Critical Role Animatic - Are We The Baddies? Part 1

[@comicalcrap2706]

Jester distracting the guard, then crying because she actually befriends him instantly became one of my favorite campaign moments. I'm so glad you captured her feelings so well.

[@RinSyuveil]

Sucks he was a bad dude (as proven by Matt showing the party the torture racks and junk that the guards are… guarding

[@TheKazeetie]

The worst part is that *one* guard was what screwed them over when the concentration broke. Not only did he escape to call Trent, but also Jester told that guard to visit the Ruby of the Sea, which led the volstrucker to the lavish chateau

[@piperbird7193]

@@TheKazeetie I remember watching that live and Jester starts talking about her mom and I'm like, 'well now you HAVE to kill him.'

[@Catalyst375]

@@piperbird7193 That's a job for Bell's Hells, now.

[@Akeche]

@@RinSyuveil You think that makes him a bad person? For doing his job?

[@mariavanilla6781]

"I'm travelling with a murderer" *starts murdering*

[@bskec2177]

peer pressure is a hell of a thing

[@dantevitale5714]

"It's me, I'm the murderer"

[@sagescribe_]

@@dantevitale5714 "Call an ambulance, but not for me!"

[@sachaandsox]

* Plot twist* I AM THE MURDERER!

[@mandylewis4161]

Veth is crazy murder loving

[@ZombieChimpanzee]

"Jester we're about to go kill this guard." "nooooo!" I died at that one.

[@GZilla311]

So did the guards.

[@stingerjohnny9951]

Under all the Chaos, Jester is a gentle soul with the heart of a child, so this is very in character for her.

[@christopherfloody5555]

God, that bit at the end "im travelling with a murderer." The next moment when she jumps at the guy, I keep expecting her to scream "ITS ME!"

[@poppyonline4034]

Veth is the biggest murderer of them all.

[@rikhihundle8815]

Call an ambulance! But not for me

[@LordAaronus]

*IT'SA MEE

[@kiberlyvest3833]

@@LordAaronus You win. Amazing comment.

[@suhrfranbacon]

someone needs to take the "ITS ME!" from when veth thought beau had a crush on her, itd work perfect here lol

[@spectralumbra1568]

The mental image of Caduceus being the one to describe how to make a corpse snowman will never not be disturbing.

[@seabass819]

Well, when you grow up in a grave yard, how else are you going to spend your free time?

[@snupjeve]

don't we all?

[@nekoali2]

It gets boring in the cemetery sometimes.... and it never snows there.

[@TheSpencermacdougall]

@@seabass819 yeah, morbid humor kinda comes with living in a graveyard. (Not that I would know, i stay as far away from them as possible)

[@obi-wank-enobi]

@@seabass819 this comment right here officer!

[@TakeWalker]

Okay, but did anyone notice "He's a bit dense at times" said about the guard who was just crushed into a singularity? XD

[@Starhartdeer]

oh my god, fucking stealth joke!

[@Celedam]

Gee, is that why the word "DENSE" appears at 1:24 and then is crushed a second later?

[@jackmyers8687]

I heard he *gets around*

[@lukeedwards6027]

I totally missed the joke when I watched the show the first time. Good catch

[@sandrafunacc1]

Hey, check the likes.

[@jackdog06]

For this episode we didn’t have Caleb the hobo wizard, we had Bren the Volstrucker.

[@ambiej123]

I think this is a really great point

[@sugar-high_kitsune]

(sad, but still very aware that this is true) Oh! Noooo, don't say that! :'(

[@cutlery9831]

O o f. Trent really did win, huh? This is exactly what he would have wanted. Fucking, goddamnit

[@johnp1806]

Caleb "I cast disintegrate" Widowgast, everyone. He would have been an *amazing* volstrucker

[@poppyonline4034]

And Veth the Killer

[@seanmurphy3430]

Oh god, I didn't get Matt's "dense" joke until just now. Man does he love twisting the knife.

[@calebthecondor]

Oh shit! Thanks for pointing it out lol

[@EroticMammoth]

A glimpse into what Caleb would've been like in the even worse timeline

[@bipbap5079]

Terrifying

[@peytonzehring7964]

We finally got to see Bren Aldric Ermendrud the Volstrucker, not Caleb widowgast the traumatized wizard

[@MagicalMedic]

This moment was so dark, but I still can't stop laughing.

[@benjiholladay6126]

“Do you wanna build a snowman?”

[@gyrrakavian]

Fun fact; sometimes laughter is a stress-relief reaction to try to ease the nerves in a tense/disturbing situation.

[@TheSpencermacdougall]

I'm glad I'm not the only one, lmao.

[@sandyramhoff8137]

"he can be a bit dense" sad I missed that dark joke before

[@flipflopzthreeonethree1873]

2:15 Liam really said "now we don't have time to unpack all that" in universe, big mood

[@YouAnd_OnlyYou]

The word "unpack" used after crushing human beings into meat globes is hilarious in its own right when you think about it.

[@rib_rob_personal]

Unpack this later, but kinda

[@toanuva6178]

Beau: “I want to leave every town better than I found it” *Also The Mighty Nein:*

[@Vulture_King]

I really hate how she acts like a total murderhobo, but tries to act emotional and heroic as if she doesn’t terrorize literally everyone she encounters

[@TheFrogspawnedOne]

Word

[@josephrigley8974]

@@Vulture_King compared to Caleb and Nott Beau is a Saint she just has a shitty personality and she's def not a murderhobo.

[@damobeck1]

@@Vulture_King beau isn’t a murder hobo tho. Caleb just... has his moments.

[@alecLogan]

@@Vulture_King Technically speaking, acting emotional and heroic while also terrorizing everyone one encounters aren’t mutually exclusive things. It’s most often painted to be completely different, but they aren’t by base definition. That said. While Beau is abrasive on occasion, it is something she’s generally ‘working on’, though that has admittedly taken a backseat pending the situations they’ve been winding up in.

[@dudelsackonator4494]

Meanwhile Beau: slowly pouring acid down the throat of the guard on the roof

[@catherinekress2138]

She was so callously evil in that moment like damn 🤣🤣

[@Drekromancer]

@@catherinekress2138 I mean, yes and no. I think this scene is funny because Beau obviously thought it was going to be merciful. However, she was sorely mistaken. And she acknowledges this in-character later. Like, "fuck, I think I just did a war crime."

[@stingerjohnny9951]

@@Drekromancer Yeah, people seem to forget that as smart as Beau CAN BE, she can also be pretty fucking clueless XD

[@135mikerules23]

“Are we the baddies?” From the perspective of the widows/orphans they made that day? Probably.

[@kaboomluong9373]

The Widowgast effect a powerful mage creates an orphan or two

[@dragonarchive7443]

Orphan maker

[@BrawnyStream]

@@dragonarchive7443 she’s not here right now she’s to busy making a daisy chain for Beau

[@scepta101]

From the perspective of the many students those guards were definitely highly complicit in indoctrinating? Probably not

[@Akeche]

What happens when the party murderhobos and the child of the guard they kill hunts them down in the future after becoming an adventurer themselves?

[@retro6575]

“He’s a little DENSE at times?” What a pun, Matt.

[@KingslayerSrb]

ngl took me a year to figure it out lol

[@IranahyeNotVTEC]

Veth: Please don't attack us, I'm traveling with a murderer. ITS ME!

[@missydalh5463]

Missing Beau violently murdering that sleeping guard on the roof.

[@blueshoals]

This was an amazing moment, and I love this animatic. Especially Jester being just on the verge of tears the entire time.

[@Clone6385]

Aw poor jester trying to keep any of the innocent guards alive

[@toribiogubert7729]

all guards are bastards 🤣

[@TheKazeetie]

The worst part is that one guard was what screwed them over when the concentration broke. Not only did he escape to call Trent, but also Jester told that guard to visit the Ruby of the Sea, which led the volstrucker to the lavish chateau

[@Kaz_Rytveld]

It's rare moments like these that really highlight the power difference between PCs/adventurers and your basic civilians in DnD. They really had no real issues handling these guys.

[@Rocksteady72a]

" but I got sick with the 'Illness.'" Oh no, I hope you're feeling better 🥺

[@carsonrush4152]

Get up. You're getting down with the sickness.

[@creativechef25]

I hope that I'm not the only one here, but I really, REALLY hope that this scene is animated for the Amazon Prime series once it gets released. This is both gruesome yet hysterical at the same time.

[@jlokison]

For those of you upset with the death of these guards let me remind you of something that Bren Ermendrud can't forget. The second door on the left down the hallway all these Guards are guarding is a Torture Chamber. These guards know what this room is and have probably been present while it has been in use in the past. Cymie seems like a nice guy and off duty probably is, does that change what he's done for the Empire, the Assembly, and Trent Ikathon?

[@homerman76]

Too be fair, not everyone who works in a corrupt place is actually okay with what is going on where they work, sometimes you just have to take what you can get (guards don't typically get to choose where exactly they work either.)

[@caligo7918]

@@homerman76 hmm, i've heard that argument before, in the Nuremberg trials....

[@Wolfbane192]

@@homerman76 So you’re saying “they’re only following orders”.

[@TitoMcFadden]

These are funny replies but I have to agree that it's likely that those guards simply got assigned there and followed orders. You can say "Oh, well they could have just refused or quit" if you want to but that's unrealistic. What's to say that you don't end up as the next resident of Trent's dungeon for seeing and knowing too much and not being obedient? I think those guards were more afraid of opposing Trent than opposing their own morals. Were some of them evil? Probably. All of them? Most likely not. I had no issue with their deaths at all but I don't have to pretend like they all had it coming. It's just straight up murder. And I'm fine with calling it that with no justifications.

[@boserboser6870]

@@Wolfbane192 for all the guards know the chambers are for actual criminals. Unlike death camps where it was quite clear that the people were just civilians

[@themorrigan7224]

I will never understand why people were confused by Caleb’s actions. They were sneaking into an enemy base, and couldn’t afford to leave witnesses. Of course they’re going to kill any guards they cross. It was an awesome Darth Vader Caleb moment

[@megstarr726]

Agreed. People would have said how cool the kills were had Fjord been doing them. Just read the comments and they think Beaus wasn’t murder hoboing. They have a total double standard when Fjord or Beau kills compared to Caleb.

[@nekoali2]

It's not the fact that they were killing the guards. It was a combination of Jester charming the one guard and having pleasant conversation, while Caleb was in the next room shoving people into a car crusher. It was the absolute brutality of it, and his cold single mindness that was disturbing. Beau trying to kill another guard with weak acid didn't help matters.

[@peoswriter1]

“Couldn’t afford to leave witnesses” is a phrase very very rarely on the lips of the righteous. Incapacitating or doing non-fatal damage works just as well, especially in a world where the Speak with Dead spell exists. I get it being in character for Caleb to consider all the guards complicit (whether they knew the asylum was a front for a shadow organization or not, which is dubious) but it was absolutely excessive force.

[@cameronpolite2199]

@@peoswriter1 to be fair. Calleb doesnt claim to be good, the opposite actually. And he was trained to be a merciless mage assasin so this all checks out. Dark yes, makes sense for the Character yes too.

[@peoswriter1]

@@cameronpolite2199 I agree, which is what I said in my comment ("I get it being in character for Caleb"). He was a trained mage assassin that went crazy and then went rogue because he didn't want to be the kind of man who kills innocent people for the sake of a cause. Excessive force is excessive force, whatever your personal feelings or motivations about it might be. I'm not bad-mouthing Liam for bad role-playing, he does a tremendous job. I'm just repeating what was clear to the whole table (or they wouldn't have been joking about it) -- it was obviously excessive force.

[@giraffedragon6110]

This is hilarious in just the darkest ways.

[@BeatchBall]

I love how Veth devolved into Nott at the end there. Hilarious!

[@decimation9780]

Bonus scene: Reject Halfling, return to goblin.

[@gyrrakavian]

Matt reassuring the cast after they horrifically murder _so many_ guards.

[@MegaTrickynick]

Laura’s reaction to everything was morbidly hilarious. This was such a beautiful clusterfuck 💜

[@evangelosalexiou3605]

Beau also killed someone by throwing acid down their throat. It was kinda brutal

[@DemoDougie]

"It takes 3 guards to make a snowman." Priceless!

[@136jab]

you should add a second bonus with Beau and the acid

[@Acebender]

In which Caleb airs out some issues

[@gabrielrussell5531]

If they wanted to not kill people they could have brought a melee character to knock people out. All 3 were outside: They made this situation happen.

[@matthewevans5486]

They could have also used literally any spell that incapacitates someone

[@hmcloud8487]

@@matthewevans5486 There are actually not that many XD On the top of my head sleep and eyebite

[@matthewevans5486]

@@hmcloud8487 off the top of my head, Tasha's hideous laughter, hypnotic pattern, any spell or ability that paralyses or stuns something (of which there are a few)

[@hmcloud8487]

@@matthewevans5486 yeah. For a minute and concentration. They need no witnesses. So time is sorta important to get in and get out

[@matthewevans5486]

@@hmcloud8487 it only takes a second to knock someone unconscious and/or tie him up once once the spells/abilities take effect. Then a modify memory by Jester and they might as well never have been there

[@elbruces]

I really appreciate how you clipped Matt's attack and damage noises and put them back in, that works really well.

[@MuraCasardis]

Thank you for animating that bonus segment too. This whole section of the episode was really a horror movie in the perspective of the guards and the mage XD

[@toreyzyre]

YES THANK YOU! *pre-watch response* **Edit** This was so good, I've waited for so much for someone to animate this!

[@jakemunoze7430]

This was very good almost exactly how I imagined it. It's takes 3 guards to make a snowman . . .

[@raydidit9514]

This is probably one of the greatest CR animatics I’ve seen so far.

[@meanderscarlos2035]

This .... This.... my friend 🤩🤯 IS GOLD ...... especially the bloody part with all the side bar talk 🤣😂🤣😂

[@captnconfusion280]

this shouldn't be so hilarious xD

[@TheSilverPhoenix100]

Gotta love how the Grave Cleric, Warlock, and Barbarian are the only ones not engaging in wanton murder

[@stingerjohnny9951]

We have a stoner hippie Grave Cleric, a Cleric that made a pact with a Fey, a Warlock that found faith, a Barbarian that loves puppies, a monk who’s a lush and a sex freak, a hobo wizard and…actually the Goblin/Halfling rogue tracks…but she’s also a wizard!!!

[@queti486]

It's fantastic to see this unfolded on "real" time, specially that part at the end

[@foolslayer9416]

At this point my PC would ask in a deadpan voice, "I wonder if these guys have families..."

[@criticallol3039]

At least you didn't show the most brutal part of this episode.

[@megstarr726]

Yeah the slow death murder via Beau still haunts me

[@buckshott00]

IDK I was hoping they would and to see Beau panicking.

[@quigojr6783]

Darth Caleb having some fun.

[@CampaignerSC]

Remember at the beginning of the campaign when they just tried using illusory disguises and Fjord's voice mimicry to get where they needed to go without needing violence? Yeah, they could have done that here. But no Trent & Astrid disguise was ever used....

[@lShorgaR]

Remember at this point of the campaign when they infiltrated to a place designed exclusively to torture and imprison people that Trent wants and that is perfectly fine using force against such people ready to torture others.

[@appaearly175]

Lmao No way that shit would work here. It barely worked in the examples you gave.

[@CampaignerSC]

@@appaearly175 It would have worked on the guards. And jester would have only have needed to use charm on the one mage inside. Get the thing and teleport out. EZ.

[@ijustchangedmyname]

@@CampaignerSC Who the hell knows what wards are on that building. They could have walked through the door and the disguise just disaapears.

[@Drekromancer]

@@appaearly175 That's the other part of this argument: margin of error. If Fjord fails to impersonate someone in a town, then he can always fuck off or fight in order to resolve the issue. But this was Trent's stronghold - the fortress of a dark wizard, backed by the force of the crown. A single mistake could spell doom not just for the M9, but for all of their families as well. So the Nine couldn't resort to the cleanest, most moral methods for infiltration. They had to leave no trace. It's the only way to be sure.

[@demonman0273]

I didn’t understand the dense joke Matt made when I saw it initially

[@Griffingterra]

I'm so glad I wasn't the only one who noticed the DENSE joke Matt made xD

[@justinzelepuza]

Caleb really pulled a Darth Vader Hallway Scene

[@fluxgameing8265]

I can’t tell if Liam planed for Caleb to act so brutal or if he just wanted to try something he hasn’t really done before sort of spur of the moment

[@appaearly175]

I’m also curious why Mariah seemed so casual with her sadistic acid murder. Like to was dark as shit and she only cared when Travis made fun of it.

[@Drekromancer]

@@appaearly175 I just think she underestimated how horrible it would be. She thought it would be merciful. But as we all know, it wasn't. (And then she committed to the bit.)

[@dastanghaedrahmati6977]

I love that you animated the word "dense" that way because I think it was a quick and underappreciated joke!

[@Baraz_Red]

That was a funny recap of that dark moment (which is typical in D&D really). Matt's capacity to roll with it, insert puns and all: awesome DM.

[@Micaerys]

OMG, the end!! I can't breath XDDDDDD

[@henrikherkel3036]

And at the same time beau killed a guard by shoving a vial of acid down his throat and dissolving him inside out.

[@matthewevans5486]

Please don't attack us, I'm traveling with a murderer.... IT'S MEEE!

[@buckshott00]

I loved this episode and this scene so much. Caleb going full Terminator / Vader (Termin-vader?) Veth's pyscholunge, Beau's acid mishap; it was soooo good. Jester being so distraught by Caleb going full Volstrucker as she's charmed the guard just really sells it.

[@22xjake]

Vadernator. This abomination shall be called vadernator. It shall be done

[@PixelSageYT]

@@22xjake It was really just full Vader, lightning, force crush... If only there was a dunamancy for strangling people.

[@Baraz_Red]

Speaking of... Beau's murder was sooo much worse ! Fully unnecessary (she can strangle him till he loses consciousness and other moves), most painful method, and she is capable of running away at worst, etc. [ For those who do not know : it is not portrayed in this video ]

[@Ker-f4o]

@@PixelSageYT Crushing trachea/Crushing whole body... Both work.

[@PixelSageYT]

"I'm travelling with a murderer... It's me!"

[@King_Crown-x7p]

Man, you don’t always realize it but Caleb is a total badass.

[@milenarkioshi4288]

I waited for this moment to be animated so so so much. I love you, and love your channel, the work you do and wish you all the best in this World

[@spencerhenstrom9344]

"He's a bit dense sometimes..." Yep, but now it's all the time...

[@LordofEmbers]

As a certified Murder Hobo, I have deduced that the actions of the Mighty Nein were rather harmless. All of them were sane during this excursion, and only 1 of the 7, boiled the insides of a living being...overall are they the baddies? No, they could’ve been a whole lot worse.

[@jacobfreeman5444]

Ah yes, when your scale of how evil somethimg is includes the NUMBER of intentionally horrible deaths per an encounter.

[@kariissmol9172]

caleb went full Vollstrecker there

[@TheSpencermacdougall]

Of all the shit jesters been through this campaign, I think this might have been the most tramatic to date. (Yes, even more then being kidnapped by slavers, 99% sure she was unconscious during that event)

[@twilightgeneral777]

That whole episode was an amazing black comedy

[@aidanniblock6186]

"Hanz are we the baddies?"

[@shadowstrider8295]

"He's a bit dense at times." I get it!

[@benfurnish2052]

Just saw this actual episode, I'm dying.

[@ForeverWog]

This, along with Beau SLOWLY murdering a guard with acid. They are the bad guys. Bonus points for Travis’s horrifically accurate sound effects.

[@DramakilzU]

I just love Mathew Mercer’s sound effects.

[@Deadxman616]

you know you doing crazy bad thing when the DM brings out 1st ed rules to curb you killing spree

[@casualnobody8557]

Thank you again for giving me good Evil Dm ideas, Critical Role. Also, this is absolutely fucking FANTASTIC work, like holy shit this is good

[@davidkoudelka10]

Hey, ALL the guards were stationed at a torture chamber owned by Trent, so they knew about it, so no regrets killing them!😄😅👍 (maybe less brutally though)

[@Batoziac]

imagine the route the M9 woulda went on without Cad. neutral evil critical role is what i wanna see

[@dawnbrightlight]

I love how expressive you made Jester’s ears. They really helped show just how overwrought/sad she was becoming.

[@lanaelise4464]

"He's a bit dense at times" MATTHEW I SAW THAT PUN

[@Secret_Takodachi]

To anyone commenting about how this could have been avoided: remember that your explanation is why people probably stop playing DnD with you. "This what happens when...." that's the line of someone who refuses to choose anything less that the META. I bet their campaigns are very successful....and likely extremely boring.

[@omegagilgamesh]

This "perfect heist" episode really highlighted one of the problems with stealth in 5E. So I'm implementing a homebrew rule in my games where, if the guard doesn't think there's a threat nearby, and the attack hits, and it's something that could normally kill you almost instantly in the real world (crossbow bolt, great ax, but not a fire bolt,) and the enemy is not a particularly power one, then I'll say it kills them instantly. Also for instances of infiltration, if the group makes a good alias I'll only give them a few deception checks at most, unless they ask the people there something really stupid. The way Matt implemented the rules here makes such a stealth mission almost impossible.

[@MadamFoogie]

The ending is the best. Veth certainly hasn't gotten over her Goblin traits. *_L I C O R I C E_*

[@xXasiahkiinXx123]

I hope they let mighty nien join in the legend of Vox machina story (yes I know they're the same people) just jesters interactions will be really anime hahaa

[@dartdevious561]

DON'T F#$K WITH THE WIZARD

[@corbettevans7483]

Good job on Veth! I love your design for her

[@binder38us]

And this does not include the "shhh go to sleep" serial killer on the roof weighing her options ...

[@theultrasceptile]

Oh god I forgot about this part, had me breathless for ten minutes straight from laughing

[@callmev3531]

2:48, Huh.....he wasn't wrong.

[@Dunybrook]

When you realize that Caleb is basically Darth Vader.

[@wildwikedwanderer1208]

This was glorious and thank you so much for the bonus content at the end

[@shelbyheinreis9160]

I need to see this scene in the M9 animation, it's too good to be left out of it 😂

[@b4n4n14]

EYO POGGGG

[@aimeepollock4813]

They really need Yezza to make some smoke bombs or knock out gas.

[@binder38us]

I forget we travel with a stone cold killer...

[@alphtheor.879]

XD ha ha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAHAHAAHAHAHAHHAAA, oh man, its never been more clear that the mighty nein have a LOT of trouble staying lawful good, or chaotic good.

[@MinecraftLovesSteve]

HOLY SHIT "HES A LITTLE DENSE SOMETIMES" I DIDNT NOTICE THAT

[@soldier660]

Rip guards : ( !!! thats all i have to say.

[@SolarFluxation]

That Staff of Power Lightning Bolt was super awesome looking, well done on that.

[@canniloni]

jester’s face the entire time i can’t-

[@muskls6877]

My favorite episode of the whole campaign!

[@TheArcSet]

Thanks for this video.

[@jasonsterlingentertainment478]

*Sobbing* "Do you wanna build a snowman?"