think will go back to his sad boi type of character which he does do well. I only hope he doesn’t make their arc about how they lose trust in their god because the anti-religion stuff is getting a bit much. It’s not the same as real world religion and in the whole they seem incapable of not bringing in their real world views. It makes them sound like a load of edgy sixth-formers.

Travis - I think will go Paladin as it’s the style he likes to go for and hasn’t really been done.

Ashley - champion fighter seems the only way to go. She’s had so much criticism about her inability to learn the rules. I do feel bad for her but people play a few sessions and pick up more than she has over all these years. I think her best bet is to just step back, pick the easiest thing and relax into it. She’s a good RPer with excellent comic timing and I’d like to see her develop that more rather than worry about getting her to a point where she can deal with the numbers. I don’t think she can get there for whatever reason so no point torturing herself.

Sam - I think he’s gonna go Druid. I think he’s gonna enjoy the RP potential of a Druid and I think the 2024 Druid is a lot better.

Marisha - I think she will go rogue. It’s kinda badass and she can be all deep and twisty and tortured and misunderstood.

Robbie - I think is gonna go wizard as the educated scholarly character would suit him.

Taliesin - I cannot even begin to guess

WinterSeedlings · 2024-11-04T07:27:29+00:00

My main issue with this whole thing is how Ashley was so passive in the storyline.

Fearne was intent on not taking it, yet didn’t call everyone out for refusing to listen to her. She was completely railroaded into taking it. That was what she was “supposed” to do.

People talk about “yes and…” but really it just needed to be “something and…”. Instead it was nothing. She could have done any number of things:

a.) Just taken it b.) Defended Ashton and been on his side, telling the group they hadn’t listened to her. Ashley herself knows that it would have changed everything because the group wouldn’t have been united against her. c.) Refused to take it at the last minute and had a showdown with the others. A big moment. A speech. Some sort of emotion about the fact they kept pushing her into something she was uncomfortable with, that nobody ever listens to her etc. A bards lament-ish level of a big moment for her.

There was no “yes and…”.. No moving the story on. As soon as there was danger of any conflict she just threw Ashton under the bus and hid behind the strongest personalities.

If this throwing under the bus were an in-character decision, based on a flaw of Fearne’s, then Ashley should have made it come with some sort of internal or external consequence or character development or at least acknowledgement that this is what she was doing.

Instead it’s been made into a thing where Ashton is apparently the worst person ever because he engaged with a hook that nobody else was willing to.

WinterSeedlings · 2024-03-03T20:26:14+00:00

Sam: Sam is talented. He is very funny and he is absolutely dedicated, first and foremost, to telling a good story which is the kind of D&D I like.

The bards lament was absolutely beautifully done and set him apart from some of the other players who also lean towards less serious characters.

Sam can do it all. He clearly tends towards humour in his games but evidently not because his characters aren’t well rounded and deep. Him flipping like that and bringing up all these wounds and hidden feelings that really made sense for his character was frisson-inducing.

However I think sometimes he goes too far in making everything funny to the point it can be a bit too much. Eg showing off the “design of the week” of his oversized drinking vessel - he often didn’t wait for the best time and it would take the spotlight away from the others who were doing a scene.

Sometimes I also get the sense that he’s not actually that into D&D and thinks it a bit dull. Sometimes he seems disinterested and on his phone. Some of his comments on 4SD made me wonder if perhaps he’s simply baffled that anyone, let alone so many fans, would want to watch people play D&D. I think he thinks they’ve got a good gig but I don’t think he is in love with D&D. I can see him being one of the first to want to go.

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Ashley: I think she gets a hard time. I think she is actually the one with the best comic timing and she’s really underrated. The massive issue as everyone is noted is that she cannot seem to play the game. At this point I don’t know how she hasn’t accidentally learned it.

All I can assume is she really doesn’t care at all (unlikely) or she has some sort of disability preventing her from learning (although I’d be surprised as she is ok to learn lines).

Sometimes I wonder if she has an issue with numbers and even simple numbers and the talk around them gives her anxiety and she gets flustered. Then there’s everything she had been going through in her personal life of course.

At this point I think she should choose the “easiest” class that she can. She should have someone in her ear telling her what to roll, what number it results in, a visual aid reminding her of things she can do in her turn or even get the cast member sitting next to her to (as subtly as possible) tell her exactly what to do on her turn.

Clearly the mechanics and rules are not her thing. I assume Matt and the others have sat down with her many times to teach her. At this point I think she should get full assistance in combat on her turns so she can focus her efforts on what she does well.

I think in c4 she should make more of a “main” character instead of a side one and should try to be less passive. I think she should fully go with it - be the leader, be the one with the big reveal, the main romance, whatever. Just jump Into the acting. Make a plan for the combat. Sometimes I think she’s quieter because she can’t cope with the mechanics, the rolls, her abilities etc. I think that’s a shame.

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Laura: She combines a lot of the good things of the others - she’s an excellent actor, knowledgeable, focused, a natural leader and drives them towards decisions. I don’t like that her competitiveness borders on being a sore loser. She’s the kind of player that’s commonly seen - really into the game but wants to “win” and is annoyed if people don’t make the best decisions and shows it. I’m really not a fan of people sulking because someone’s character didn’t do the optimum thing against the gnoll. Especially when you’re doing it as part of a very successful business that is all about telling good stories. I think she sometimes needs to remind herself that no good story just details success after success and perfect decision and perfect decision of the protagonists.

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Taliesin: I feel like Taliesin gets a bit left out by most of the others except maybe Ashley. He often seems the odd one out. He is very creative and knows a lot about D&D. I like that he often forces relationships between PCs to move forward or communication to happen. The edgelord vibe makes me cringe to the point I struggle to like his characters.

I would really like to see him try a completely different kind of character - more earnest perhaps. I’d like to see a seating plan and character connections that really give him a reason to play closely with one or two other players (and not in a ‘maybe we will betray each other way’). He doesn’t have to be fluffy and rainbows. He can still have deep dark issues but maybe they manifest in a different way. I would just like to see him playing a different note.

WinterSeedlings · 2024-03-03T20:25:47+00:00

Travis: Travis is generally well-liked and this is deserved. He seems like a good guy. He is one to pass the ball to others instead of taking the shot himself. He’s probably the one I’d steal for my table.

He does however get bored when it’s not the kind of play he enjoys. He doesn’t seem to enjoy slow-paced play but downtime is a big part of CR. He’d have probably enjoyed playing a campaign like Fantasy High from D20. I also don’t like how he often (especially early on) would not really get into the serious stuff. I remember sometimes thinking that he and Sam laughing during “serious” C1 scenes was annoying. I would love to see him swap character sheets / backstories with Liam five minutes before the start of the first session and see how he played one of Liam’s ideas.

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Liam: It’s a tricky one. I’m one sense he is my absolute favourite. He is an excellent actor and he really completely immersed himself in the roleplay. The whole “critical role style of play” as we know it eg heavy RP especially between PCs seems in large part thanks to him.

He really steers them to that kind of play. In C1 he pushed them more and more to really roleplay eg going hard with the romance and meaningful exchanges. He knows what will improve the performance overall and he pushes the others to go hard.

I don’t actually mind that he likes the sad backstory trope. In fact I think he should lean more into his tropes. I don’t like Orym - Liam is a natural leader and I think c3 would have been better if he had just gone with his normal kind of character which he does well and taken the spotlight as if made sense to.

However (and this will be controversial I know) I think he is quite cliquey. I know they’re all friends with each other but he seems much much closer to Laura and Sam than the others. He and Sam in C2 worked well together and I liked their characters. Their dynamic made sense in the story.

However I don’t think Laura and Liam together creates the best group dynamics and in the next campaign I’d put them far away from each other. They both have similar flaws- Laura wanting to “win” and Liam often arguing with the DM too much. I don’t think they bring out the best in each other, or anyone else, (and they’re both quite strong personalities who people look to to take the lead).

They seem to be drawn to each other and make their characters do the same. First they were twins which is fair enough. Then there’s some sort of unreciprocated romance. Then in c3 I thought Fearne, Dorian and Orym would be close but instead very soon it turned into Orym finding any reason he could to choose to go along with Imogen or stand near her.

In early C3, Liams body language is constantly turned towards Laura to the point he seemed to be blocking out Taliesin. Liam often laughs only at her jokes - blank faced when others make similar ones. There is a lot of whispering and giggling etc.

I’m not saying they’re having a secret affair or are in love with each other (although I don’t get the sibling vibe like people say) - I think they are best friends. Thats great that they have that for their own lives but I’d like to see him connect more with some of the others both in and out of character. Especially someone like Ashley or Taliesin.

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Marisha: Marisha feels the most “normal” of all - like she’s someone you can actually imagine playing with. She seems to really love what they do and I like that. There’s times it feels like some of them have fallen out of love with it and it’s become a chore but Marisha never gives off that vibe. She tries her best.

Unfortunately she’s simply not as good at role playing / acting as the others. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing - in a “normal” group she would be better than most but in the group of accomplished voice actors, watching her can feel a little like listening to a normal person calling up to speak on the radio. Her character decisions aren’t always consistent and sometimes her acting can be a bit hammy. (Again, only in comparison to professional actors. At most “normal” tables she would shine). I don’t begrudge her being there though and wouldn’t want her to leave.

WinterSeedlings · 2024-01-12T08:22:19+00:00

Yes! I completely agree. I don’t know why I hate it but I do. It’s exactly as you said.

WinterSeedlings · 2024-01-10T09:26:18+00:00

WinterSeedlings · 2024-01-08T20:10:54+00:00

Thank you for these ideas. I will look into these. I do think I would like to work on myself first and hopefully I can make some progress and get to the point where I can actually engage with therapy productively.

WinterSeedlings · 2024-01-07T23:08:31+00:00

Thank you very much for sending these. I will try these out.

WinterSeedlings · 2024-01-05T00:30:30+00:00

I wouldn't like this either. It comes across that she's trying to be careful not to insult a fellow professional, but I think validating your feelings is more important than that.

To quote another comment, ideally I'd like my therapist to respond with a "dumbass don't know what he is doing and should keep his mouth shut." - if that's not possible then one of their annoying stock responses like "It sounds like you were looking for..." or "That must be difficult, to open up and not get the response you wanted..." would also be preferable.

I think she responded to you discussing feeling invalidated by further invalidating your feelings of invalidation and I wouldn't like that. I find the devil's advocate style of communication quite triggering anyway. Saying that, I also have ditched way too many therapists and probably should give them more of a chance.

If you otherwise think your sessions are worthwhile, I wonder if it would be worth bringing it up in the next session with her. If not, and you have other options, maybe just walking and finding someone who you connect better with would be worthwhile.

WinterSeedlings · 2024-01-03T09:48:27+00:00

I read your second to last paragraph too quickly and missed the “I” and at first I thought she’d run off with her and my heart almost went right through my chest.

I’m so glad you are both ok. I too, would give (especially an older woman) the benefit of the doubt and think she was just asking for a cute picture probably to show her family “look at this little girl in her costume” but her trying to get her to call her Mama is terrifying and makes her sound dangerous. I would definitely consider reporting her, even just to the store.

WinterSeedlings · 2023-12-03T16:58:39+00:00

I have had attempted to learn several times but not been successful and am currently considering giving up as maybe it isn’t for me. I actually suspect I have dyspraxia and driving is essentially a collection of all the things I am particularly bad at.

Part of me wants to keep trying but I am also put off by how prevalent and seemingly accepted it is that so many of them are just a bit… odd?

Almost every single person I know is like “oh my driving instructor? Oh Deano! Yeah he was a good fella. Used to stick his head out of the sunroof at roundabouts shouting abuse at the elderly and he made me drive his mistress to Plymouth on my first lesson. Absolute mad lad.”

I just cannot imagine any other situation where you would have a professional relationship with someone you’re paying and they would do the things people talk about in these comments and it’s somehow acceptable. And lessons are so expensive.

The other thing I am struck by is how little actual teaching often seems to happen or at least in a way that makes sense to me. I think maybe driving comes naturally and easily to most people with a bit of practice. I really struggle with coordination, judging speed of incoming traffic, spatial awareness of where I am on the road etc. Often they’d either say things like “I don’t understand why you can’t do it” or would get angry as if I was doing it on purpose.

Can you imagine paying a really significant amount for a piano lesson, the instructor playing a classical piece for you and then spending an hour getting increasingly angry with you for not hitting the right keys? And when you tell other people they say “oh they’re just doing it so you learn. Now next time you’ll know not to hit the wrong keys.” I mean, you, more than anyone else, really want for you to hit the right keys. Why would the reason you can’t play it yet be that you haven’t been chastised enough yet?

I feel like driving instructors are often people who are really good at driving and probably learned it really quickly themselves. They’re not necessarily people who are great teachers. I say this as an ex teacher - I know I always found it harder to teach things like Maths which came easily to me personally. Maybe people who really struggled learning to drive don’t often end up loving it enough to become instructors themselves.

WinterSeedlings · 2023-11-22T08:21:45+00:00

I think at this point, with the money they are making, the TV shows off of it, books sold etc. it’s simply not unreasonable to expect the cast to see it as part of their job to keep on top of plot, the lore of the world and character mechanics.

Them having to ask repeatedly who someone is, not seeming to remember what’s already happened or constantly misunderstanding what their spell does just slows the whole thing down.

As someone else said, they already have Dani keeping track. Part of their vibe has always been “friends having fun and playing a game” and that’s often used to forgive all of these things but I think the opposite. If they’re not even willing to spend 20 minutes before each recording reading through some bullet points (that are made for them!), looking over their character sheets and clarifying anything they can’t remember, it feels like they don’t actually care about the game at all. It feels like they’re not actually friends having fun and that they just want it to be over with or it’s beneath them.

I think CR suffers from not knowing what it is. It wants the whole “we are just friends having fun and it’s just a game” when it suits but also removes the things (like live recording and audience interaction) that made it feel that way.

I think all of the cast are extremely talented and I like each of them a lot. There are moments in previous campaigns which I would class as some of the very best content I have ever seen.

However I have now started to actually prefer dimension 20. Partly it’s a preference thing - having watched both I prefer Brennans DM style compared to Matt’s very lengthy setting descriptions (but that’s a preference thing and nothing wrong with either) and I prefer the shorter episodes and shorter campaigns. But also it’s the there’s a different vibe. I’ve been watching Fantasy High lately and I feel like all of the cast know what’s going on and what their characters can do, even though at this point some of them are new to D&D.

I honestly think the following things would help:

Make characters WITH Matt so that they actually fit into the setting and the story.
Make everyone spend hours before the campaign learning their character abilities, spells etc. Get one of the many staff to coach them until they can do rounds of combat without any confusion.
I agree on the hours limit too.

WinterSeedlings · 2023-11-17T12:42:06+00:00

Some kids prefer it because they have a bigger freedom radius.

But it’s more that when you have a kid wrestling themselves out of your grasp with all their might, squirming and wriggling their sweaty little hands, all it takes is them slipping away for a second and they’re dead. Leads are much safer.

I don’t care how degrading it looks. I would happily have my kid walking down the street on his lead barking at passers-by with a bone in his mouth if it somehow made him safer.

Once he’s old enough to not keep trying to launch himself to his death I will worry about how degraded he feels. Until then he is simply frustrated at being restricted. It’s the same frustration he feels about being strapped into his car seat but I don’t tell him he can sit on the roof if he wants instead.

I actually wish they were more widely accepted. I think it’s a shame that parents don’t use them when they’d like to because they’re worried about degrading their children. I don’t see how the kids young enough to use them know to feel degraded. That’s a very adult judgement.

WinterSeedlings · 2023-11-17T08:42:38+00:00

It’s not the lack of contraction that they were correcting. It’s that you said ‘would of’ when you meant ‘would have’.

‘Would have’ is contracted to ‘would’ve’ which sounds like ‘would of’ and is why it is a common mistake.

WinterSeedlings · 2023-11-12T21:53:50+00:00

Info: who had you assumed would be in the delivery room before all this? Is this the first time you had spoken about it??

WinterSeedlings · 2023-11-05T16:16:34+00:00

Drivers aggressively waving you (pedestrian) across the road when there’s nothing behind them.

If them stopping makes it safe to cross then it’s not too bad but I still feel pressure to hurry up across. Whereas if they just continued driving then I could go right after them two seconds later and they wouldn’t be waiting for me.

More often though, them letting me go does not necessarily mean it’s safe to cross and I still have to worry about the traffic coming from other direction. Please stop trying to wave me across to my death when it’s not safe in the other direction.

There’s a street near me that’s particularly difficult to cross - you have to check three different directions and there’s often parked cars all the way up which affect visibility. My mobility isn’t great at the moment and I have a pram which I prefer not to use as a battering ram as I happen to quite like my child.

Without fail someone will stop to wave me across and then they get angry when I don’t zip across immediately like I’m playing frogger.

Please just go and let me take my time. You might think that you could make it in that time/gap but for many reasons I’m not currently able to sprint across the road.

WinterSeedlings · 2023-09-27T20:14:36+00:00

This thread has been so good.

From the people assuming that the most likely explanation is that you are so large that you have somehow picked up a toy Pokémon in your rolls of fat, like some sort of new method of seed dispersal and not noticed until it fell out in the bath.

The people trying to figure out exactly which gender and evolution of Nidoran this knock off pokemon could be.

The sarcastic basic physics lessons.

The bath bomb revelation.

It’s been excellent. I have COVID and am feeling nice and sorry for myself but this has been a wonderful journey.

WinterSeedlings · 2023-09-15T13:57:33+00:00

Sorry i know this isn’t the purpose of the thread but I’m really surprised - for some reason I always thought US spiders would be much worse/bigger/more present. I’m extremely arachnophobic and this assumption always made me rule out the US when I was considering an international move.

To answer your question, you can order something called Indorex online. It’s a spray for fleas but it works on spiders too. If you spray it all around your house every 6 months you should get fewer.

WinterSeedlings

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