ok we all know how fucking talented matt is at being a dm. but that fact has now been reaffirmed to me.
from like episode 70-79 tmn has not been very successful in much of their endeavors. they haven’t been in much combat or killed anything (except for obann, who was resurrected like an hour later). they’ve been pretty smart and made some good plans and have been creative when those plans went to shit, but they don’t have much to show for it. they don’t have many powerful allies they can trust, they’re not sure how they’re going to defeat the demons, and the dread of the war is extremely stressful.
matt noticed the players were getting frustrated and didn’t have much to go on, and at the end of episode 79, they were kind of blaming one another. so in episode 80, he gave them the option of saving a powerful person from the Happy Fun Ball, which would give them a boost to their confidence and morale and would give a bit of a more lighthearted element to the episode. he also brought in Allura, a powerful person the cast members love and know they can trust. on top of all that, there are some clues that connect this to the demon problem so that they might not be fucked and so they realize this isn’t going to be a waste of time.
MATTHEW MERCER IS A DM GENIUS!!!!