Critical Role Campaign 3 Theories | Ashton Greymoore & Fresh Cut Grass

Critical Role Campaign 3 is on a roll. Episode 2 was pretty, pretty good, as I mention in my C3R3 series (Recap Reaction & Initial Review). I’ve been pondering some Campaign 3 theories and predictions concerning the relationship and introduction of Ashton Greymoore and Fresh Cut Grass (F.C.G.).

Watch the Critical Role Campaign 3 Theory Video!

In the first part of my Critical Role Campaign 3 Theories video series, I ponder what is really going on with the history of Taliesin Jaffe’s Ashton Greymoore and Sam Reigel’s Fresh Cut Grass (F.C.G.).

Facts (per Fresh Cut Grass):

• On a mission to a silver mine near Bassuras/Bosarus (spelling?), Fresh Cut Grass was part of an adventuring group tasked with clearing the mine of monsters. The group got as far in as they could but met with resistance (the monsters) and according to F.C.G., had to retreat, and camp for the night.
• When Fresh Cut Grass woke up for stasis (sleep mode), they noticed that all the other adventurers (automatons included), were all dead; and according to Ashton, all “very deceased.”
• Ashton mentions that they were paid to investigate what happened with the party, “a few days later” (in theory) mentions they came across F.C.G. as the only survivor.
• Laudna asks Fresh Cut Grass if F.C.G. kept the corpses of their dead friends. Fresh Cut Grass actually did; mentioning that Dancer (their creator), created many gadgets and gizmos, some more sophisticated than others; Fresh Cut grass scrounged up some parts from the other automatons including:
  A Saw Blade
  Bolt Thrower
  Hammer Tool
• Ashton and F.C.G. covered them up and gave them a proper burial and were on their way. The two have been with each other for a couple of months since then.

This all sounds pretty legit, but let’s dig a little deeper here.

F.C.G. doesn’t believe it has a soul, calling humanoids “soul-touched” and isn’t sure if it was sad about the loss of its friends.

Fresh Cut Grass is built out of parts, and when speaking with Milo, thanks Milo for patching him up. This would explain the look of Fresh Cut Grass; different panels, paint chips, the tied-together wire hair, the different colored left arm, etc.

Fan art of F.C.G, by Nathaniel Himawan (ninesicks).

Looking at Sam Riegel, he’s definitely a troll — just look at Nott the Brave — and some Campaign 2 spoilers incoming — Nott was more than just a little goblin girl. What surprising backstory does Fresh Cut Grass have waiting for us to find out?

Let’s look at Fresh Cut Grass’ origins first:

• Created by Dancer, who named their creations after some of their favorite smells. F.C.G. constantly refers to Dancer as an associate. Is F.C.G. lying about their creator or name?
• The actual scientific reason for the Fresh Cut Grass smell has been identified as “the plant’s way of signaling distress?” and research also says the “aroma also summons beneficial insects to the rescue” (Hello bees!).
• One thing to keep in mind is Fresh Cut Grass’ Intelligence, it’s very low at 7. Maybe FCG isn’t being deceptive, but it’s written into its code to hide its true identity.

Here’s a few Critical Role Campaign 3 Theories I’m working on:

1. F.C.G.’s adventuring party wasn’t killed by monsters, but by F.C.G. itself; possibly looking to upgrade itself. A bunch of dead automatons does mean shiny new murder toys for Fresh Cut Grass. Fresh Cut Grass then entered stasis mode waiting for the next part of their mission with Ashton, possibly coming around for a randevu.
2. This theory may be less realistic, as I’m not sure Ashton has mentioned any issues with memory, but could Ashton have arrived and F.C.G. caused all the damage to their head and body? Then F.C.G. could have convinced Ashton on what happened? Now Fresh Cut Grass can more easily blend in with society, playing this sweet innocent heal-bot character, until it safely reaches its mission destination.
3. Or what about Ashton? Was Ashton being truthful when they told the rest of the party that they were hired to find out what was going on with the adventurers? Could Ashton have been hired to kill this adventuring party, or maybe destroy the automatons? When seeing F.C.G. was still kicking around, with the ability to heal…did Ashton bring Fresh Cut Grass back to Milo (who clearly mentions they dabble with AI) who changed Fresh Cut Grass’ personality, or adjusted their memories?

How long exactly did all of this happen, by the way? Could F.C.G. have been in “stasis” for years? Ashton does mention that dead adventurers were all “very deceased” when they arrived at the camp.

Again, these are all campaign 3 theories of mine, but I think it’s fun to ponder these things. I don’t think we’re being told the complete truth from Ashton Greymoore or Fresh Cut Grass, one way or the other.

Love or hate Fresh Cut Grass, they’re here to stay in Critical Role Campaign 3.

Do you have any Critical Role Campaign 3 theories about Fresh Cut Grass or Ashton? What did you think of mine? I’d love to chat in the comments.

Originally published at https://currentkick.com on November 2, 2021.