Critical Recap: Critical Role C3E17 “Heart-to-Heartmoor”

Written by on March 23, 2022

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 17 Heart-to-Heartmoor!

THE GNARLROCK

Once again, Imogen dreams of the red storm, but this time she has the purple crystal in her hand. Its presence is comforting and offers her a different means of escape than running like her mother says. Unsure what to do, she runs to the farmhouse, waking up with the storm on her heels. Imogen and Laudna discuss the dream, wondering if she should try walking into the storm itself or if Laudna would be able to come into the dream with her by holding her hand at night. Laudna offers to accompany Imogen if she ever wants to go to her father for answers.

In the morning, FCG (who is feeling much better) casts identify on the crystal, learning that it is a small sliver of the Gnarlrock – a mythological stone that exists deep in the Fey Realm that mutates and twists the nature around it into something nightmarish. Imogen assumes that this is what evolved the Shade Mother. Fearne reveals that she came here from the Fey Realm to try and find her parents, who left when she was young. They send her letters from their travels and the most recent came from somewhere that started with an ‘A’.

JIANA’S JOB

Bells Hells decide it’s time to head for the Heartmoor. They go to Jiana Hexum’s to officially introduce themselves and accept her job. Jiana is sending them to the Heartmoor Hamlet to meet Evon Hytroga, who owns an oddities museum known as the Twilight Mirror Museum. He has been teasing her about her recent break-in, so the two have set up a wager – she’ll bring in a group of burglars to steal something from him, to prove that his defenses are unimpressive. Mistress Isha Sabanis has also put forth a team of burglars as added competition.

Jiana offers them 300 gold for food and travel and 500 gold each on a successful burglary. If they embarrass Evon, then she’ll give them more money and maybe throw in one of her creepy statues. FCG asks for the 300 gold to be given to them as a diamond, which she does. She is fascinated by FCG and wants to know who designed him. FCG pretends it was Ashton, impressing Jiana. The group makes it clear that FCG is not for sale and then split up to finish the last of their errands.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

Fearne and Laudna go to Eshteross to tell him about the Green Seekers and the Shade Mother. He appreciates the information and recommends they stick to the Honored Trails as they travel to the Heartmoor. Orym, Ashton, and FCG go to the Krook House to see Milo, who inspects FCG. There’s a lot of pent-up energy in the metal of their body. It needs time to work itself out. Milo fixes the joints of FCG’s grappling hook attachment, making it easier for him to switch attachments quickly.

Imogen and Chetney rent 5 horses and a small wagon from a stable and Imogen brings up her dream. Last night, she smelled iron in the air, which Chetney tells her is the smell of blood. He wonders if the storm is a repressed memory and asks if there is magic in her family, but she’s unsure. Imogen asks about his tattoo and Chetney tells her that it means ‘Recognize the Alpha’, but Imogen knows that the research into ‘alphas’ is very inaccurate. Bells Hells purchase their final supplies and head off into the jungle, leaving Jrusar behind.

FEY SENSE

After a few hours of traveling north, Bells Hells have their path crossed by a large rabbit with a pink stone in its mouth. Orym chases the bounding rabbit and gets the stone away, giving it to Imogen. The horses are given names – Sir Floppers (Fearne), Rabbit (Orym), One Way Loonch (Ashton and Chetney), Escargot (Laudna), Heart (Imogen) – before they stop for the night. During FCG and Fearne’s watch, she tells them that her parents are named Bertie and Oleander and her grandmother is Morri, short for Morrigan.

In the morning, FCG casts identify on the pink stone: it is a Fey Realm shard, similar to the Gnarlrock, that can be used as a spellcasting focus for sorcerers and will allow them to roll on the wild magic table once a day when using metamagic. FCG points out how much fey stuff they’ve encountered and Laudna asks how Fearne got here. She came from the Fey Realm through Artagan’s Gate in Tal’Dorei. It’s possible there is a gate here too, but no one knows where. The fey tilt to the Oderan Wilds remains a mystery.

TREES OF SUN AND LIGHTNING

After another day of traveling, Bells Hells camp for the night. Ashton and Fearne take a watch, where she asks about his rock body. Ashton was soft when he was younger and began to shift to rock when they were a pre-teen. Ashton isn’t sure why, but they have theories about it. Laudna and Orym take a watch and he asks about her time in Whitestone. Laudna reveals that she was lured to the castle by the Briarwoods and given a feast before being killed. She awoke hanging from the Sun Tree, a magical tree gifted by the Dawnfather that stands in the heart of Whitestone. Orym, recognizing this tale, apologizes to her for what she went through and asks how she manages to be the happiest of them – Laudna tells him that the worst thing that could happen to her has already happened.

The next day, a storm rolls in and lightning strikes a distant tree. Chetney finds the tree and collects pieces of the timber. A blue flower sits in the center of the freshly split tree. Orym takes it, electrocuting himself in the process but successfully retrieving the flower. This is a Blue Chromatic Rose, which gives the holder resistance to lightning damage and can shoot a lightning bolt by blowing the petals off. Imogen thinks the rose is a gift from the Storm Lord.

TIES THAT BIND

That night, FCG and Imogen cast detect thoughts on each other at the same time, having a conversation with their emotions and memories. FCG sees her storm dream, experiencing its terror, and Imogen sees their former party members, before and after their deaths. They both feel closer to each other now and think this could be a good form of therapy together. Chetney and Orym discuss tattoos during their watch. Chetney got his a couple months ago, after he became a lycan. Orym’s moon tattoo is to help him remember his husband, Will. He died six years ago, in the strange attack that Orym has been investigating. The moons represent Will, a half-elf, and Orym, a halfling – big moon, little moon.

Another day of traveling passes without incident. That night, Ashton and Laudna notice a fairy approaching the campsite. They try to communicate with it, waking up Imogen and Fearne for help. When Fearne approaches the fairy to ask it what it wants, she keeps walking, feeling compelled to go a certain direction. Ashton goes after her and she snaps out of her daze. They realize that the fairy is a lure attached to a plant creature that comes to life around them.

That is it for Episode 17 of Critical Role!

FINAL THOUGHTS

  • Holy shit y’all! The amount of backstory that got dropped!
  • Laudna! Was hung!! From the Sun Tree!!!
  • Big moon, little moon. Liam O’Brien got me in the tear ducts.
  • Seriously what the fuck is UP with all the Fey stuff? There’s got to be another Fey Realm gate or portal or something in the Oderan Wilds.
  • Happy 7 years, Critical Role!

Anyway, catch Episode 18 on Thursday, March 24th at 7pm Pacific on twitch.tv/criticalrole and on youtube.com/criticalrole or a week later on our podcast. Is it Thursday yet?


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