Aerois - FINAL ARC Q&A SPECIAL!

**FINAL ARC Q&A SPECIAL!** is a Q&A round table leading into the final arc of the Aerois Campaign. It was broadcast live on both the Yogscast Twitch channel and highrollersdnd Twitch channel on 8th August 2021 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*As Aerois heads towards it's(sic) final arc, the High Rollers crew get together to answer your questions!*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone to the stream and introduces the players.
* Mark explains the Q&A format; he's selected questions from Patreon and Discord, and will also take questions from donations.
* This week's sponsor is D&D Beyond.
* There will be an eight-minute fanart video during the break.

### **Spoiler warning**

In addition to spoilers for the whole Aerois campaign, there are also spoilers for Lightfall, Uncharted Territory, and Dead Reckoning in the Q&A.

### **Q&A**

*We're onto the FINAL ARC of Aerois so we're doing a recap/Q&A special answering YOUR questions about Aerois and more!*

The Q&A starts with Mark asking the players to do a quick recap of everything that has happened in Aerois, with Mark deciding when to go to the next person. The order is: Kim, Trott, Katie, Rhiannon, Tom, Kim, Trott, Katie, Rhiannon, Tom, Kim, Trott, Katie. They go over the major moments of the campaign, with occasional back-tracking to cover skipped moments and frequent interjections from the other players.

After the recap, Mark starts the Q&A by asking for everyone's thoughts and expectations for the campaign back when they started Aerois. Kim was excited for the high fantasy sci-fi, and wanted to create a very happy character and play a magic user. Trott was excited for the fresh start, with a new world from Mark. Katie was looking forward to not playing a spellcaster, and to another long campaign. Tom found making a character that he intended to play from level 2 to 20 spooky, and was excited by the improvements on the production side. Rhi agreed to join the show because it sounded like a good time, and hadn't expected it to be so emotionally affecting.

The second question is from Smiley-Fakemon, on character creation, and how much they discussed it together. Mark sent them all documents about the world, and they had group conversations to make sure they weren't overlapping in class and race, but they also did parts individually. Kim and Mark worked together on Vortinssar and the genasi; Rhiannon, Tom and Mark talked about Quill and Sentry starting together. Kim and Mark discuss how they all have different approaches to character creation: Kim writes up a detailed backstory, which he enjoys fitting in to the world; Trott is eager to play Mark's new homebrew subclasses; Katie has great trust in Mark to help fill in the blanks; Tom came up with the Messengers' Guild and the connection between the aarakocra and the Valley of Storms; Rhiannon's original idea of a warforged druid led to the development of the guardian race as nature-based constructs.

The third question is from Fael\_Draws and Spec, asking if they had alternative character concepts, or what character they would create if they were making a new level 1 character. Tom was always set on cleric; he didn't heal in the early levels because early-level cleric healing sucks, but late-level cleric healing is amazing, so he heals now. With all the magitek in Aerois, he thinks he would play an artificer now. Kim finds her initial character notes; she'd written several character concepts, chosen alien races, and had looked at a lot of classes from Xanathar's, primarily spellcasters. It was close to being a triton shadow sorcerer, but the concept of "homesick alien" which became Nova was her favourite. Trott is just happy to become any subclass Mark gives him, and is looking forward to one he's teased for the next campaign (though Mark says he may have to fight Rhiannon for it); if he were creating a new character, he'd like to play someone from the Valkyrian empire who sought refuge on Aerois, possibly a soldier who defected or lost their memory. Katie doesn't have any alternate ideas; she went into the campaign set on being a barbarian. She wasn't originally going to have Aila be an elf, but Mark's Viking/Celtic elves were perfect. Rhi is happy to play anything; she likes characters that are entwined with nature, like druids, but also likes the idea of being a bard as she's quite chaotic. Mark notes he's just started working on a nature bard.

The fourth question is from Joseph bee and Wolfie-kid, asking about surprises or favourite moments of character development. Trott was expecting Lucius to remain more jovial and funny; he knew Mark would mess up his story somehow, and was excited for it, but didn't anticipate role-playing it so much. They all talk about how good he is at making people cry. Trott wasn't anticipating Lucius to have such trauma, but it's exciting to role-play, and he tries to do so with respect. He's also aware of the importance of sharing the stage and timing the emotional moments. Tom drastically changed Quill's personality after session zero, from being cocky and confident to meek and terrified, as he didn't enjoy playing the session zero version. What most surprised him was the development into seer Quill with The Eye of the Storm, and how Mark had seen what Quill was meant to be before Tom knew it. Mark says it wasn't that he had an idea of what he wanted Quill to be; he simply took how Tom had set Quill up, as a character with visions and a drive to investigate, and gave him a power that he thought would be cool. Tom loved getting the Storm Eye, it was the coolest moment. For Katie, this is an emotional question as she talks about how she'd been having a difficult time and Aila became the strength that she wanted and needed, so playing her was therapeutic. Trott and Mark both agree on that, Trott talking about how Lucius drives him to portray emotion, Mark about his female NPCs. Katie says that's why she doesn't want Aila to die; Mark says that's something he wants to work into his next campaign, because for some people their character dying is simply not fun, and there can be other consequences to losing. Tom says he's ok with his character dying or being injured when it makes for a good story moment. Mark recalls Kim thinking that she'd ruined the game when Jiǔtóu died in Lightfall, and how that was a formative moment for him as a DM, since he had been playing since childhood and was used to character death. Katie says it's also more impactful because they play these characters for a long time, and have people making fan art and such. Kim thinks that she actually needed Jiǔtóu's death, to help her change the character; she also remembers Mark being surprised with her choice at the end of the solo episode, and how that felt like she got D&D now. Similarly, for Rhi, Sentry's death was the moment that made her realise how much of an emotional connection she had to Sentry and to the story. She was happy it created an interesting storyline, and it taught her to not be afraid of her character dying.

The fifth question is also from Wolfie-kid, asking what moments they would like fanart of. Mark encourages them to be selfish and ask for moments of their character. Kim would like to see the moment where Nova straps Quill into his new wing and he flies, Nova sacrificing herself to power the portal on Aegis V, and Nova and Quill's fight. Katie would like to see Aila channelling the lightning and meeting Thor, and Aila holding up the hand of the giant guardian in the City of Glass. There was also a question of moments they would like to see animated, and Mark would like to see Aila with the lightning rod and Thor as an animation. Tom's moment doesn't have Quill in it; he would like to see the party with H'esper in the Halls of Resplendence. He'd also like Lucius and Sentry in Hadar's throne room. Trott says he doesn't need to worry about Lucius moments because Fael's drawn them, but would like to see tiny Sentry meeting giant Root. Katie and Tom both mention the fight against Voracitor's ship, and Sentry dunking the missile into it. Trott suggests just animating Episode 121: Call of the Herald, particularly the double fight on two floors with Sentry against Voracitor and the rest against the giant guardian and the ferals. Tom and Kim are reminded by that of the fight in the Temple of H'esper with the three different time zones. Tom also wants fanart of all the monsters that have eaten Lucius.

The sixth question is from weegomo, asking if their Aerois character is their favourite D&D character. For Tom, Rhi, Katie, and Trott, it is. For Kim, Dogsbody is her favourite, as she loved his character arc, while she's a bit lost on how Nova is going to develop. Katie thought Elora would always be her favourite, and she still loves her, but from connecting to Aila so much she's become her favourite.

The seventh question is from Lord Derpington, asking what the characters would say to their level one selves. The answers are: Lucius: "Good fucking luck!", Aila: "Accept other people's help, you asshole", Quill: "It'll be okay..." or "Give up the bard!", Sentry: "Trust yourself", Nova: "Don't trust people so unquestionably, you idiot. Brookstone!".

The eight and final question of Part 1 is from Indigo Morton, asking if they considered multiclassing. Rhi still dabbles with ideas. Trott could multiclass any time. Katie did briefly consider fighter, but preferred to stick with barbarian. Kim has discussed some ideas with Mark, as the later levels of warlock suck, and may dabble with the last three levels. Tom regretted multiclassing bard and cleric because the spells are identical, but is happy with wizard and especially with the portent ability.

### **Part 2**

*We're onto the FINAL ARC of Aerois so we're doing a recap/Q&A special answering YOUR questions about Aerois and more!*

Part 2 begins with everyone praising the fanart video, and thanking all the artists who submit art for the show. Mark then starts reading questions from donations.

The first question is from Phil McCracken, asking if they could have "Duel of the Fates" playing for another Sentry one vs one fight. Mark points out there would be copyright issues.

The second question is from Matpat(sp?), on what would have happened if Valla hadn't opened the portal. Mark explains that rather than having the full story planned out and the world built in detail, he uses a method called "the iceberg": what the players interact with is the tip of the iceberg, which has all the detail, while the rest of the world 'below the surface' isn't detailed. He hasn't thought in detail about alternate roads, because they didn't happen. He also likens it to painting the scenery five feet ahead of the party, or to a video game loading screen. The others recall times where Mark has asked them to talk amongst themselves, or ended the game early, because something unexpected happened and he needs to check his notes or hasn't planned this yet. Mark talks about how if the players aren't interested in a plot point or an NPC, he simply drops them, because he wants to build around the things they're excited for. Trott points out that that's a valuable lesson to every DM. Tom asks if there any NPCs Mark wishes he got to play more; Mark says on the whole no, his favourite NPCs (such as Dannica and Valla) have all been impactful to the story, and they've generally cared for the ones he expected them to. Rosemeadow is one he enjoys playing, because some players (like Rhiannon) love her and some (like Tom) get wound up by her. Tom protests that he loves Rosemeadow. Mark also says that he loves changing NPCs frequently, and is very excited to work on the new campaign. Kim jokes he'll TPK them so he can start it, but Mark protests he'll never do that.

The third question is from Helpful-Goku(sp?), on what happened to Nightfrost. He's dead, he was destroyed.

The fourth question is from MK13wolf, asking Trott why he tends to make characters that are inefficient in combat, specifically early on. Trott says it's boring to be perfect all the time; he prefers to fuck the party when it's visually cooler. Mark points out they are not a min-maxing group, but rather one that enjoys roleplay. Kim requests that people not send them questions telling them that they're playing wrong; they all agree that that wasn't the intent of this particular question, but they get many comments like that and would like them to stop. Trott says that while it was meant as a funny question, he's going to give a serious answer; he considers those "mistakes" such as forgetting dichromancy as organic parts of the story; sometimes things just don't work. Mark agrees it also makes sense for Lucius's character, who isn't meant to be combat trained, and will sometimes panic and forget things; conversely, when, for example, Aila misses a hit, he tries to frame it as the blow being parried or her aim being thrown off, because Aila is competent at fighting. Trott also says he's learnt to not try to be smarter with a character than he actually is, referencing Uncharted Territory.

The fifth question is from Eyes-remixed(sp?), asking how they manage the music changes. Trott describes how he's built up lots of playlists for different moods, so he can simply play ambiance of the correct mood when he needs to focus on the roleplay. He also has notes on each individual track, for when he needs something more specific. Because he knows how Mark speaks, he can pick a track that will crescendo along with Mark's build-up; he likes having control of the music because no external audio engineer would know Mark like he does. Mark agrees; he can also see Trott picking the music, and knows how the tracks tend to ramp up so he can, in turn, build up with it.

After some donations with no specific questions, the sixth question is once more from MK13wolf, asking for teasers on the next campaign. Mark says it has dungeons and it has dragons.

The seventh question is from OneManWolfPack(sp?), asking what they see the character doing after dealing with Kalus and Hadar. They all have ideas, but don't want to reveal them. They also agree that it depends on the developments in the next arc; for Nova, in particular, it depends on what happens with Tiangong.

The eight question is from suntiger745, asking about the most frightening or best surprises Mark sprung on the players. For Rhiannon, Sentry's encounter with Hadar when she tried to save the Dominator was scary; she genuinely thought she'd killed Sentry with that one decision in the moment. Trott points out it wasn't just Sentry (or Sentry and Lucius), it would have been the owner of the Prime matrix becoming Hadar-touched, like a second Breeze. Mark says it would have been much worse than Breeze/Voracitor as he didn't have the Prime matrix. For Katie, it was Xarkira's meteor swarm, and now knowing she can cast that every time they go up against her. Mark recalls he used the spell in Lightfall, but in a very different scenario; Katie points out how here, they were very beaten up and on the airship with no way to shelter. Mark says he went through Xarkira's spell list and it was the only one in range. For Tom, much as he loves the injury table, Quill losing an eye so early when he had no way to repair it was a shock. For Trott, emotional moments such as having to interact with his sister are the most scary; his marriage to Faeth was a very surprising one. For Kim, the dreams with Starbane are scary, with the pressure of suddenly having to play mental chess with him. The reveal that Vortinssar had joined Starbane, and the panicked message about her family, were also a huge shock, especially after they'd all been convinced the meeting would be attacked.

The ninth question is from ColoColoMan, asking Mark what was the biggest and most fun revelation. Mark notes it ties in perfectly, because it was the meeting in Horizon. He'd been planning it for months, and had been waiting for the party to get to it. He also says there's still one big reveal to come. Tom jokes it's that Johan's a dragon; Mark says that was another fun one to work on with Ravs, and to have to steer the players away from. Tom briefly jumps back to previous question, saying the moment when Mark calls on him with a vision is terrifying. Kim and Tom agree that they love the visions and dreams, but that moment where they know one's about to start is terrifying; Katie says there's a visible shakiness in her handwritten notes every time one happens. Returning to the current question, Mark says the final reveal is to do with Kalus and Siaska, and what exactly happened between them. Trott observes that doing the Q&A is a great way to get into the final arc, as it's allowing them to discuss the entire journey. Mark says he's always had an idea of how the campaign would develop, and they're on track with how he would like it to end. He'd expected levels 1 to 5 to be local Suvonna threats and interactions; 6 to 10 to involve travel to other continents and meetings with leaders; 11 to 15 to be learning about the planes (though that was more direct than he expected), and the start of the war; and now 16 to 20 will be the culmination of all those things. Tom asks if Mark's a fan of happy endings; Mark moves on.

The tenth question is from Yamarashi, on when was the first time they played D&D and when they fell in love with it. For Katie and Tom, Lightfall was their first time playing, and for Rhi it was Aerois. Trott and Mark had played together before, and Kim had also played. For Rhi, Episode 26 - The Purge was the one that made her love D&D, when she realised how much it had made her feel. For Tom, it was the realisation he was talking about the game with same passion as he talks about films and games he loves, and how he makes references to it. It wasn't his first episode, but a few in. For Katie, it was also a few episodes in, probably with Jiǔtóu's death and the realisation she was emotionally invested. For Kim, while Jiǔtóu's death would be the easy answer, she feels the moment when she couldn't wait for the next episode was the first meeting with Korak, and then finding Crownrend. For Trott, there isn't a pinpoint moment; he always wanted to play D&D and loves every time he gets to do it. For Mark it's the same, and he loves being able to do it as a career.

The eleventh question is from suntiger745 again, asking how the COVID pandemic lockdown affected the game, aside from moving to playing digitally. For Rhi, it was a welcome break where every Sunday she could set aside all the stress of everything happening; she feels it was a real lifesaver. Mark agrees; being able to have that social moment, spend time with his friends and play D&D was invaluable. The transition to digital was hardest for him, because he grew up playing D&D exclusively at the table, but Trott taking on all the production side let him be able to still enjoy it. For Katie, the first lockdown was particularly hard as she was living on her own and working from her bedroom, so having both the Sunday streams and the Discord server where she could chat to the others was very important. Tom mentions how keeping track of days was hard, and having the regular Sunday streams kept him on track and gave him something to look forward to. Katie and Tom both agree that having a full-time job while never leaving the house meant everything blurred into work. For Trott, the transition to virtual was great, both because it gave him a project to work on over lockdown, and because it gives him control, removing his frustrations with the studio on the tech side. He and Mark talk about the dream of building a dedicated studio that Trott could fully control. For Kim, the thing she most enjoyed was having something to think about other than the world. Mark points out that in D&D, individual heroes can fix the world, and he thinks that's why D&D boomed during the pandemic.

The twelfth question is from Mark himself, asking the players how they feel about heading into the highest level they've ever played at. Kim, Tom, and Rhiannon all agree they're excited; Tom is looking forwards to high-level spells, and Kim to being weird with portals. Mark also asks how they feel about the combats, if they're scarier or they feel they've got it. Tom says it swings; sometimes they're up against lots of enemies and it's scary, but then one of the party does lots of damage and it's not so scary anymore. Katie says the big fights where they have goals in mind, like rescuing Valla, are still terrifying, especially with multiple big bads. Going back to Mark's first question, Trott says he's apprehensive because he finds very powerful characters unrelatable; he wants to make sure it's still a story of friends, who retain their human qualities. It's not exciting when there's nothing at stake. Mark agrees that stakes is the answer, and the characters all still have things at stake.

The thirteenth question is from BagelB1sh, asking if they would change anything about their characters with the benefit of hindsight. Tom adds on to it the most liked question from a tweet of his, asking what one moment they would go back and do differently if they could; he doesn't have an answer, just wanted to pose the question. Trott would change his metamagics. Katie wishes she'd got to know Aila quicker so she could have played her like she does now from the start, but also points out that telling people their characters are bad is hurtful. Mark recalls that Kim went through a similar situation with Jiǔtóu (Kim points out she still does with Nova), and that people have come to love those characters for their strength and their journey to being more caring. Kim wonders if she should have kept the necro hand, as it was such a big moment for Nova; Mark thinks there was a bit of a mistake on his side in not establishing clear mechanics for it, so she could make a more confident decision. Rhiannon wishes that during Sentry's degradation stage she played more into that, but was apprehensive about doing it, and isn't sure why. Mark suggests it may have been concern about being disruptive, and about the audience's reaction. Tom recalls times where they've discussed things off-stream before acting on them, to make sure the other players will be ok with them.

That leads Mark to bring up the fourteenth question, from MusicalOwl, which asks about the safety rules they have at the table. He says that particularly in games with people you don't know well, safety tools are important. The High Rollers are all close friends, so they know each other's limits, but they do also check in with each other. He also notes that there were moments in Lightfall that in hindsight he realised he should have checked beforehand, so it's a learning experience. Trott thinks they're also good at not taking their friendship for granted, and checking in with each other; he thinks it's important to do that even if you're friends. Mark clarifies that what he meant was that they don't use any specific safety tool system, though he does want to have a questionnaire for everyone on what they're comfortable with when they move into campaign three. He also thinks they've played with each other enough that they know what's disruptive to each other's roleplay and what they can get away with. Katie agrees that they know each other's levels of comfort, giving as an example that she doesn't care to have romantic interests in campaigns; she appreciates Mark's approach of putting it on the table as a possibility for them to engage with or not as they want. On that topic, Mark and Kim discuss the recent moment between Nova and Thalia, how they discussed it afterwards and took it back to a rate of progression that Kim and Nova are comfortable with. Kim mentions how she recently played with Roll Together, and they had an initial questionnaire and a traffic light system. She and Tom also talk about how they had to check in with each other after Quill and Nova's fight, because it got so intense in-character.

The fifteenth question is from Crispi, asking what they are most looking forward to and most scared of as they approach the endgame. Trott is excited to make people cry with Lucius's death, and scared it won't happen. Katie would like to fight alongside Siaska. Tom wants the vision of the ship sailing towards the red star to come true. Kim's perfect ending would be fighting Hadar with Siaska, Valla, and Starbane; Mark points out Sentry might have a problem with that, to which Kim says they can sacrifice Starbane to Hadar. She's scared of meeting Tiangwrong, and of losing Tiangong. Tom asks if this is a real submitted question, or if Mark is trying to gather information; Mark says it's really from Crispi. Rhiannon is very excited for where she thinks things are going, and scared of how Sentry will react and of making bad decisions.

The sixteenth question is from VisibleZero-0, asking about the most embarrassing thing Starbane might have seen the party do while scrying. Katie says they've done a lot of dumb things. Trott jokes that Lucius is caught masturbating; Tom then jokes that Quill was seen posing for the picture Lucius was masturbating to.

The seventeenth question is from unicorndude, asking about NPCs they didn't originally like who have grown on them. Trott suggests Starbane, to which Rhiannon agrees. Tom brings up Arval, not as one they disliked but as one they didn't expect to be as important as he became. Rhi suggests Maximillion.

The eighteenth question is from MarkVibadag, asking what each character would have individually wished for if they'd got the ring of wishes. Katie would wish for Alfheim to exist, which Mark says would have changed a lot of things. Rhi would wish for Solwynn back, which would also have been a big change (Tom suggests destructive tidal currents as a consequence). Trott jokes he'd wish for Nova to have no wishes, then says that much as Lucius might want his family back, it's shaped him into who he is now, so he'd give it to someone smarter. Tom says he would wish they could all be friends; Kim says it's never going to happen. Kim would wish for Tiangong to be fully formed.

The nineteenth question is from MudkipPal, asking what NPC they would choose to play; Mark vetoes Starbane and Valla. Rhiannon chooses Rosemeadow. Katie is torn between Dannica and Sanna, ultimately choosing Dannica because their hair matches. Trott picks Lookout, as he'd like the challenge of a character with so little personality. Kim wants to be either Big Cat or Thalia. Tom chooses Bym.

The twentieth (and last on Yogs) question is from Smiley-Fakemon, asking how well the characters can dance on a scale of 1 to 10 and what their preferred dance is. Sentry is a two, and does the "classic mum dance", rocking from side to side or back and forth. Quill does the funky chicken, and is a ten at it. Aila is a zero, she doesn't dance and anyone who tries to make her will probably get hit; a mosh pit would be acceptable as she can injure people. Lucius is a nine at classic ballroom dancing; he would like to be flamboyant but would feel restricted, unless he gets too many drinks, when he starts twerking and doing split drops. Nova is a minus two and it's the macarena; she's studied the steps and tries hard but keeps hitting herself in the face. Mark says Quill and Lucius would then be leading the social endeavours in a formal dance; Tom and Trott question the funky chicken, but Mark points out it's still better than the rest.

After ending the stream on the Yogscast channel and continuing on the High Rollers channel alone, the twenty-first question is from MarktheRipper(sp?), asking about moments they were particularly happy with. For Trott it's moments in combat, like the first time he used the gauntlet. For Kim, it's the culmination of Project Flock Together. Tom agrees, though at one moment he almost refused it as he was apprehensive about getting another wing. He'd been careful with how he played Quill, and didn't want it to be "fixing" him, but he's happy with how it went and how it's been played; Quill was always capable, so it wasn't vital. Mark also liked how it was handled and made meaningful, not a handwave. Rhiannon echoes a moment raised in chat, of Sentry smashing her axe into the table during the ILS meeting; she almost didn't do it, and likes how surprised everyone was. For Katie, it was calling out Graz'zt when he cheated.

The twenty-second and final question is from an unidentified bit donation, asking if they will return to playing in-person as soon as possible, or if digital has more benefits. They would like to still do some things in the studio, but playing digitally has greatly raised the quality of the streams, especially as they upgraded microphones and lights; Mark thinks they're one of the best-looking remote-play D&D streams. Returning to the Yogscast studio would mean a drop in quality; if they could build their own studio where they had full control, that would be different, but it's a distant dream at the moment. They would like to at least end Aerois around the table, as it started, if it's possible. People should expect to see more digital games in the future, though that doesn't mean they won't ever play in the studio.

The episode ends with several no-question donations. Mark notes there were more questions on Patreon and Discord, but most were either repeats, very niche, or about things that will happen in-game in the future.

## **YouTube Timestamps**

00:00:00 Episode Start

00:07:19 Part 1

01:25:48 Break time/Fanart

01:35:56 Part 2

## **Trivia**

* The podcast was uploaded as a single episode, rather than being split into Part 1 and Part 2.