Warning: The following recap of Critical Role Campaign 3, Episode 83, contains spoilers.
Dearly bequeefed, we’re gathered here today to round up the litany of dirty puns and Ruidus lore that ran rampant throughout Critical Role’s latest episode. Here’s how Bells Hells navigated their maiden voyage to the moon in Campaign 3, Episode 83.
Bells Hells Arrive on Ruidus, the Moon of Ill-Omen
Approximately 50 episodes after the Critical Role cast learned that Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer was housing both a God Eater and an entire unexplored civilization on Exandria’s small red moon, Bells Hells finally touched down on Ruidus’ surface. However, the party’s exploratory mission took a temporary backseat as they navigated the fallout of their attention-grabbing ascent to the Bloody Bridge in Episode 82. With a few pursuers still hot on their trail — including a Reiloran juggernaut polymorphed into a possum and a Thought Eater — Bells Hells attempted to make a stealthy escape through Critical Role’s first Ruidus battle map.
Utilizing tools such as Darkness, Seething Storm, and a particularly clutch Changebringer-afforded reroll, the party managed to duck into an unoccupied tent within the landing site’s makeshift military encampment. While the party suffered some damage on their journey, their scrappy tactics ultimately afforded them a reprieve from the 40+ soldiers hunting for them around the Bloody Bridge. Though escape was their primary objective, Mercer began to feed the party enticing tidbits of Ruidus lore as they navigated to safety. Travis Willingham’s werewolf Chetney Pock O’Pea experienced a buffet of new smells, FCG cast Command on a scaled and headless panther-like beast, and, fortunately, gravity seemed to operate as it did on Exandria.
Speaking of gravity, the party swiftly shed its constraints by utilizing Wind Walk to escape the enemy-infested area. This initial encounter took up the first half of the episode, with leveling up to Level 12 occurring on either side of the ad break. Ashley Johnson notably took another level in Rogue, officially making Fearne Calloway an Arcane Trickster and telling the internet: “Don’t fucking at me!”.
In the Eye of the Dust Storm there is Quiet (for Just a Moment)
Assuming their gaseous forms, the Critical Role cast hurled a litany of queef-related puns in Mercer’s direction. Jokes aside, this state allowed Bells Hells to observe more elements of Ruidus’ ecosystem as they fought against a dust storm and encountered a pack of buffalo-like creatures. As with the not-quite-panthers back at the landing site, these square-toothed prey creatures boasted some unique characteristics. Mercer noted that the large beasts were heading into the dust storm and highlighted their distinct features, including their side-set eyes, six legs, and a mane-like wreath of horns.
After traversing far enough away from the landing site, the party regrouped in a cavern to take shelter from the dust storm. Here, Mercer noted colder conditions and highlighted a unique rope-like fungus growing in the cave. Chetney utilized Grim Psychometry to learn more about the area, seeing an ominous vision of the moon’s past and a subsurface threat that wiped out previous visitors to this cavern. The party theorized — both in character and above table — off Chetney’s account, employing Dune and Tremors as possible pop culture touchstones for what might lie below Ruidus’ surface.
Imogen Taps Into the Ruidusborn LinkedIn Network
Exultant Ruidusborn Imogen Temult, the most in touch with Exandria’s Moon of Ill-Omen, attempted her own investigation during this short rest. Though slightly provoking Laudna’s fear of missing out, Imogen discovered a link between herself and fellow Ruidusborn Fearne that gained the duo a new feat. While this feat allowed them to sacrifice spell slots for each other, its discovery implied that this helpful boon likely also exists among Bells Hells’ Ruidusborn foes. However, a much deeper discovery about the Ruidusborn soon befell Imogen and the party.
While attempting to connect with Predathos, Laura Bailey’s Imogen was seemingly thrust below the moon’s surface into a sea of red lights where she was coaxed by the ominous phrases “join us” and “wake us”. Though failing her first Wisdom saving throw, Imogen was eventually able to will herself away and report this new information to the party. Among the subsurface Ruidusborn network, Imogen was able to recognize the familiar red sparks of her mother and Fearne, and Bells Hells harbored varied takes on what this could imply.
This new puzzle piece provided a possible contextualization of Imogen’s recurring dreams, her mother’s consistent warnings to run from the storm, and her overall role in Predathos’ plan. These prevailing mysteries have played a major role throughout Campaign 3 of Critical Role, and while this latest reveal in Episode 83 added further insight, it didn’t directly answer any of the outlying questions. For example, Fearne still spent time pondering the role she ultimately played in this larger plot.
Solid theories formulated both at the table and over social media, but Liam O’Brian’s Orym sparked further debate among fans. Orym wondered whether Imogen should intentionally give herself over to the pull of Predathos, a proposition that stirred the pot for fans and player characters alike. With their intel-gathering still in its infancy, neither the party nor Imogen settled on a definitive course of action regarding the new insights she gleaned. Regardless, newfound parameters to the threat Ruidus imposed on Imogen began to take shape now that Bells Hells have touched down on its surface.
Bells Hells Approached Their First Village on the Moon
After completing their short rest and gaining some cautionary insights into Ruidus, Bells Hells sought out civilization. With a combination of their previous survival checks and Imogen’s newly discovered Ruidusborn grid, the party eventually arrived at a Zephrah-like village. The party took a cursory pass-over in their cloud forms and made the shocking discovery that only about twenty percent of the population was Reiloran. Though a squatter and mostly shrouded secondary race vastly outnumbered the Reilora, Mercer implied that the power dynamic favored the more militant minority.
The party proceeded with caution, finding a tool shed in a less populated area to resume their solid forms. However, a worker in the area discovered the party before they could fully regroup. Now that they were face-to-face, Mercer had the opportunity to better describe his entirely new Ruidus race, utilizing The Dark Crystal‘s podlings as a jumping-off point. The surprised individual had a cherub-like face with black eyes and a flesh nub for a nose and was able to respond to Imogen in Common. Episode 83 of Campaign 3 ended there, with the entire Critical Role crew champing at the bit to embark on this first contact conversation.
Sam’s Can: Sam Riegel utilized the evening’s gas can to callback to Critical Role‘s sick day livestream, in which he, Willingham, Taliesin Jaffe, and Robbie Daymond built their Bells Hells characters in Baldur’s Gate 3. The gas can featured a picture of Daymond reacting to the game’s genital customization, with the text: “What’s Robbie looking at? Wrong answers only.”
