Critical Recap: Critical Role C3E116 “The Weave Mind”

Hello! Welcome to Critical Recap! I’m Dani Carr, the Critical Role Lore Keeper. Let’s dive into our recap of Critical Role Campaign 3 Episode 116: The Weave Mind!

MAZE

Having entered the Arx Creonum, the Mighty Nein seek out the Pentathrone – the seat of the Weave Mind’s power. Beau and Veth lead the way, following the veins of Ruidian glass. Caleb keeps up the group’s illusory Reiloran disguise, but his telepathic conversation does not convince a group of guardians. The Nein are attacked, but Veth’s hypnotic pattern and Yasha’s swift retribution ends the fight quickly, allowing the group to continue forward.

Veth spots the apparition of a floating Reiloran – this is one of the Weave Mind, which means stealth is no longer a priority. Beau uses her ball bearings to hinder the attack of two other enemies, but a collapsing pillar from a nearby explosion proves to be a more significant opponent. Caduceus is trapped and nearly falls off the edge of the broken balcony, but Caleb rescues him with telekinesis.

Now thoroughly lost, they avoid an attack from a swarm of slithers and double back, finding their way down with Fjord in the lead as Space Admiral. The Weave Mind’s shadows continue their attempt to penetrate their minds, but the Nein hold them at bay. Fjord leads the group to glowing doors with reliefs that keep a reverse celestial calendar and tell the Ruidians’ tale of yearning for freedom. Within, they find a tunnel leading to a chamber – where the invisible Weave Mind await, revealed only via Fjord’s see invisibility.

WEAVING

The Weave Mind are ancient Reilorans, stretched and withered and wearing ornamental headpieces. One telepathically asks Fjord to come and converse with them. He refuses and is pulled forward – Caleb telekinetically grabs him, locking Fjord between two psychic grapples that pull him in different directions. He casts far step to escape this tug of war and the Mighty Nein enter the chamber, ready for a fight.

The Weave Mind want Exandria, which they call the Blue Dream. They claim that Exandrians squander the Blue Dream and want to know why the Mighty Nein are here. Caduceus says that the Weave Mind will not have the Blue Dream: they will only foolishly kill it, as they do not even know what Exandria is. Then they will be left with less than they have now. The Weave Mind call the Nein rodents, but Caduceus reminds them that without mice, everything dies.

Since the Weave Mind still believe they have the upper hand over Ludinus, the Mighty Nein launch fully into their fight. Beau is invisible via empty body, but this does not deter the Weave Mind’s attempt to turn her into a puppet – Beau, however, has never been anyone’s puppet, and the attempt fails. Though this puppet gambit never works, the five Weave Mind are formidable foes – they share damage, receive temp hp from their numerous crystals, can suck out spell slot levels, and have a terrifying triangle attack that heavily damages anyone within their geometric pattern.

CALLING ON ANGELS

The Weave Mind are still invisible, so Jester calls on her best friend, the Traveler – also known as the Archfey Artagan – for a little bit of divine intervention. Artagan, channeling his power through Sprinkle the weasel, covers the Weave Mind in golden spectral dicks and forces them to be seen. With the Weave Mind out in the open, Caleb casts time stop: he gets 5 rounds, using them to:

• Cast mirror image on himself
• Cast fire shield on himself
• Telekinetically begin ripping the arch down
• Cast delayed blast fireball
• Step behind a pillar and toss out a 7th level fireball

This massive explosion rocks the room and the minds of the Weave Minds (my mind included). They retaliate by sucking out some of Caleb’s spell slots, but Yasha attacks the now vulnerable arch and shatters a crystal, reducing some of the hit points the Reilorans can gain.

Caduceus begins to speak of the Blooming Grove, how the first body in their charge was made entirely of violet crystal. This body is what gave them the Grove itself. He takes out the purple crystal from his staff, placing it on the ground. This is where they will make the next graveyard. He uses divine intervention to make all the crystals vulnerable for one round and asks who will be the first to be interred. Beau and Fjord shatter a crystal each, enraging the Weave Mind.

TETHERED

The fighting continues, with the Nein whittling away at the Weave Mind’s shared pool of hit points while also targeting the crystals to reduce their temporary hit points. The Weave Mind retaliate with their triangle attack, causing Caduceus to fall, but he only drops to 1 hit point thanks to Jester’s previous casting of death ward. Beau lands a punch and uses extract aspects, learning it is resistant to psychic damage, immune to blind, charm, fright, and paralysis, and that their communal abilities are all bound to the crystals.

Caleb casts power word stun on one of the Weave Mind, causing it to fall to the ground and out of the range of the crystals. It takes the full damage of the attacks and Yasha kills it, enraging the grieving members of the former polygon. Beau stuns two of the remaining Weave Mind in quick succession and Caleb casts disintegrate – this spell destroys the last of the Weave Mind. They rapidly age and crumble into dust, their reign of tyranny crumbing with them. The Mighty Nein bask in the silence that falls, hoping their success was enough to aid Bells Hells in their fight to come.

That is it for Episode 116 of Critical Role!

FINAL THOUGHTS

• Ball bearings – the most useful item in DnD?
• I have zero idea what the final tally was on Beau & Veth’s gambling, but someone owes someone some sum of money. I am not a bookie!
• In the words of Liam O’Brien – what’s sexier than wizards?
• Oh Mighty Nein, I’ve missed you so.

Catch Episode 117 on Thursday, December 12th at 7pm Pacific on beacon.tv, where Beacon members get access to the entire episode, podcast included! The episode will also release on twitch.tv/criticalrole and on youtube.com/criticalrole and a week later on our podcast. Is it Thursday yet?