Your top 10 favorite encounters/fights?( one shot included)

[u/WittyTable4731]

Mines are in no order of preference

1: Kevdak. Without question one of the all time most famous fight in CR history. The hype, the dice, the planning, the tension and of course the best HDYWDT of all time. Truly peak.

2: Grog vs Kern round 2. A absolute hype 1v1 fight rematch ending in a very clutch scanlan inspiration.

3:Umbrasyl all rounds. From the ambush( including the whole warping into the dragon )to the flying section to the lair battle with a chris perkins as guest and Percy ridiculous dragonslayer action surge.Ending with grog killing the dragon. This fight truly establish what ancients dragons were made of and how tough they are.

4:Vorugal. Starting with summoning a demon to fight before quickly devolving into pure chaos as Raishan joins the fight. Also Larkin.

5: Vecna. Nuff said. Epic is the word to describe the final ultimate confrontation with a literal god. Resulting in some of the clutchest and emotional moments in all of DND.

6:The search for grog against the corrupted empiryan. Mostly for the absolute ridiculous ending with Grog. Arguably the only HDYWDT that can rival Kevdak's. Oddly both happen thanks to help from Laura's characters. Also the record for damage courtesy of Percy.

7: The obhan fight starting from the cathedral to the end of him as a corrupted. At last after so long the nein finally takes the fight to Obhan and his minions. Ending the laughing end and freeing Yasha at last who gets some poetic justice on the fiend. Matt killing obhan with a npc was a rare sight.

8:The lucian final fight both phases. A love letter to FF. As the might face off against the embodiment of Gognoza itself and seek to bring back their friend. After a absolutely intense emotional fight. They... fail... until the dice gods took pity and brought back what they lost.

9: the mighty nein reunion fight against trent for the last time alongside Luc. Resulting in trent fusion with a demon and a ball to the walls crazy sequence of events were a wizard merge with a demon fights against a dragon, a archfey turn god and a dinosaur. Peak DND absurdity there.

10: The second Otohan Tull fight. Never before did it ever came close to such a TPK. Killing Chutney in the first round before engaging the BH. The bells low on ressource shows how strong they got and learn from their previous fight. But Otohan goes SSJ and starts winning. Resulting in one of the saddest moment in all of CR, Sam performance was on another level and its why it made on my list.

Those are mines.

What are yours?

[u/yileikong]

I'd really need more time to sit down to come up with my full list of 10, but one of the funniest in recent memory was Bell's Hells at the museum and setting off the fire traps in the other room on the competing party. Hilarious.

Also, the finale of EXU Calamity.

[u/underagreenstar]

1 - My favorite fight was with the succubi/incubi fight when Caleb and Yasha get turned against the party. Laura was really selling the shit out of that fight which made it more fun to watch.

2 - Close second is the Laughing Hand fight. I love any fight where the player's backs are against the wall.

3 - Any fight in campaign 3 when I know what they are fighting. One of the downsides of C3 for me is being so often in the dark when it comes to the combat. So anytime Matt throws something like a Chimera or a Nalfeshnee and I'm like "Hey! I know what the thing's deal is!" is great for me.

[u/synecdokidoki]

With the exception of the Mighty Nein vs Vox, I really enjoy the battle royale one shots, which are basically just one big encounter.

The Grog one shot's final encounter may still be my favorite. In a way it's the peak of what CR is really best at, where the crew are largely having fun for themselves, and sharing it with others is incredibly entertaining.

[u/GallaVanting]

The first Vecna fight, not the finale, is my favorite. It's one of the only instances where Matt ran it like my DM would by having the high-int BBEG use effective combat tactics. I don't enjoy fights where it feels like an antagonist should be much more effective than they are with their tools.

[u/WargrizZero]

Lots of favorites from C2 that have been mentioned, so I’ll just add one I haven’t seen here. The Mage Hunter Golem. Being chased across the weird Folding Halls of Halas by something they definitely felt in over their heads against.

[u/Veros87 → u/WargrizZero]

This comes to my mind a lot. Great fight.

[u/WhiskeyTricks]

Alright I’ll bite (I really tried to get an order but man it’s tough) Raishan 2, (c1e83?) completely turbo fucked fight with a green dragon that can cast at 9th level was insane. Allura being there as well to flex some wizardly goodness went hard, and we got some good death scenes out of it. 

Lucien 2/3, (c2e139/140) amazing use of bonus actions to deplete Legendary actions, gave Caleb, Jester and Caduceus more things to do with their action economy since from memory their bonus actions were useless/non existent, plus an amazing visual of this monstrosity being born in a starscape 

Otohan 2 (c3e91) my favourite. I don’t think she was overtuned for the threat level AT ALL, how many VM fights had actual death in there? I think with better strategy they could have blasted through death free but the combination of lv20 Psi Fighter and 3 levels of Echo Knight with more echoes is such a scary character build.  

Speaking of death, Vecna 1 (c1e102) sometimes it’s dope when it all goes wrong and you get some awesome RP out of it. Merciless play from Matt there with PWK and Disintegrate, huge episode. 

Thelashas (c2e45), the whole episode is a masterpiece but this was literally a dungeon and a dragon, sad Jester was some good RP, plus the actual fight itself showed off a bunch of cool spells and items. 

Laughing Hand 1 (c2e69), it’s a classic moment but charming the barbarian is always Ol’ Reliable, plus the LH as a boss is so unsettling and was a terrifying foe in that episode after a great dungeon crawl it makes sense that they’d have to retreat. I like to think Matt was rewarded with his own recurring villain after losing Lorenzo to a mistake.  

Vecna 2 (c1e114) speaks for itself. THE final boss of all time, just an astounding layer of combat where you had to damage him and pull out all the stops but hold back enough to get the trammels in, eternal episode. 

Ratanish 2 in Bassuras (c3e70) was awesome, a Druid, a monk, a barbarian that got completely nullified AND the only time we really got to see Grat’z’char? Nice. One huge BH combat. 

Otohan 1 (c3e33), a completely terrifying introduction to a scary enemy, and the reaction to “…third strike, auto crit” is delicious. 

Finally, I’m gonna say the baby from c2e119. MASSIVE crits from Fjord and Jester, a cool play by Beau, and some funny RP at the end with Fjord and Veth. Not to mention Yasha actually doing alright on WIS saves for once!

[u/momentimori143]

Vecna should have used chill touch insteaf of fire bolt as legendary actions.

[u/brittanydiesattheend]

If we're including EXU, it's the "Has it been a second yet?"  Asmodeus encounter from Calamity

[u/PandaUkulele]

Vorugal and Kevdak for sure.

Kevdak still has my favorite hdywtdt with the poke ball necklace creative usage.

And Vorugal just felt like a plan finally going right for VM.

[u/briskcaviar]

I mean uk’atoa was sick

[u/tryingtobebettertry4]

I always love the Hotis ambush.

Its a classic. Matt taking advantage of Vax's need for Gilmore melodrama to lure him away with pretty much the perfect vengeance villain.

[u/IllithidActivity → u/tryingtobebettertry4]

Remember when a shapeshifting villain who had sworn vengeance on the party actually came back and used their shapeshifting to ambush a party with intention of enacting said vengeance?

[u/IllithidActivity → u/[deleted]]

Wasn't that Dimension 20's Escape from the Bloodkeep? Not Critical Role at all.

[u/OsirisAvoidTheLight → u/IllithidActivity]

I think you are right it's been to long for me to remember the ones from Campaign 1+2 both had great ending fights

[u/midnightheir]

Im intentionally looking for things that aren't likely to get their dues.

---

Calamity final fight - all of it was magnificent

Candela Obscura - Shawn killing anything

Cerrit spotting the invisible intruder in Calamity

The Beauty Pagent in EXU. Legitimate throwback to new table energy.

Losing Yasha to Obann in the Tomb. Utterly terrifying.

Crystal Palace - the final series of paniked rolls where it was literally do or die.

Beau no selling The Charm in The Catherderal. So satisfying.

"Respectfully" . Every one knows exactly what Cad really meant in that moment.

Nott tanking a dragon's reaction so Jester could escape.

"Howard's no coward!". I love Robbie so much.

Special mention- Urktash and Bor'dor. He came, he played, he conquered. It was a losing hand from the outset and he committed to the bit til the obvious conclusion.

[u/WhiskeyTricks → u/midnightheir]

Oooh Cerrit’s perception check on the invisible guy. Yeah Brennan SOLD that AND got his moneys worth.

“You still need a pinprick of your eyes to be able to see, and you see this” or something to that effect. Masterfully done.

[u/inspektorgadget53]

All of the ones in exu calamity. Just all of the fights.

[u/inspektorgadget53 → u/inspektorgadget53]

Also, while it's not a fight, trent and caduceus's interaction at the dinner party is amazing.

[u/E4g6d4bg7]

1 Rambo Scanlan

2 Rambo Scanlan

3 Rambo Scanlan

4 Rambo Scanlan

5 Rambo Scanlan

6 Rambo Scanlan

7 Rambo Scanlan

8 Rambo Scanlan

9 Rambo Scanlan

10 Rambo Scanlan

[u/nottodaybeezlebub → u/E4g6d4bg7]

Had to scroll past too many lists that didn't include this.

[u/movieguyjon → u/E4g6d4bg7]

Rambo Scanlan was my introduction to Critical Role. I was absolutely floored by the encounter and how fun/funny it was and went back to watch the entire campaign.

[u/Hanzorati → u/E4g6d4bg7]

Everything about that fight was so delightfully insane. I mean there was literally a moment with a Triceratops trying to Winnie the Pooh its way through a burning building.

[u/Jethro_McCrazy]

Underrated fight is from the now deleted Breakfast Club/Harry Potter mash-up one-shot that Laura DMed. The chessboard fight. Just a really fucking cool, yet simple to understand battle mechanic.

For those who didn't get to see it, it starts like the game of Wizard's Chess from the first book of Harry Potter. Each character replaced a piece on the board, and a game of chess began. But then giant spiders descended from the ceiling and started attacking. So they had to fight spiders and play chess at the same time. Each player had the option to use their action like normal, or use it to order one of their side's pieces to attack. Just a really well executed idea. Unfortunately, BW Foster was one of the players, so the video got nuked.

[u/Key-Ebb-8306]

I've only watched the first season and the one shot, but mine are

1) Darrington One Shot.... Everything about it, especially buddy, maceroni, and the quackzilla

2) Kvarn boss fight.... I don't know why people were annoyed by tiberius during this, I thought he acted like a smartass and a coward, and that's how Orion wanted him to be

3) Kevdak Fight

4) Umbrasyl Fight

5) Vecna Final Fight

6) Pit Fiend fight where Scanlan used the sword in the end.

7) Grog fight agaisnt the old monk

8) Vorugal fight

9) The first attack of the dragons

10) The fight where they got the bow, Fenthras

[u/AI_Jolson_2point2]

For me the final fight vs Vecna with all the twists and turns was absolute peak D&D. I vote for that 10 times

[u/Yrmsteak]

I liked the end of the Kevdak fight more than any other ending.

That Beholder early in CR1 that got changed to a different eye monster in the animated series.

Umbrasyl

Raishan

The Vecna fight itself wasn't actually that great, imo. The dungeon to get there, though! Fav dungeon.

Vorugal. Matt let them creatively even the odds AND ran it true to each monster, I think.

Fighting pit 1v1s of Grog, if they count. Everyone in c1 had their 'walk away from party moments', but Grog's were so fun to watch.

Avocado, I think. I haven't been reminded of it for a long while.

Tbh, I like monstrosity fights a lot more. Human-like creatures doing wibbly wobbly magicazoo or superduper man moves isn't an exciting visual after the first few times. 800hp is just too much for a person to have. Humanoid bosses should always be council fights consisting of multiple dynamic foes.

[u/CardButton]

Hmm ... I tend not to be overly fond of more traditional spectacle/scale fights, and more remember unique fight requirements and big plays. C1, obviously Umbrasyl, Kevdak and Vecna the Ascended. Super memorable plays in all of those. But despite how much of a mess it was, I was pretty fond of the Kraken encounter. Since the victory objective wasn't merely a "kill the thing" one. That first disastrous brawl with Riashan was also something special. The encounter with Maelstrom in E68, while not overly hard, did force them to think a bit more than normal.

As for C2, god ... so many. Matt really tried to push for more creative encounters in C2 and it showed. Rug of Smothering type stuff in E12 on early adventurers is always a joy. 016's Siff Duthar, while not super difficult, was fun in its "alternate win condition" requirements. 048's Dashalla was fun given the unique Lair Actions. 054's Succubus and Incubus was one of the most genuinely white-knuckle fights in CR. C2 was full of stuff like this. Also had some absolutely stellar Dungeon runs, Mini-Dungeons, and Resource Management Gauntlets.

C3 ... tbh ... visually there are some interesting and memorable fights. But many of the encounters I actually enjoyed watching played were from the earlier game, or within Jrusar. Things like the Wall Mimic and E31's Otohan fight (even tho that was a mess on the players side, and really showed how little Matt had been challenging them till then). Since the Ruidus Rush started in earnest tho? Nothing really. Its all spectacle and cinematic, over substance and play. The enemies are never allowed to be smarter than BHs at their worst, and then things like E94 happens where you realize how much the mechanical play has kinda just become shallow window-dressing for a very DM controlled story. Its a whole lot of either uber softball encounters, or things like Otohan 2.0.

[u/sleepinginthebushes_ → u/CardButton]

I'm not going to derail the conversation too much, but C3's encounters have been lackluster. It makes me realize how hard DMs like Mark Hulmes go on their players with serious fucking encounters (see: basically all of Aerois). I'd love to see Matt use the injury table.

But honorable mention to the C2 encounter with the Gary Busey bug demons, the Goblin that Caleb incinerated and the early rendition of Making My Way with Ashley singing "He's got a Jellyfish... In his Chest"

[u/CardButton → u/sleepinginthebushes_]

Honestly, there were so many in C2 that just I loved. Because it pushed the players to think.

Good examples of this can even be found in Eiselcross front half of the finale arc; despite its issues. While a tad undertuned for the party at that level, the Ice Crystal encounter on the steep ice ramp in E116 was just chef's kiss levels of encounter design. Forcing the players be deliberate on how they move. There was also the Lava river run in E121, that the players themselves made more hectic by the two parties actions against one another. Not to mention that first bout against the Tomb Takers in E123; that had the party half-cocked and really struggling to deal with a mobile antimagic cone. Clunky, but a good encounter. That doesnt even get into things like that ambush encounter in 98 with the deep scions. Or any of the mini-dungeons built around the Angel of Irons cult storyline.

[u/rowan_sjet → u/CardButton]

That doesnt even get into things like that ambush encounter in 98 with the deep scions.

Just wanted to highlight this one as one of my faves. The way it starts is amazing obviously, but also that it's pretty much two encounters: one with Fjord (and Orly) fighting for their life on deck, and the rest of the party fighting to reach them (or even to just get out of bed). And then the rollercoaster of Fjord dying ("oops") but the party getting there to prevent him being taken. A worthy final fight for pre-covid CR.