Critical Role & Sagas of Sundry - Goblin Mode Midseason Recap (Episodes 1-11) | Sagas of Sundry: Goblin Mode

Episode Date: December 30, 2024

The Terror Squad are midway through their epic adventure, so let’s recap everything that has transpired over the first 11 episodes of Geek & Sundry’s latest actual play fantasy saga! Relive all the ecstatic highs and devastating lows of this underdog story about three minions – a goblin and two skeletons -- exploring life outside the dungeon they once called home in.   Whether you want to brush up on everything you missed or you want to start with the latest episode, we’ve got you covered with this deep dive into Bizzee, Tippy, and Fibs’ ongoing adventures.   Go to NordVPN.com/crss to get 4 extra months on a 2-year plan!    Goblin Mode is also as a video podcast on Geek & Sundry’s YouTube: https://lnk.to/goblinmodepod   Learn more and sign up for the Geek & Sundry newsletter at https://www.geekandsundry.com/!   Subscribe to Geek and Sundry: http://goo.gl/B62jl Twitter: http://twitter.com/geekandsundry Facebook: http://facebook.com/geekandsundry Instagram: http://instagram.com/geekandsundry TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@geekandsundry Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Best network based on root metrics, best overall mobile network performance U.S. Second half 2025, all rights reserved. It must provide a recent consumer mobile bill in the name of the person who gave me the deal. Additional Terms, Conditions, and Restrictions Apply. Greetings, Adventures. I'm Dan Casey. And you may remember me from such productions as Dean Diesel. Critical Role Episode 12 DM Tips

and my high school production of Guys and Dolls. I was Nathan Detroit. But today I'm here to talk to you about sagas of Sundry Goblin Mode. Goblin Mode is the latest actual play narrative fantasy series from Geek and Sundry made in partnership with Realm. We're using the popular tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons to tell an ever-evolving story full of magic, monsters, and mayhem. Goblin Mode is not your traditional fantasy story.

These aren't the fantasy heroes that would be called to a tavern by a mysterious stranger. Rather, these characters would be mere crossbow fodder for a group of traditional intrepid heroes. Led by our storyteller Amy Vorpal, Goblin Mode tells the tale of a trio of hapless minions, a goblin and two skeletons, toiling their days away in the service of an evil necromancer. You've got Jason Wynne as Tippy, the goblin artificer with crushing anxiety, an anxious crush, and a profound fascination with firearms. Danielle Radford is busy an undead skeleton bard with a heart of gold,

a desperate need for approval, and a degree from the College of Clipboard, School of Middle Management. And then there's Phibs, played by me, Dan Casey. He's a skeleton who dabbles in wizardry, has a deeply upsetting haircut, and a pathological compulsion for wordplay.

During an attack on the dungeon they once called home by a band of selfish, treasure-hungry heroes, these poor unfortunate souls wind up trapped in a pit. By the time the dust settles, everyone they knew is dead. Their old lives are gone and their home is under new management. Will they seek vengeance? Will they realize there's more to life than the cave allegory they lived in?

Will they be the true hope the world needs to stop its impending doom? Only time will tell. And me, I'll tell you right now. After our first 11 episodes, we took a well-deserved long rest for the holidays. We also left things on a bit of a cliffhanger, a real tipping point, if you will. So whether you want a quick refresher on what happened before we went to this collective turkey-induced coma, or you haven't embarked on the journey yet and want to start on the latest episode, we've got you covered. Now, obviously, there's going to be spoilers ahead for sagas of Sundry Goblin mode episode 1 through 11.

And I hope that is obvious because presumably you're the one who clicked play on this recap. If you just woke up on your couch in a stupor and you don't want to know what's happening, well, leave now before it's too late. I think it's time to part the the veil of reality. Goblin mode takes place in the world of Sundaros, a land where technology and magic collide in mysterious and unexpected ways. There's traditional high fantasy tropes like dungeons

and castles and knights, but there's also nifty things like airships and robots. Centuries ago there was a cataclysmic battle known as the Searing. The godlike beings known of the Sundari did righteous battle against the Demon King Fraxis. These two sides ultimately disappeared. together in a blinding flash of light, and in their absence, evil overlords began

popping up to fill the power vacuum left behind. Our story begins in the dungeon of one of those evil overlords, the necromancer Eun-zug, who's in possession of a powerful artifact, a magical circlet that attracts the attention of wandering mercenaries. Our heroes, busy, fibs, and Tippy, have toiled away in Eun-Zug service for years, doing whatever it is that minions in a dungeon actually do. One day, though, things do not go as plans. A group of warriors calling themselves the Yesterdusters invade Eunzug's lair in search of that powerful circlet,

and they kill basically every living creature inside. Busy, Tippy, and Phibs managed to escape certain doom because they accidentally fell into a pit trap. As they venture through the remains of the dungeon they called home, they discover their friends have fallen to these so-called gallantlings. The only survivor they can find is an adorable baby-face spider named Loof, who now lives inside of Phibbs' ribcage. With their boss Eun-Zug and the dungeon's powerful circlet missing, the situation seems dire. And if that wasn't bad enough, they're confronted by members of Fiends United, a union made up of monsters that's now claiming ownership of this dungeon. That sounds like a union problem. That's a yeah, that's an onion job. I

don't even think that we can touch it. In episode two, busy, Tippy, and Phibbs cut a deal with these home wreckers. They'll fight some unruly robots and repair the front door to the lair formerly known as Unzou. in exchange for their lives. And now that they're finally using their henchmen powers and abilities in combat, they come to an important realization. They have a lot to learn. Tippy gets both buried alive and poisoned in a single battle.

It's bad. After all, the dust settles, our three glass cannons find themselves confronted with their most terrifying choice yet. A chance at freedom. Greetings, adventurer. Spring has sprung here in Los Angeles, and that means it's a brief period where it's only 75 degrees instead of not. 95 degrees. I'll take it. And that means I've been outside a lot more. Walking around, occasionally galloping after a toddler hopped up on juice boxes, traveling a bit. You know the vibe. And after doing some spring cleaning, my wardrobe, I gotta say, looking a little bit sad. I want clothes

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And since spring is here in Los Angeles a brief period where it's 75 degrees instead of 95 degrees, I spruced up my wardrobe with a pair of the comfort stretch traveler five pocket pants and the heritage washed denim shirt. Not only do they feel great, but I unequivocally look good as hell while wearing them. That's just science. So refresh your every day with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quince.com slash critical role for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns, now available in Canada too.

That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com slash critical roll for free shipping and 365-day returns. Quince.com slash critical role. Dubbing themselves the Terror Squad, they set out for the town of NACBrekka in search of a doctor to heal Tippy and to follow rumors of the yester dusters in Eun-Zug in episode three. Along the way, they meet a mysterious old woman with a pet deer trapped at top a cliff. After a tense standoff at crossbow point, the Terror Squad saved this distressed deer using Phibs' magic, only for Phibs to have an out-of-body experience, a flashback to his life before he was turned

into an undead abomination. Neither Phibs nor busy remember their lives before undeth, so these hazy glimpses into the past become increasingly important for them and their future. As it turns out, this wasn't just a test of their social skills, it was a test of their character. This mysterious old woman is secretly Arsena, one of the godlike Sundari manifesting themselves on the material plane. Arsina warns that malevolent forces are trying to bring the Sundari back from the dead to fulfill an ancient prophecy. And if they want to do so, they have to find five artifacts of the Sundari champions.

You know, things like, say, a certain magical circlet that was stolen from their old dungeon? Ring any bells? She also answers their burning questions. And so, like the Blues Brothers on a mission from God, in episode four, busy, fibs, and Tippy make their way to NAC Breka. Yeah, NACCRA rules. It's a bustling frontier town with several prominent factions, all vying for the Terror Squad's interest and assistance. After curing Tippy's ailments at a local apothecary, the Terror Squad meet Palatius, an air elemental and recruiter for Fiends United. This is the same union that claimed their former dungeon, so there might be some bad blood. And they just so happen to have a headquarters here in town, which might be.

be the gang's best bet at finding answers. Before they can investigate further, though, Fibs, Busy and Tippy, spot a familiar face, Crandall P. Greckleworth, Unzug's right-hand man that knows a lot more than he lets on. So after chasing this wretched gargamel of a man through the back alleys of Nacbreka, the Terror Squad find themselves held at gunpoint

by a ferocious new faction, The Markt, a band of lichenthropic sky pirates. But as it turns out, both the Terror Squad and the Marked want the same thing, to infiltrate Fiends United. More on that and just a moment, but first, a quick word from our sponsor. We interrupt this adventure to bring you a special announcement.

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She also awakens something else in Tippy, a profound and abiding fascination with firearms. Check this out. There's only, there's only 10 bullets. Is there anyone upstairs? Yeah, so there are. The marked have their sight set on something bigger, though, recovering the five articles of the Sundari champions, which fiends United are trying to find as well. Not only that, but they reveal that the Terror Squad's dearly beloved evil overlord Unzug is not. dead. But if Eun-zuk isn't dead and his entire dungeon got taken over then where is he?

What's he really up to? Is he actually all-powerful? Only time will tell. Speaking of time, the gang gets to planning what they dubbed the heist of the century in episode six. This Bohnshin's 11-esque scheme is as audacious as it is stupid, which is to say very. Fiends United evidently planned a party to celebrate their recent acquisition of Eun-Zub's lair. Tippy and busy hatch a foolproof scheme to peer pressure the member of Fiends United to turn their party from a kegger into a rager, which is legally a better party. And they also want to make sure whatever barrels of booze Fiends United orders are full of gunpowder in addition to that sweet, sweet slog swash.

And so, fibs and busy pretend to join Fiends United, while Tippy, very convincingly, masquerades as a delivery man dropping off their expected shipment of alcohol. Four kegs of slog swash. Four kegs of slog swash. for Kegas Slog Swash! But to convince these monsters to take things to the next level, they enlist the help of an over-acting ogre. From there, things go well and truly off the rails,

culminating in the team calling the Marks Airship, stealing the entire safe in the Fiends Union basement, and blowing up the mansion with enough explosives to make Michael Bay jealous. Once they're safely aboard the Mark's Airship, the Staggs Horn, the Terror Squad find themselves soaring through the skies on route to the floating city of Wretched Cove in episode 7. It's time to bring on the blooms at the Home Depot with spring garden deals.

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When you want savings, not surprises. It matters where you stay. Hilton, for the same. There they're taken to meet the leader of the marked, Captain Ray Telg, a devastatingly handsome, nine-foot-tall, shape-shifting ony, played by the devastatingly handsome Ify Wadiway. You're focusing on the wrong things. They said they have loot for us. Together with the captain and his crew, the gang cracks open the Fiends United Vault and makes

a shocking discovery. The Fiends Union is actually a front for the scythe of Aurelia, a death cult hell-bent on bringing the Demon King Fraxis back to life. And if that wasn't bad enough, the Fiends United Leader Kaya makes contact to reveal she has kidnapped Pekara, who never made it aboard the ship. And neither did Crandall for that matter. No one really likes Crandall, but he knows a lot about Eunzug's master plans, so they do need to rescue him as well.

You get it. Now, before the team can make plans to rescue their friends, Pekara's sister Plixie appears. Horrified and distraught that her sister was left behind, she runs off to try and rescue Pekara herself only to awaken a dead. badly robot in the nearby junkyard of Valen's heap. In episode eight, busy, Tippy, and Phibs nearly die fighting this massive robot. They ultimately prevailed, but mostly thanks to Captain Ray Tal's help, and, you know, his giant glave and cybernetic arm, and he's so cool and has so many hit points. I love this guy.

Now the robot's cool too? Damn. Just by property of having a cool master? It's insane. With Plixy safe and sound, the team regroups aboard the ship in episode 9. Where they learn way more than they ever wanted to about the dynamics of Sky Pirate Polycules, they give Tippy the confidence he needs to finally ask Pakara on a date, and they're gifted one of the artifacts of the Sundari champions, the chalice of Kirkin,

as well as an airship of their very own. But perhaps the most momentous event that happens is when Tippy makes a very important decision. Offered the gift of lycanthropy, Tippy chooses to become a were bird. I'd like to be bitten by a bird, and that's final. Not by a wear bird? I mean, yes. Unfortunately, he gets bitten by the ship's cook, Fug, who is actually a wear swallow,

not a wear eagle, like they were told. And that's a tough pill for Tippy to swallow. Bitting Captain Raytel Gadoo, the team boards mischief, their new airship, and charts, of course, for the earned curfathom, the undersea kingdom where Kaya has taken their friends. What should have been a relaxing flight proves turbulent when the skies darkened to reveal they've been followed by Palacius, the Air Elemental who tried to recruit them to Fiends United. Furious at their betrayal and his loss of status, Palatius attacks the airship leading to a deadly

battle 20,000 leagues above the sea. What Palatius didn't know, though, is that things are about to get cloudy with a chance of cannonballs. 98 points of damage later, the skies clear up, and the team lands at a conveniently placed portal down to Earned Kerfatham. Taking the plunge, the Terror Squad voyage into the briny deep, ferried along by a network of ancient powerful magic that levels them up, letting Busy become a Bard and Rogue multi-class, Tippy to craft a sentient gun robot,

and Phibs to do his best Sailor Moon impersonation. When Phibs, Busy, and Tippy emerge from the portal in episode 10, they find themselves in an ancient temple where they must solve riddles about the Sundari that they totally get right on the first try without any hints or embarrassing missteps. What they discover in Earned Kerfath,

them though is not this vibrant undersea kingdom, but a tense, paranoid security state, full of joyless murfolk, Hulk King Catfish security guards, and a mysterious group of people in silver masks and crimson robes. These are members of the scythe of Aurelia. After talking their way past a particularly cagey security guard, the Terror Squad finds themselves being escorted through this magnificent undersea kingdom toward the abyssium. It's a gigantic dome where the scythe of Aurelia is gathering for an occult ritual. But before Before they can question their guards, the guards are brutally murdered by Thresh, a sea-spawn assassin who clocked that the Terror Squad have one of the Sundari artifacts.

You straight up did a fish murder. As it turns out, Thresh is a member of the obligation, a secret society working to stop the Scyth of Aurelia's machinations. With Thresh's assistance, Tippy, Bizzy and Phibs hatch another plan to infiltrate the Scyth of Aurelia summit at the Abysseum in episode 11. It's not just any gathering, though. It's a sacrificial ritual where Kaya, Pekara, and Crandall are all on the menu. In classic, ill-advised Scooby-Doo style, the team splits up and they attempt to sneak into the

Death Cult's annual retreat. My name is Pizzie. Tippy and Phibbs disguised themselves as cultists, while Busy pretends to be a a member of the wait staff. What follows is perhaps the most horrific series of events in the entire show. The sinister leader of the scythe of Aurelia, a man named Luxier, presides over this packed crowd of cultists.

Standing on the dais behind him are a group of hostages, including Pecara, Crandall, and Kaya. Kaya stands accused of treason. People in the crowd believed to be in league with her are summarily executed without a moment's hesitation. And this level of wanton murder and violence proves too much for busy to be. bear. With unexpectedly perfect aim, Busy throws a dart at Luxeer that struck the cult leader

directly in the knee. Shocked by this brazen attack, Luxier takes busy hostage as well. With time running out, options dwindling, and cult members growing increasingly suspicious of him, Tippy makes a fateful decision. He throws off his disguise, publicly challenges Luxier, and prepares to become the hero he always knew he could be. But this was not and would not be a battle that Tipy could ever win. In a flash of steel and violence, Tippy is stabbed by Trident after Trident after Trident from the scythe of Aurelia's guards. He was dead before anyone, including Tippy himself, even knew what happened. Continuing this gruesome display of savagery, Luxeer tears Kaya limb from limb and feeds her remains to a massive dragon turtle, a sea monster with a hunger for blood.

As the cult whips themselves into a blood frenzy, Fibs and Thresh manage to free busy, Kara and Crandall from their shackles. In a last ditch effort, Phibbs grabs the lifeless body of his friend Tippy amid the chaos and carnage and teleports to a nearby drainage pipe. And so with an angry death cult behind them in uncertainty ahead, Phibs and busy and their friends have no choice but to take the plunge and see where this mysterious network of pipes takes them and their poor dead friend. And there you have it folks, that is the story of sagas of sundry goblin mode so far.

If you want to catch all the details and moments, and lore and jokes in between, make sure you tune into episodes 1 through 11 right now on Geekin Sundry's YouTube channel or wherever fine podcasts are served. We still have so much more story to tell and we hope you'll join busy, tippy, fibs, and their unlikely allies

as the adventure continues this January. Thank you so much for tuning in. Be sure to like and subscribe for even more Goblin mode, and remember, NAC Breka Rules. Enjoy more ways to save at Ralph's, like low prices in every aisle. And when you download the Ralph's app, you can clip and save more with digital coupons every week.

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Kingdoms were reduced to cinders, an army scattered like bones in the dust. Now the survivors claw to what's left of a broken world, praying the darkness chooses someone else tonight. But in the shadow dark, the darkness always wins. This is old school adventuring at its most cruel. Your torch ticks down in real time, and when that flame dies, something else rises to finish the job. This is a brutal rules-light nightmare with a story. that emerges organically based on the decisions that the characters make. This is what it felt like to play RPGs in the 80s,

and man, it is so good to be back. Join the Glass Cannon podcast as we plunge into the Shadow Dark every Thursday night at 8 p.m. Eastern on YouTube.com slash the Glass Cannon with the podcast version dropping the next day. See what everybody's talking about and join us in the dark. Oh, please, not that music. That music gives me nightmares from my childhood. Could we get something a little bit lighter?

some lighter music here. Are you a fan of true crime TV shows? And what about Unsolved Mysteries? The show that jumped started all of our love of True Crime. I'm Ellen Marsh. And I'm Joey Taranto. And we host, I Think Not, a True Crime comedy podcast covering some of the wildest stories from your favorite true crime campy TV shows all the way to Unsolved Mysteries.

Baby, you will laugh, you will cry. You'll think about true crime in a whole new way, and you'll also ask yourself, who gave these people, mics? New episodes of I Think Not are released every Wednesday with bonus episodes out every Thursday on Patreon. And every Monday you can listen to our True Crime Rundown, where we go over the top true crime headlines of the week. So come and join us wherever you listen to your podcast.