Critical Role: Blood for Blood — Campaign 4, Episode 10 Part 2

Date: December 30, 2025
Podcast: Critical Role
Dungeon Master: Matthew Mercer

Episode Overview

In this electrifying continuation, the Critical Role crew dives directly back into their harrowing dungeon crawl, facing down a brutal combat against the formidable Knight of Saramai and his cadre of guards. The tension soars as new mechanics like “desperate measures” emerge, characters graze the edge of death, and epic moments of heroism—plus wild dice luck—swing the tide. The stakes are raised to new heights as personal vengeance, desperate gambits, and unexpected magical feats play out in breakneck combat. The party must fight for survival while protecting each other… and perhaps losing too much along the way.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Desperate Measures Mechanic Debut

[02:10 – 03:26]

• The episode opens on the introduction of "desperate measures," a risky house rule allowing players near death to trade preemptive death save failures for powerful combat boons.
• DM (Matt Mercer): "Still bloodied, we are gonna use the desperate measures first ever. So desperate measures... allows you to do a certain number of death save throw failures pre mark them. What would you like to do? We are really gambling here, baby. I love it."
• Thimble: "Oh shit. This is so dumb. I love it. This is why I don't go to Vegas."
• Mechanics Summary:
  • 1 failure: Dash/disengage or +5 to failed D20 test
  • 2 failures: Any attack damage dice do max value
  • 3 failures: Extra attack/magic action or regain expended spell slot

2. Thimble’s Earth-Shattering Attack

[03:38 – 05:16]

• Thimble risks two death save failures to maximize damage on a natural 20.
• Thimble: "I'm gonna take all three of those sixes and max them out and double it."
• DM: "You deal 42 points of damage. Holy shit. Surging forward... I've told you many times this is not a level scaled world. Sir Seramite is a challenge rating 8 opponent… who you have just moved to bloodied status in this moment.”
• Spectacular Description: Thimble stabs the Knight directly in the ear, producing a magical eruption of blood and light.

3. Near-Death, Heroics, and Reprieve

[05:40 – 08:39]

• Thimble narrowly dodges death, flying out of range with the help of class abilities, and heals to a meager 13 HP.
• DM clarifies that Thimble’s attack permanently handicaps the Knight's spellcasting (disadvantage for the rest of combat).
• Fiercely cinematic and risky moves become the tone for the whole party.

4. Knight of Saramai’s Relentless Assault

[09:06 – 12:49]

• Teor is battered by multiple powerful blows from the Knight, suffering massive (and partially poison) damage, nearly dropping to 1 HP.
• DM: “You have gotta be fucking kidding me. You're at one hit point. What's going on up here in the mix?”
• The party realizes the Knight fights “for the joy of murdering,” not a fair battle.

5. Heroic Support and Struggle for Survival

[13:14 – 16:05]

• Kadigan heals Wulfric and unleashes a Feral Howl, frightening and deafening almost all remaining guards, vastly improving the party’s odds.
• DM: "Wulfric roars out this growl, I think you can see in this moment that the Knight of Saramai says we need to go. Don't fuck with wolves."
• Wulfric is celebrated for saving fellow party members.

6. Escalating Chaos, Cart Reveal, and Vengeance

[28:39 – 31:37]

• Thimble discovers a cart with statues—including a stone hound—and recognizes a mystical bracer on the Knight, returned from a tragic past.
• DM: “The first time you saw the bracers… they were on the broad forearms of Callowen Royce, Erinessa's younger brother… granting one the might of the strong trees of oak and birch.”
• The combat grows more personal as old wounds resurface.

7. The Tide Turns: Now or Never

[37:00 – 44:51]

• Octis devastates guards with Scorching Ray, accompanied by ghostly "body rolling" mirror images.
• Wick’s Aganazzar’s Scorcher incinerates enemies and ignites the cart—desperate measures to prevent powerful foes from escaping or regrouping.
• The stakes are underscored as wounded, weakened heroes and enemies teeter on the edge.

8. Climactic Showdown: Wick’s Fall and Miraculous Resurrection

[47:13 – 79:03]

• The Knight lands two brutal, near-fatal blows on Wick, who survives only by selecting the “Tough” feat in a moment of narrative luck.
• DM: “Did you not select a feat when you leveled up?... Would you like to select the tough feat at fourth level?”
• Wick nevertheless goes down—Kadigan’s Spare the Dying barely prevents death.
• Thimble and Teor coordinate a final desperate assault, using desperate measures (with death save failures increasing) to gang up on the Knight.
• Thimble delivers the final blow:
  • [65:02] Teor: “I think you soloed literally. God damn dungeon.”
  • Thimble: “As he's facing off with Teor, I'm going to come up behind and slash the back of his knee so he drops down. And then as he drops to one knee, take out his other ear.”
• The battle's brutality leaves both party and DM breathless at surviving a challenge twice their level.

9. Aftermath: Last Stand and Narrow Survival

[73:00 – 78:26]

• The battered group mops up surviving guards, with Thimble and Kadigan finishing off the last threats.
• Wick, at death’s door, rolls a natural 20 death save—miraculously reviving with wings of light, extinguishing the burning cart using this surge of angelic power.
• [78:21] Wick: “That's a natural 20.”
• DM: “On a natural 20 wick, you regain a single hit point. You are moved aloft as wings of light once again grow from your back… All of the fire is recalled from the wagon into your hand.”

10. Revelations and Cliffhanger

[80:40 – 81:03]

• As the dust settles, the statue on the cart is revealed as Teor’s brother Sid, turned to stone.
• DM: “Tune in in a few weeks to find out what happens to Te and his brother Sid, who's been turned to stone. Holy smokes, the suspense is killing me.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• [02:33] Thimble: “Oh shit. This is so dumb. I love it. This is why I don't go to Vegas.”
• [04:26] Dungeon Master: “You deal 42 points of damage. Holy shit. Surging forward this... I've told you many times this is not a level scaled world.”
• [05:40] Dungeon Master: “[to Thimble, after risking two death saves:] Meaning you are throwing... Thimble is okay. Dying in this hole in some way. She's going, I'll fucking—I'll take you to hell with it.”
• [12:49] Knight: “You’ll die in the dark, too, you fools.”
• [15:25] Knight: “Don’t fuck with wolves. Don’t fuck with wolves, man.”
• [41:14] Dungeon Master: “As Takani’s captain is consumed in flame and the cart begins to burn. The horse and the cart screaming, kicking out at this cart, trying to escape.”
• [43:42] Knight: “Fine. Blood for blood. I kill you here. I rather fight you again in the underworld, where I make it last.”
• [54:06] Dungeon Master: “In the next world and rams a sword through your gut and you are unconscious before your body hits the ground. You are making death saves.”
• [65:32] Thimble (slaying the Knight): “I'm going to fly up from behind him. And as he's facing off with Teor, I'm going to come up behind and slash the back of his knee so he drops down. And then as he drops to one knee, take out his other ear.”
• [78:21] Wick: “That's a natural 20.”
• [78:23] DM: “On a natural 20 wick, you regain a single hit point. You are moved aloft as wings of light once again grow from your back... All the fire is recalled from the wagon into your hand.”

Major Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:10] — Introduction and explanation of “desperate measures” mechanic
• [03:38 – 05:16] — Thimble’s game-changing critical attack
• [09:06 – 12:49] — The Knight’s brutal assault on Teor, survival by 1 HP
• [15:07] — Wulfric’s feral howl frightens and deafens enemy guards
• [28:39] — Cart, statue, and bracer revelations
• [37:00 – 44:51] — Octis and Wick’s spells, cart ignites, desperation increases
• [47:13 – 54:06] — Critical hits, feat selection in combat, Wick’s near-death collapse
• [65:02] — Thimble fells the Knight; team celebrates
• [78:21] — Wick rolls a natural 20 on his death save, rising messianically and ending the fire
• [80:40] — Cliffhanger: Teor’s brother is the stone statue

Recap: The Tone and Impact

Every player leans all the way in, embracing both chaos and drama—there’s laughter, exasperation, and tangible tension as the dice cruelly cut both ways. Thimble emerges a terrifying force. The DM’s narration is electric, making stakes clear (“You should have died in this dungeon”), and every save or strike feels momentous. Even moments of rules lawyering or OOC banter (“Wait, do you want to take a feat right now?”) serve to underline the group’s rapport and investment. The final resurrection scene (“wings of light once again grow from your back…”) has all the classic Critical Role catharsis.

If you missed the episode:

• Expect edge-of-your-seat combat, new house rules for high risk/high reward play, and possibly the most harrowing victory the Campaign 4 party has ever eked out.
• Desperate measures may have won the day—but not without scars.
• And the next chapter is guaranteed to open with a rescue and perhaps a curse: Teor’s brother, petrified for now, is an ominous thread left hanging.

For post-show cast reactions:
Check out “Critical Role Cooldown” on Beacon TV for an immediate cast debrief!

“You guys are a third level adventuring party. You've taken out a challenge rating eight monster here in this dungeon. Who collapses to the ground dead.” —DM (65:43)

Is it Thursday yet?