Critical Role - Thresher: 2-Part Underwater Epic | Episode 2, Power Rises Part 2

Episode Date: May 13, 2025

Part 2 of Episode 2 After Rán-Beor's power is switched back on, the crew confront one another as tensions and unexpected truths bubble up to the surface. ABOUT THRESHER:Created in collaboration with 12 Sided Studios and Paragon Pictures, Thresher is a two part underwater epic taking place in a unique world created by Matt Linton and Jacqueline Emerson and homebrewed for gameplay by Jasper William Cartwright, based on Candela Obscura, an Illuminated Worlds game from Darrington Press.Deep in the abyss where ancient creatures lurk, a motley crew must unite onboard the S.S. Thresher submarine to explore the abandoned Rán Boer station resting in the ocean’s unforgiving depths. Battling claustrophobia, paranoia, lurking behemoths, and hidden horrors, only one thing is certain; from the deep, power rises... Learn more about Thresher at http://critrole.com/thresher Meet the Cast!Creators Matt Linton (https://www.instagram.com/mattlinton11/) and Jacqueline Emerson (https://www.instagram.com/jackie_emerson/)Game Master Jasper William Cartwright: https://www.instagram.com/jw_cartwright/Jacqueline Emerson as Emily Wodsworth: https://www.instagram.com/jackie_emerson/Abubakar Salim as Daemon Adams: https://x.com/abzybabzyMark "Sherlock" Hulmes aka Mara as Beatrice “Betty” Callahan: https://x.com/sherlock_hulmesJane Douglas as Valerie “Val” Sutton: https://www.instagram.com/penny_dreadful/Noshir Dalal as Hercules De Baudin: https://www.instagram.com/noshirdalal/ Produced by Critical Role in partnership with 12 Sided Studios and Paragon Pictures BEACONCatch the cast decompressing after the episode ends by watching Thresher’s Cooldown episodes, exclusively on Beacon! Start your 7-day free trial today at https://beacon.tv/join and get unparalleled access to the shows you love completely ad-free! You’ll receive NEW Beacon exclusive series, instant access to VODs & podcasts, live event pre-sales, merch discounts, & a private Discord. YOUTUBE MEMBERS / TWITCH SUBSCRIBERSTwitch Subscribers and YouTube Members gain instant access to VODs of our shows, moderated live chats, and custom emojis & badges:https://www.youtube.com/criticalrole/joinhttps://www.twitch.tv/criticalrole   Due to the improv nature of Critical Role and other RPG content on our channels, some themes and situations that occur in-game may be difficult for some to handle. If certain episodes or scenes become uncomfortable, we strongly suggest taking a break or skipping that particular episode.Your health and well-being is important to us and Psycom has a great list of international mental health resources, in case it’s useful: http://bit.ly/PsycomResources 

Greetings again, crew. It's Game Master Jasper William Cartwright, and you're listening to part two of this episode of Thresher. If you haven't checked out part one yet, pause this now and head over to the first one. In this epic underwater miniseries, we're following a motley Thresher crew to explore the abandoned Rambior Station, resting in the ocean's dark abyss where ancient creatures lurk. New episodes of Thresher air on Thursdays at 7pm Pacific on Beacon, Twitch and YouTube with VOD uploaded to YouTube on the following Mondays at noon. If you want instant access to podcast content and ad-free listening experience,

check out Beacon and get access to the full audio version of Thresher right when it airs at 7pm Pacific on Thursdays. You can also check out our Beacon-exclusive show, Critical Role's Cooldown, and experience the Thresher cast's post-show reactions to each episode. So without further ado, let's return to the suspenseful deep sea story. SS France embarks on maiden train. Ocean Needle opens today at the World's Fair. Beatles hit the charts with Love Me Do, music's newest sensation.

Tonight, General Dynamics prepares Ranger 3 to photograph the ocean's surface. Experts better. Jacques Cousteau's Conch Shelf 1 experiments begin. Humans living beneath ocean waves. Cuban Missile Crisis deepens. Disturbing wisdoms. Operation Fishbowl launches nuclear tests over Pacific waters. Strange sea creatures spotted near... That room where you just destroyed, you can see now through into this room

these flickering lights, all of this stuff strewn across the floor. This whole lab itself looks like it's been ransacked and destroyed. That door behind you would take a while to decompress. You have essentially a door back towards the Dover Well, or to the left you have a door to the Crimson Strand. And where's the hatch?

The hatch is currently... This creature is crawling out of it. Oh. This is the hatch that we are trying to close. This is the hatch that we found that goes down. To the hallway. Yeah. The one that we were trying to listen for.

I say we go to the Crimson Strand. Let's start straight forward. As this one emerges, you see the eyes are much smaller in its head. This one, its mouth filled with sort of more like rounded teeth. There's even a more kind of flesh like color to its skin does it have both hands it does Betty I can see the gun you've created very eye-catching what I'll say is go ahead you two would you roll me a survey roll actually you roll me a survey roll, actually. You roll me a survey roll.

Actually, or I will allow this to be read. Sorry, if you would... This could be read. Okay. With the banner drive. Okay. Five. Five? As you're looking at this creature, something jumps out to you as you stand there

with this cherry-rigged... Homemade jam. Homemade jam. Something very curious. Do you notice that every, seemingly everything that you know that has happened to these creatures before,

this creature has a strange seam down its head. You see that there is a slight discoloration to its hand. And I think that intuitively, you realize that you have not been seeing multiple creatures. This is the same creature, and every time you see it, it's that little bit more evolved, that little bit more human. I stand in front of everyone, this knife ready,

kind of anticipating, not, you know, just looking at his movements. I'm going to relay this idea that this is going to sound very strange. I think every time this creature dies, it evolves. It is becoming more and more advanced every time we kill it. So we do not kill it again.

What are you talking about, man? That sounds crazy. Let's just get the fuck out of here. Just get the fuck out of here. Fuck. Does anything it's doing make me think it is now trying to communicate versus just trying to kill us? It's not doing the same kind of like skittery, fast, aggressive movement, but it's absolutely sort of stalking towards you,

kind of placing a hand, sort of crawling across the ground. I think even now as it's starting to come closer, you can even see where perhaps a collarbone has broken, where maybe it tackled something a little too hard, and you see how it's fused in a slightly strange angle. I'm going to... essentially... see the hatch. And... Yeah, so it's right in between you and the hatch. I mean, that was the objective, right? To go through this hatch.

Well, we can also go through the tunnel to the Crimson. All right. Someone's got to make a decision decision because I'm watching this beast. I'm going to the Crimson. Go, go, go, go, go. Don't kill it. Okay, fine. Then I'll be behind watching this thing as everyone... Okay, let's make some move rolls.

I'm going to walk towards the creature. What? You walk towards the creature. Ah. I'm looking for something in it, something. I recognize an effort on its part to do more than just be an animal. Make me a sway check. As you approach this creature and try not to threaten it in some way. I'm going to give you one of my drives

by sheathing my blade to not look like as if we're attacking, so you've got an extra... I appreciate this. Four. Four. I think it reaches out towards you, grabs you by the shoulder,

pulls you in, and you hear, Help! Help! As it sinks. I shoot it. Okay. As soon as it makes the attack.

Well, let's resolve the attack. Reality bending. You miss. What? What? Okay. What's your current scar? What?

Wait, what? Excuse me? Reality bending. What? Wait, what? Excuse me? Reality. What just happened? A scar tied at one. Okay, okay. You all watch as you fire. This was a dead-on shot.

And you watch as the two creatures seem to almost like, the two of you seem to almost phase together for a split second as that happens the bullet goes straight Past and then they back out and you see the creature then Lifts its head up Viscera dripping down as you take a body scar. What the fuck? I am what's everyone doing? I title low tide first High tide high tide high tide High tide. Yeah, high. I think the majority rules.

The majority rules. I'll say you are definitely closest to the door by the Crimson Strand. Absolutely. Okay. I am going to go for the creature. I'm going to go kill it. Okay. You're going for the creature?

Yeah. Make me a strike. All right. And I'm going to spend three drives here, because I'm not gonna fucking miss. No. Okay, two successes. Two successes?

Five and four, yeah. Then would you, Damon, like to use your ability? Yep, absolutely, rendering flesh, absolutely. Rendering flesh. Render flesh. What are you doing with this? So I think I see it kind of, you know, pull out. My aim is essentially to do the same thing. It's come in for the head or the neck and drive forward.

But this time I think it's again, it's pulling as well as moving this creature away from, Yeah. from actual. To do this, does he have to pass within reach of me? He would do, yeah.

Is there anything I can do to try to interfere? With him doing this? I'm going to say you move at such a speed that even, like, for all of you watching, it's, like, it's unlike anything you've ever seen. He moves so fast and is so strong. And you see him grab this thing and easily overpower it.

And you know how quick and strong and powerful this creature is. As this knife drives into the side of this creature's head, you pull it round, and it's almost like a shell being cracked open as you hear, Thank you. And you see as this skin and flesh gets pulled,

the knife digging round the side of the face, you just see part of a face kind of peeking through almost like a shell, and you recognise the eyes that now sit behind it. Marcus! No! What? And this creature falls to the floor.

Am I... I'm just going to just... I'm going gonna need you to take a break mark, please I'm gonna keep hacking at this thing just absolutely like almost like you met me a focus yes Like literally just Crushing this beasts head six six literally just crushing this beast's head. Six. Six? Yeah. Then I think it's up to you whether you resist the urge that you... No, sorry. No, because I haven't got any. So it's three.

Three. Yeah. I think you feel an overwhelming urge in this moment as you see raw flesh right there in front of you. So all you see me... And I... Yeah, so what you guys... You see me just hacking at this thing and going crazy.

Then suddenly, you thought that it was with my knife, but it's actually my hands. And my face gets closer and closer to this thing as I start devouring its face. We're going to take a short break right here, but we'll be back soon. And here we are, returning to Thresher. I shoot him. Make a strike. Get away from my fucking brother! I'm going to burn my resistance to re-roll that.

Two fives. Two fives? Yeah. You shoot him. You take two body marks. Okay. As you feel this unbelievable, like, white-hot pain in your shoulder that kind of snaps you out of it for a second,

as you all hear a sickening... As you see that door that you sealed up is suddenly struggling under the pressure, and you see the door itself begins to crack and buckle and bend, what do you all do? Where are you going? It's time to fucking go. I'm going through the door. I throw it open, and I start running down the hallway. So you run into the Crimson Strand?

You all heading in the same direction? Yeah, I think taking that... I think the hit probably does snap you out of it for a second, and you feel great now. Yeah, so I'm like... And I start running towards the cringing strand, covered in blood. I don't think I run.

I roll to see if, like... It's Marcus's face, right? I don't... I'm just in tears, just looking at this body maybe fall to my knees, and I just am too locked in to run. Am I allowed to use Sacrifice more than once, or is it something that only happens? It's only to take a mark or a scar, though.

Right. So I will kneel in front of Betty. Machari. We have killed this thing. He has killed this thing at least once, and it came back. Perhaps for your friend here, death is not eternal. Okay. But you will only die once here. We have to go. Okay. And I'll take not eternal. Okay. But you will only die once here.

We have to go. Okay. And I'll take that brain. Okay. Take that brain mark so you can mark that brain, you can take that brain mark away. Okay. And then I'll let Hercule take me away. Like I'll let him sort of pick me up and carry me. As that happens, you see water start

to spill into the room as you rush out., you see water start to spill into the room as you rush out, and you see behind water just comes crashing in, knowing that was absolute certain death if you stayed in that room. I believe you have a, was that, no, you wanted to pass? No, okay. Okay. It was.

Belay that remark. You all dive inside of the Crimson Strand. You see there is this central kind of boiling sort of mass in the center, and it is almost unbearably hot in here. As you realize now, as you look through the windows, that the Crimson Strand is surrounded by all sides by this geyser. This was clearly built on top of it as a way of then absorbing that energy. So it is insufferably hot in here. As you look across now,

you can see that area that you saw in that video earlier with Admiral Anders, that place where he put a key in. And I think that just through your knowledge and your knowledge, you know that the only way to reactivate the station to turn it on properly is with both of those keys however there is a red light pulsing in the center of the room and you can hear this emergency sirens going off and there is a repeating message about depressurization it seems that whatever happened in the uh colve Nexus now is potentially affecting the rest of the ship. And I won't even make you roll for this, Betty. You know for a fact that if this station doesn't get turned back on properly

and essentially able to absorb the energy of this geyser, this whole place is going down. Okay. We are going to go into a cinematic because this is a very high-pressure situation and we're going to do like fast thoughts So high tide low tide for the party Okay

You see if before you've got the circular room you can see the place where the keys go Um, you can see that one there is one key that's already in this in place And there is another one that appears to be missing You look there is a door over the top of it It says ron fall bastion and in the other side you see there is another one that appears to be missing. You look, there is a door over the top of it, it says Ronfall Bastion, and in the other side, you see there is an open door, and that leads to the Undertide Vault. And leading from that keyhole,

you see there is a bloody handprint on it, and a drag mark which leads all the way down to the Undertide Vault. Okay. I'm way down to the Undertide Vault. Okay. I'm going to run towards the Undertide Vault. Sprint for it. Okay. Is everyone going?

Yes. Yeah. I too will run. Okay. You get down there and you are immediately met by a door. A door with a keypad on it and it seems to be sealed shut. I'm going to try and rip it open. Okay.

Go ahead and make me a strike roll. I'm going to use and rip it open. Okay, go ahead and make me a strike roll. I'm going to use, with my renowned energy, another three drives. Yeah, okay. Oh, no, sorry. Yeah, three drives. Oh, six and a four. Six and a four? So I can do the render of flash ability. Sure.

I'm going to say with the four, you start hammering against this door. Every single time your fist connects, you can feel the fibers in your muscles starting to tear apart, and you keep pushing and pushing and pushing, and from the outside, you could swear, you see his muscles almost look like they're, like, rippling and bulging at the pressure,

your hands cracking as well, and I think that you're gonna take two body marks as you just relentlessly pound against this thing, almost with a level of frantic, like, an uncontrolled kind of frantic energy. And there's four marks with a... Gives you a like an uncontrolled kind of frantic energy. And there's four marks with a, gives you a scar. Three gives you, and if you've got like one left over, that kind of carries on, essentially.

Yeah, okay, cool. So I'll take that scar then. Is that a scar? Yeah. How do you think it manifests? I think there is, as you see, like the muscles tearing and rendering and my arms bulging, I think what you guys also notice is that

my hands have grown in size and they look they look human but slightly beastly. I think you can't necessarily tell whether it is bruising, swelling

or a genuine sense of like a creature. Whoa. And I don't think I can suppress that anymore. And I think that there is a sense of, I'm looking at my hands and I'm seeing them, and I'm sort of like, they're visibly, I'm visibly in pain, and I think it's going to just yeah. There is a hole that's opened up in this door.

Do succeed, you make a hole in and as you look in you see now that there are all these little almost like drawers kind of stacked one on top of another and they don't seem to have a keyhole or anything on the outside but in the centre of the room there is this

like screen essentially and it's sort of flickering on And they don't seem to have a keyhole or anything on the outside, but in the center of the room there is this, like, screen, essentially. And it's sort of flickering on now. And you can see that bloody mark kind of continues until you see that there are sort of remains of, like, clothes and bits of bone. But, like, the actual, like, evidence of it, the whole body is completely gone. I'm going to run forward and see,

kind of clocking this and clocking that. I'm going to run forward and see if the key is anywhere in the pile. Go for it. Survey. So we can enter the room. It's not like... Yeah, yeah, you can get into that, like... Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. And if you want to as well, there is this computer station here. Yeah, can I survey to see if the screen has an interface?

Yeah, 100%. Would we consider this a high-stakes roll? Oh, of course. Okay. I mean, it's the cool under pressure feature. All the rolls for the rest of the game are probably going to be high-stakes rolls. Cool under pressure, and I'm going to burn a drive. Great.

Okay. I'm going to take the six. Okay. OK. I'm going to take the six. OK. We'll resolve that in a second. Also a six. Amazing. And is that for the interface? To find the interface, to use the interface.

OK. So I think as you plug into this interface, you see that it flickers to life. And you see there are two files. There is a, there's like a recording labeled, like it's like a CCTV followed by like a bunch of like random numbers. And I think that you immediately clock something that's strange is that this is, this essentially is a raw file, and you know for a fact that the file

that you saw previously wasn't a raw file. Okay. Next to it as well, there is a VSB, like a file that says VSB on it. All right. Do you wanna do anything with either of those? Download everything as fast as I can, as much as I can as fast as I can.

I think as you sort of click on the file, where the CCTV file, a little video springs up onto the screen and begins to play. Oh, what? What? What? What?

This is Admiral Anders of the Atlantic Station, Rambion. Systems are failing, the crew is mutinous, and there appears to be something down here with us. I understand the protocol demands that I get as much information off of this station as possible. However, due to the perceived threat to the outside world, I have made the decision to initiate the Abyssal Lockdown Protocol, destroying the station. Dr. Blackwell agrees. Three, two... Seeing someone that you recognize in this video, you realize that Emily is no longer in the room. Huh?

Son of a bitch. Okay, let's pump the brakes for a second, but we'll be back shortly. Let's continue our adventure in Thresher. Okay, what the fuck is going on here? It's just like doing an escape room with horrible people. What would you guys like to do? We're still in the cinematics, so it's...

I'm sort of... We're moving. Oh, the key. Did she find... I mean, we don't know if she found anything. Is there anything in amongst the dead guy's remains? I think if you want to burn a survey, absolutely. I would love everyone to give me a gilded die roll.

I think having seen that video, let's see if anyone is panicking currently. No. In fact, awful. Four. Four? You burn through an hour of oxygen, but you do not panic. One.

One. It's my gilded die, so I get a drive back. Yep. So you start to panic. Panic, mm-hmm. What do we get here? Three. Three?

Two. Two, okay. Oh, with a two and a three, all three of you begin to panic. I think seeing this and suddenly having a realization that perhaps there is much more to all of this than even you had realized you sort of i think it's actually the moment of turning around and realizing that she's no longer

there i think that for all of you suddenly that weight of pressure of this being under the ocean of the horrors i think seeing all of the things that you've seen, realising what must have happened down on this station to cause that, this, whatever has happened to the people that were down here suddenly starts to overwhelm you as you feel yourself breathing heavily. So all three of you are panicked, which means you will go first,

then you will go, what would the three of you panicked which means you will go first then you will go what the three would the three of you like to do So remember you can try and calm yourself down try and send to yourself you can take a selfish action ending it immediately This is tough Just to clarify We saw her go for the clothes Yeah And then she was gone Essentially as the video popped up And you all started watching it

You then sort of turned around And she was gone But she went for those clothes first Yes Looking for something Yeah And then booked it Yeah

I'd like to take the most selfish action I could right now Which is to start evacuating the station. I begin the long flight out of here and back to the Thresher. You're just essentially trying to book it. I'm leaving. Booking it out of here. I am choosing it, yeah.

Absolutely, you end the panic condition as you're like, see ya, and you just run. This is getting worse and worse by the moment. I'm going to do, in an effort to stay focused on what I am here for, I'm going to scan the room to see if there's anything else of interest before I follow our good doctor. I think if you were to scan the room,

you would realize that essentially all that's in there are these locked boxes. You think that if you were to scan the room, you would realize that essentially all that's in there are these locked boxes. You think that if you were to spend time tinkering with that console, you could probably unlock them. But essentially, with the time, there's nothing else that's immediately accessible, essentially.

In that case, in my panic, I am going to start preparing for severe measures. I take off my auxiliary oxygen tank and prep it. Okay. Understood. And finally? Oh, God. Understood And finally Oh god I think I'm gonna try

We've just been betrayed And I know this guy isn't who he says he is Or so I believe Can I try and calm myself down He's helped me He could have left me to die Can I try and calm myself down By trying... He's helped me. He could have left me to die. Can I try and calm myself down by trying to see if I trust this guy with a read or something like that?

Yeah, go ahead and make me a read roll. Yeah, love that. I'm going to burn a resist drive on this as well. A six. Six? Yeah, I think there is a genuine moment of connection here as... And I'm going to say I'll reward the six and actually say that this helps you as well. And this will end the panic condition for both of you.

Can I go to her cure and just be like, look, we found something. Somebody... This Dr. Everett, they said that they had your name. They were obsessed with you, but you helped me and she's gone. What the fuck is going on in here? Please, I trust you. You saved my life.

You got to tell me what's going on, mister. Come on. And we're going to jump to you. I think I, after having done this pounding of the door and kind of looked at my hands shaking, I've sat and I've sort of let everyone do their thing. The video caught my attention. And now I know that Emily isn't in the room.

I'm gonna go after Emily. Okay. As specifically the two of you head back up towards the Crimson Strand. You see that stood, if you wouldn't mind passing this down for me, over the console, twisting the key, is none other than Dr. Blackwell. And she is saying and doing.

Have I turned on the ship yet? You can do it as a part of this, yeah. Okay. Dr. Blackwell looks at you all. I'm sorry, I'm not dear darling Emily, aren't I? You may call me Corinne. And she turns both of the keys. As the keys turn, there is a moment of...

The lights black out. Pitch, darkness, stillness. Nothing but the void of endless sea swirls around you. No fish move, no current, nothing. Until eventually sound comes crashing back. And in the void of darkness you hear, By the old pact sealed in blood and salt, let the sleeper stir, let the veil break. Hear me, oh hidden one, and rise from the silent deep.

And with that, she rips her arm open and blood splatters all over the floor The necklace that has fallen out from behind her cravat is now glowing blue As this happens the lights burst back on Almost emerging out of the pitch darkness. You see you suddenly come flying through emerging out of the pitch darkness you see you suddenly come flying through the space towards her and there is a moment as your hand reaches up and you stop as you are unable to strike her hand suddenly held there the lights illuminating it you looking at your, almost feeling betrayed by your own body,

as you hear a whisper in your head. As do you, Corrin. Finally free. Thank you, both of you. And then just in your head. You will not strike a fellow, sister. One who serves the same as you. And you feel your hand starts to ripple and change.

Spines and spikes and grey, fishy flesh starts to cover your whole arm. And skin starts to grow over your face as you start to morph into this strange fish-like being. Through the window, the bubbles have ceased. As it seems, the Crimson Strand now is doing exactly as it was intended, absorbing the power of this brilliant geyser underneath. And instead, out of the windows, like temples, skyscrapers, huge and terrible tentacles.

Tentacles. Just slowly swaying, slowly rising from somewhere deep, deep below the station. What would you like to do? Damon? Well, if you're next to me, I'm going to literally devour her.

Yeah, go ahead and make me a strike roll, please. Great. Where are we in relation to all this? You were having a tender moment. I think you come up and start and see this. So we are coming in to this moment. To this scenario, yeah. Good.

Just gonna burn some three drives here. I'm so sorry. I'm in the spirit of running away in terror from the previous thing. I am maintaining that momentum. Yes, absolutely. And I am to scramble from this further monstrosity. Oh, you're lucky.

I got one success. It's just a five. That is important. I will say this. You do see, as you come back into the room, that that door to the Ronful Bastion is opened up. And on the wall, almost like a library of of items you see weapons all the way down there are like you see those some of those similar like mechs but have nothing inside them not that face that

strange thing there's almost a space for a human to sit there is also yeah like it almost like an exoskeleton type and And then there is rows and rows of guns, and anything that you could possibly imagine is just sat in this room. And then the other way, you can go back out into either the observatory or to the Colgrave Nexus, but you know that that has flooded. So which way would you like to go?

So it's the Wrongful bastion, the coldgrave nexus which is flooded, or the haven glow observatory. Or you can just straight up try and get out and then swim it. Swim to the surface? Yeah, you have your suit on. Okay, at depth though, to the surface, it's a long swim. Well you know the submarine is still waiting essentially just above the... I don't know what's out there. Oh, I do know what's out there.

It's freaking Cthulhu tentacles. Scrambling, trembling, I grab the nearest weapons on the racks in the Run for Bastion. Okay. If I can. Yeah. What do you pick up? You tell me. A bandolier of something that goes into something very heavy. Okay. Amazing. Something very heavy.

You pick up a grenade launcher. What are you going to do with it? Tote it at Damon. Okay. Go ahead and make me a strike roll. What? Oh, I don't know why I'm still? You can add three dice to this roll. That's fair. Add three dice to this roll.

Just as well. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Triple sixes! Three sixes? I don't know what you want to do with three sixes. I know what I want to do with three sixes. Six six six in the presence of Cthulhu.

Awesome. Oh my god. You are the chosen one. You see as this grenade sort of lands, the ground doesn't explode rolls right between Your legs and there is a moment as your form now looks down as it blows up you go flying back hitting into the side of the wall your legs and lower half in tatters Feel no pain

You feel only hunger as you hear in your mind, it will take far more than that. These tentacles now start thrashing at the side of this building. I will save my children. And you know instinctively this thing is trying to get in to kill everyone but you two. Wow. Okay. Hey, where you going? Where you going? You two. So we are at the door to the Crimson Strand.

Yeah, you're like in the doorway. You've just seen grenade launcher, what used to be Damon, fly through the air. She is human. Yeah. grenade launcher, what used to be Damon, fly through the air. She is human? Yeah. He is most certainly not. Not right now, no.

And is he close to us? He's on the floor, sort of with no lower half, but sort of seemingly patching himself back up as parts of him are regrowing. Did we, we heard her speak? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, okay Okay You are not nice I'm going to take the oxygen. So we noticed that he is starting to recover. Yes

I'm going to take the oxygen tank and throw it in his direction and then Yell at Betty, shoot it. Oh my God. Okay. Oh, you know what? I'm gonna use my shift the tide. Oh, yes, here we go. Okay. My shift the tide.

So as I see this oxygen tank come towards me, I'm trying to patch myself together, my hand still there. I kind of laugh as you've blown me back to where my canister is. And as I sort of hit it, you just see this spray of like red liquid just douse me. And you get this strange kind of tingy smell of like metallic sort of elements of it. Because you realize that this is human blood. And suddenly I sort of awaken. And this canister, I pick it up and I throw it at like a window.

So as you shoot it, I throw it and kind of want to blow the window up and water it. Okay. And that's what I do. Can I try to use reality bending to make him slip as he grabs the canister? Unfortunately, this shift the tide ability is full narrative control. Ah la la la la. Well then perhaps I can use my shift the tide to change it back? I'm gonna say you can't undo it, but you can make the consequences of it lessen, right? You can do something in that moment to, you know, like, so essentially this window begins to crack and then

finally a tentacle bursts through into the room as it gets flooded with water I'm gonna make everyone roll me move to see how you essentially handle this moment the tentacle however is going to give you an extra two dice, Dr. Blackwell, as it's going straight for you. I've got a five. I'm going to spend a drive. Five? Yeah.

Okay. Five. Five. Five, five, five? Five. Five. Come on. Oh wait, I rolled two and I only actually get one.

Oh. One was a six and one was a three. Five. Three. Three, okay, that was a failure. This water comes crashing in. Anyone that failed is gonna take a body mark. As you get slammed against the wall,

sorry, anyone who got mixed success, sorry, gets slammed against the wall. Sorry, anyone who got mixed success, sorry, gets slammed against the wall. With a full failure, you're going to take two body marks. As I see this happening... You do not take a mark, however, sorry, as the tentacle wraps around you, shielding you from any further damage.

Can I ask a question? Engineering-wise, the two switches that got turned isn't that that's supposed to destroy the facility right so essentially there's like different modes for like what that does you have to like input a sequence and things like so i think essentially what you see is that like there was a certain sequence that the uh admiral seemed to do to like activate that mode and you would assume that Corinne, DrBlackwell, has done a different sequence and turned it. I remember that sequence.

Would you remember the Admiral sequence from the video? Roll me Focus. Focus? Yeah. I'm going to spend a drive. Yeah, absolutely. Yes, please. I'm going to...

I can't even resist this. Can I help? I was watching that video as well. You can absolutely... Do you want to spend a drive? Do another one, yeah. No! I can't even resistance it.

I've spent it. What did you get? Just twos and ones. Twos and ones? Yeah, nothing. Here's what I'm going to say. I think you do know the sequence, but what you realize is there would be no way

for you to input the sequence, turn the key, and for you to get out, or for anyone who was to do it. Okay. Then it would be immediate. As I see Hercule get smashed against the wall, I shout out to him within the shield of these tentacles as this glowing orb still glows. Hercule, you are a good man.

You are like us. I have seen what you can do. Join the Riftborn. They mean no harm. Please save yourself. Come to me. Come to her. You hear it in your mind?

You smell like us. Marked by us. As I hear her words, the scars on my neck sort of flare and split on either side. I'm sorry, Betty. It was inevitable, and I will walk towards her. We still have radios, right yo you're still you're communicating via

radios this is all essentially underwater at this point they seem in trance with each other and there's all these tentacles the waters coming through I think you can make me a read roll maybe just in terms of I think there's a there's so much going on This is pure chaos whether you would detect that four and a five four or five What do you think? What's the sort of intent for like as he's as You know, you're being read essentially in this moment. What is that? What does Betty get? again. For a moment you see a look in my eyes

and it reminds Val's channel. Mm-hm. Get out of here. Hey, what? I know how to blow it up. No, no, it's leave-in time. We're going. You get out of here. No, we can... run with me.

No, they took Marcus. I'm not gonna let them get away with that. Please go. To where? She starts slowly backing towards the door. Flips off her radio. I'm gonna wait till Val gets a good distance. And I'm going to spend my tide die, shift the tide,

to basically get to that console, using this moment as the body's destroyed and everything else Avoiding whatever's going on and I want to get to that console And put in the code and switch the keys, okay What are we doing over here as this happens, where are you going? As I see the decision that Betty is making I What are we doing over here as this happens? Where are you going? As I see the decision that Betty is making, I turn to her and I say,

it doesn't have to be this way. You can still live. And I have that scar, right? Yeah, you feel that pain, I think. And I feel that pain. Marcus's death is like ripe in your brain still. Can I use that memory to take a gesture, a moment, a behavior of Marcus to let her know I am on her side? Oh, wait, what? Woo! Okay, I think as you do this, there is a moment where you... I don't even think you intentionally do this, right?

It's almost like a reflexive thing, where you do this, you cock your head to the... Cock his head to the side and just gives you that little smile, and it is just... Like it's exactly what you remember Marcus doing. Can it almost be that you try and like, you look as if if you're going to stop me from what I'm going to do, right? And then I see that. And as you grab me, I pull something from inside my suit. He promised he'd take me. Oh.

Key's turn. Are you staying? I bend the knee. And as I bend the knee, I take the ampule that is in my hand and slam it into her thigh. Would you, do you still have a shift of tide? Oh, yes. Do you want to tell us what happens?

Hercules de Bourdin is famous for creating a solution, a cure, for a disease called Ravage, which was destroying children. What no one ever said was the horrible price these children pay through the treatment. As I inject that medication into your skin, your body overclocks. Every mitochondria in your system triggers into triple, quadruple, quintuple overdrive, and you can feel yourself starting to burn. You are literally heating yourself from the inside out. And if you cannot find a way to stop this, you will be consumed. She starts to feel the burning from inside and holds on to her metal, which is now colder and colder. Riftwalker, please, Riftwalker, please heal me from within.

Riftwalker, please, Riftwalker, please heal me from within. Riftwalker, please, Riftwalker, please heal me from within. And can I do some type of check for how I've connected with you? I do believe that you've actually also achieved a goal. This is fucking mad! What is wrong with you people? All right, calm down, fish. I am just a fucking beast. I am a beast. Not some demon talking motherfucker.

Not demon talking, just communing. As this happens, the salt water seems to almost caress the wounds that I have. And through the massive rip that I have created in my arm, the salt water starts to dive into my veins, and I can feel it cooling me from within. I think as you feel it cooling you, you know instinctively that this comes at a terrible, terrible cost.

Yeah. So you stay to do this action? that this comes at a terrible, terrible cost. Yeah. So you stay to do this action? You didn't say that you were leaving. Essentially, the keys have been turned. So I'm watching this happen right now? Mm-hmm. Was this her turn of the tide? Yes.

Mm-hmm. So I think what happens, you watch as this key has been turned. These signals light up around the crimson strand. One, two, three, four, these little red lights. You, outside now, just in the ocean furiously, swimming. I'm going to need a move check. All right.

Also, I'm assuming we've all burned through more oxygen at this point. Oh, I think oxygen, yeah, we're fully out. I don't think anyone's... Fumes. You know. Just fumes. Yeah, I think absolutely we're running on fumes here. All right.

Four. Four, okay. You feel an overwhelming and intense heat behind you as a... explosion emanating from the Crimson Strand sends you flying. You find yourself after maybe five, ten,

twenty, who knows how long, oxygen depriving you of your senses, desperately crawling, swimming up through one of these cavernous holes, doing everything you can until eventually you sort of almost drift out of the top of one of the holes. You see the thresher ahead of you

as your vision starts to go... and closes. Until you hear... Oi, what the hell happened? Are you all right? Hello? Captain Atticus? You open your eyes. You are suddenly on the thresher. You open... You are coughing up blood and salt water.

What the? What on earth was that? Oh, Captain, it's gone. What? It's gone, did you see? Yeah, but I mean... They're dead. And you see the Captain goes, Well, that's a shame. But I got it.

Did you get it? I got it. What did you get? You got the blueprints? VSB. Give you a massive high five. Sweet! Well, that couldn't have worked out better. There's not even anyone left to hang about and tell us what happened.

It's a shame. I've got to say, that is some fine, fine work. You know that. Atlantica is going to give you a raise. It's more luck than skill, you know. Come on, don't give yourself dirty. Do you know what I mean? Get in, get out, get paid, go home.

Oh, a nice bath? At this point, the Thresher is currently leaving. Oh, my fucking God. And we will just now, as the thresher leaves, we will stay behind just for a second. As we descend one last time back down through the hole to see the smouldering rubble that is left of the rambior station you see severed huge tightness severed tentacles lying ripped to pieces on the ocean floor

there's one however curled in a sort of tight ball. And as it loosens, you just see floating, limp, but not lifeless, two fish-like beings. No faces. One slight and live. One hulking and huge as they and begin two of them to swim

up to the surface and that is where we're going to end our second episode of Thresher thank you so much what a story! I mean, that's, like, what? Like, what even, what even?

We're not going to, just, whatever you're doing right now, just go to Beacon and watch the cool-down, because why wouldn't you do that? We have to. Oh, my word. Oh, thank you so much. A huge, huge, huge thank you to my cast, to the crew. What a...

Wow. My brain is mush. Complete mush. Thank you so much. We'll see you in the cooldown. Oh, wait. Hold on. I just realized.

What? Is it Thursday yet? Yeah. Hey, it's Jasper here again. What remains of the Thresher crew will return to sea level, but don't be sad, that harrowing journey is over. Be happy that you survived all the hidden horrors of the dark abyss. What was your favourite part of this maritime voyage? Consider leaving a review on your podcasting platform of choice to let us and new listeners know what you loved

about Thresher. It could help us recruit some more brave explorers, because we're kind of running out. Thank you so much for listening to Thresher, and we hope you're inspired to homebrew your own adventure based on the Candela Obscura game system by Darrington Press. Farewell, daring explorers, and may we meet again, hopefully above sea level. And from your Game Master, thank you so much for listening.

This has been a joy and an honour. I'm very, very thankful that I got to tell this story for all of you. Thresher was produced by 12-Sided Studios and Paragon Pictures for Critical Role. Original world created by Jacqueline Emerson and Matthew Linton. Adapted and homebrewed for gameplay by Jasper William Cartwright. Produced by Sam St. John. Critical role producer, Kirby Winslow. Critical role executive producers, Ben Vanderfloot and Annie Kruger. 12-sided executive producers, Jess Jewell and Chad Pytel. Starring Abubakar Salim as Damon Adams. Jacqueline Emerson as Emily Wadsworth. Jane Douglas as Valerie Sutton. Mark slash Mara Humes as Betty Callaghan, Nosheer Della as Hercule Diboudine, Travis Willingham, Marisha Ray and Sam Regal were all radio voices, Ali Henderson, Owen Tunston and

Jess Jewell as screaming CCTV voice, multicam director John Sirdovan, 3D artist Owen Tunston, post-audio Oliver Moore and production designer Gemma Alexander.