oh shit are we a cult? (yes, Jester) - Critical Role C2E77

[@karashk]

As Cad said "A God is really just a cult with a franchise"

[@kasrapourahmadi4574]

You mean a religion?

[@ryzekiv7147]

Morgan Freeman: “He’s right, you know.”

[@Kaosbunny000]

@@kasrapourahmadi4574a religion is just a cult with a franchise

[@moshking6749]

That quote was the first thing to come to mind

[@sonofpears4691]

I remember once hearing “a religion is just a cult with a good PR team”

[@blindoutlaw]

“It’s not a cult”….. proceeds to bend another to her will. Checks out haha

[@levialexander9672]

adding on the fact, i dont think jester and the traveler got 1 divine intervention, while caduseuse, with a true god, hit jackpot

[@themaddoctor5304]

The Wildmother: don't be upset Traveler, I just am more powerful than you. Traveler: I'M TRYING MY BEST HERE OK!

[@entropy11]

@@themaddoctor5304 Traveler: I LITERALLY HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING

[@elfbreath]

Yeah but Caduceus is the Wildmother's special boy

[@deltablaze77]

It is a great case of the dice being poetic.

[@SkoloT]

I never thought about it that way!!! WOW the dice do tell the best stories sometimes 😭

[@magnusblick6767]

"I will dance", saving throw?, "no, I dont resist"

[@audoldends6799]

I love that Sam just knows the requirements to be a cult

[@ionfalcom1]

Who doesn't?..

[@JeremyCayaban]

y-you mean you dont?!?!?

[@Cthulhu4President]

"SEEE!??!?! This is the power of the traveler!" The Traveler, God of Irish Step Dancing.

[@keithonline20]

😂😂😂 oh god! I can see him step dancing

[@dakilla123]

"Religion is just a cult with a franchise" Taliesin Jaffe

[@SonsOfLorgar]

Tbh, it's more of a socially accepted crime syndicate that uses threats and promises of alleged supernatural nature in order to entrap victims and extort protection money.

[@Kris-wo4pj]

Religion use to just be called cults of whichever random God in the poly ya liked/feared the most in your region. Didn't become a bad thing until recently.

[@houndgirl7365]

​@@Kris-wo4pj ...didn't become bad until recently 🤔 I think all the religious wars throughout history would say otherwise

[@cuttlefishhh]

well yeah, they *did* throw travelercon 3000, what franchise doesn’t do conventions?

[@stingerjohnny9951]

Artagan: Anyway, it’s a cult

[@grennysohail]

The cult of the traveler

[@arthaiser]

the traveler is actually quite powerful. in the material plane he is limited, but in the fey he is basically ukatoa level or maybe even more. that being said, in comparison with actual gods, like the wildmother he is not much. is good that the dice actually landed the way they did with the divine interventions, jester not obtaining any while basically being the chosen one of the traveler while caduceus basically got to wish for something to happen once a week

[@IceMetalPunk]

*Whispers* Uk'otoa.......

[@hinamiravenroot7162]

Uptao*

[@dickrendell6574]

@@IceMetalPunk General Grievous has been found on, where?

[@GZilla311]

@@IceMetalPunk Uk’otoa…

[@Voltaic_Fire]

That paragraph was atrociously written but I take your point as valid.

[@braechaldea2450]

"Its not like it's just some random person..." uuuuuuhhhh well, you sure are right-ish

[@danielmetcalfe5589]

For my money, Jester is the greatest PC in Critical Role history. And I love A LOT of their PCs. Give me my all-star team of Jester, Laudna, Fern, Vax, Scanlan, Grog, and Percy.

[@eric_moore-6126]

I don't think all the guys' best characters were Vox Machina....

[@danielmetcalfe5589]

@@eric_moore-6126 I could see FCG over Scanlan. Maybe Chetney over Grog. Caleb over Vax is a stretch, and Percy is by FAR my favorite of Taliesin’s PCs. I know a lot of people loved Cadeuces, but I’ll take Percy any day. The 3 PCs I’m REALLY passionate about being their players’ best work are Jester, Laudna, and Percy. Ultimately, I think it all comes down to preference and opinion. But those 3 stand out for me.

[@owlking195]

Agree with jester and Percy currently on c2 but those are my fave so far hell my current dnd character is a gun slinger

[@YodasTinyLightsaber]

Now THAT is the "Chaos Crew"! lol

[@Rian-zf7ye]

I was unlucky and Jester hit every single one of my pet peeves. So I couldn’t stand her at all lol. IMO each persons best character for sure is… Travis - Chetney Marisha - Beau Sam - Scanlan Ashley - Fearne Laura - Imogen Liam - Caleb Taliesen - Caduesus

[@Evil0tto]

Well, I'm convinced. Sign me up.

[@randomcourier]

From the pamphlet i received in hupperdook, apparently he's awesome, he has a sweet cape and he dates all the other gods....thats all the pamphlet says though.

[@xxmidnight12xx18]

@@randomcourier sounds great to me

[@gvendurst]

You wanna go to Travelercon? There's gonna be a lot of us and we're all going to a volcano and stuff!

[@randomcourier]

@@gvendurst omg he's having a con?! thats awesome! he must be pretty powerfull and awesome to have sch a big event after him, on a volcano no less so you know its gonna be amazing!.

[@Milkster86]

@randomcourier I went last year travelercon slaps man.

[@Emily_Grace_Barnes]

Travis's laugh makes me laugh even more. It's a very infectious laugh

[@Uberspanker]

Ina cult, there's one guy at the top who knows it's all bs. In a religion, that guy is dead.

[@evanpb]

man, i miss c2 so much. i really like c3 too but c2 was my introduction to CR so it's just super nostalgic for me.

[@TieflingKumasi]

I like to imagine Nott could have easily resisted the command, but went along with it to fuck with everyone else

[@anthonyarmstrong5012]

She’s wearing a Casa Bonita dive team shirt…. Epic

[@WorldOfPain666]

Coming out of left field here, but i love her Casa Bonita dive team shirt. Being from Colorado I ❤ this

[@jackwriter1908]

To be honest, I would try to get into that Cult, if someone gave me the ability to make others dance... Everyone around me would turn into Musical Characters who would have to dance and sing and... I can't neither of those two. _Yeah, I didn't think that through._

[@stuyg86]

Oh, I miss jester. I know it will take time for camping campaign 3 to fill the hole in my heart left by campaign 2

[@stevesmith5883]

Jester really went from a charecter I found annoying at the beginning of Campaign 2 to probably my favourite player character in CR. Well done Jester Lavorre (and Laura Bailey ofc), I'd join the cult!

[@Ando1428]

Traveler ends up being some guy.

[@AmogusCumslum]

An archfey is not exactly some guy lol

[@fallnplays]

Jester will always be one of my absolute favorites

[@Feasco]

it only a cult if it demands it's followers devote all their wealth and resources to the organisation and sever all relations with nonbelievers otherwise what Nott is describing is just a really fun club

[@Wertsir]

Paladins are in a cult.

[@serpentinewolf7085]

Nope. There’s more to being a cult than that actually and a cult might not fit all qualities but just most. That’s why most religions today are actually cults.

[@rikospostmodernlife]

BITE model. Behavior control Information control Thought control Emotional control

[@SonsOfLorgar]

@@rikospostmodernlife and extortion of labour or protection money...

[@alecLogan]

On a heavily technical level, “cults” are not intrinsically evil or bad. By most means, fandoms are technically cults. It is simply that, if one wants to fully make up a host of minions that aren’t getting paid and don’t get occupation benefits, and can afford to be vague, confusing to outsiders, and yet surprisingly sizeable, ‘cults’ are the way to go.

[@andrewdowns3673]

"Cults are just religions without a franchise." - Caduceus.

[@bromega2477]

“Cults are led by the charismatic insane and followed by the gullible and the needy.” -Sherlock Holmes

[@katekursive1370]

I still think Beau's theory of Jester being more of a god than Artagan has merit!

[@Questfinder1]

Yes. That is true. She is a Djinn. Her mother is a Water genasi, and her father is a Part Djinn/water genasi. Her cold resistance instead of heat resistance of the teifling trait is because of that.

[@mayaenglish5424]

It really doesn't lol. Sorry but that's probably the dumbest thing Beau has ever said and it was because she was simping for Jester lol. Her magic comes from the Traveler, she would have no powers if he didn't give them to her. (Sure she could go find somebody else to worship or something if she wanted, but still). She definitely gave Artagan a boost by believing he was a god but he was still an incredibly powerful Arch fey before he ever met her.

[@Questfinder1]

@@mayaenglish5424what is marion lavorre? The Ruby of the sea? A teifling water genasi born at sea. Jester has her own magic The traveler is a guardian. A protector. On behalf of the seelie court

[@mayaenglish5424]

@@Questfinder1 Ok so Jester would have a base level of magic that she could have pursued if she chose to. Artagan was strong enough to alter the flow of time in the feywild and Matt himself said he was about Ukotoa level or slightly stronger. I love Jester but she's not Ukotoa. My main point still stands lol. Also Artagan isn't the same as the actual established DnD Traveler and is unaffiliated with either court as far as we are aware.

[@Questfinder1]

@@mayaenglish5424 rewatch the vox machina artagan episodes again. His deal with the court and gods have him bound in a way. A debt to be paid. And he is bound to a line of people. The answer lies in de rolos daughter and granddaughter

[@arkham7033]

Cult does not need hogwash. They were indeed forming a cult

[@berkerkan5294]

Using the spell command and commanding your enemy to dance is just a budget version of Otto's irresistable dance

[@walker110701]

What's hilarious to me is that Nott/Veth is the wife to an alchemist and knows a fair bit of it of her own merit, so it's not a illogical for her to come to the conclusion that Jester is starting a cult, and he gets funnier as it goes further and further 🤣🤣🤣

[@void-creature]

Oh my god, it's *Destiny* all over again!

[@twocents7509]

Technically… it’s not a cult since cults try to control people by not letting them interact with nonbelievers, not letting them leave the cult, not letting them ask questions, and other things like that. Traveler actually tries to get people to leave his “religion” and he’s fine with questions and his followers talking to whoever. More of a goofy club really.

[@theseawriter]

One key thing about cults - they usually discourage outside learning

[@warheadsnation]

Thank God Artagan is so lazy.

[@Vifercel]

Every time i read a comment about Artagan not being a real god, I imagine that a slight smile appears just in the corner of the Traveler's mouth as he enjoying his little joke.

[@TheRuneTail]

"It's not we foow just some random guy" no it's a random fae

[@anthonyhanlon9808]

Is it just me or does jester and Caleb kind of sound like Christopher Walken in this video

[@charitymabry]

Came here looking for this comment 🤣😂

[@mitchyG90210]

TRAVELLERCON2021 here we come!!

[@kreativkopf9363]

I love how LB impersonate Chester. In general.

[@likwidmocean]

better to ask that before some murder hobos show up and start messing up your club house.

[@dnf-dead]

Jester was awesome 👌

[@terrellnewbill4273]

Might be my favorite character she does

[@UNiTorn334]

I LOVE HER!!

[@darkecofreak23]

Yes, but if it’s Jester, I’m ok with it.

[@cocoTr33]

I miss the Jester voice so much

[@psychic_vampire_88]

I mean, Matt did start his own religion…

[@Voltaic_Fire]

This reminds me of the _"Are we the baddies?"_ sketch from Mitchell and Webb.

[@leandromendoza5835]

Me realizing real life religions are more cults than the traveler in Critical Role:

[@nolifeconsolegamer]

I thought it would be even better if she had said "believe" Like command him to believe in Jester... at least for 6 seconds.

[@SamiJ1508]

They really should have let jester be a warlock. She plays as high charisma and average Wisdom. Would have been fun to have a dark patron and also a goofy one

[@TheMikesc15]

Actually every religion in DND is a cult, since you only venerate the still living gods and the EXACT definition of a cult is that it is a "religion" where the founder of it is still alive, where as a real religion, the founder is dead.

[@benbenoit7209]

I’m sorry but that is not the definition at all.

[@pintpullinggeek]

Yeah, what Ben said. If you want a good starting point for understanding the difference between cults and religions look into the BITE model or watch GeneticallyModifiedSkeptic.

[@rikospostmodernlife]

@@pintpullinggeek or Telltale Atheist

[@Volper1]

Eh, Liam…or maybe Caleb, is incorrect. A cult, really, is just a group of people who worship essentially. The ancient gods of Rome, Egypt and Greece were all worshipped in cults. A cult is not inherently bad though our understanding of the word has changed over time.

[@nyetloki]

Are we the baddies?

[@starbugmechanic5236]

Sometimes she sounds like a Russian Cristopher Walken.

[@MrGargal26]

The only difference between a cult and religion is the number of followers

[@chaosincarna]

Cult comes from the latin word culta. Meaning to cultivate, a gathering of sorts. Any gathering of specific ideology is a cult.

[@jelleluyten5017]

Clearly the line between Warlock and Cleric is this and blurry

[@alleycat9903]

The amount of people not knowing the difference between a cult and a religion kinda hurts me. A cult is exactly like a religion except their founding leader is alive. It just comes down to whether or not the founding leader is alive or not.

[@pintpullinggeek]

Hard disagree. Scientology didn't become a religion the day L Ron died, JW is a cult and many Christians agree. One of the biggest features of a cult is the control over the individual's access to outside influences. If you'd like to know more I wholeheartedly recommend watching GeneticallyModifiedSkeptic's videos on cults and the BITE model.

[@rikospostmodernlife]

What about the BITE model?

[@SonsOfLorgar]

@@rikospostmodernlife it fits established religions too

[@falloutman420]

The difference between a cult and a religion is paperwork.

[@angramainyu4599]

Only difference between cult and religion is time

[@thethirdsicily4802]

I disagree with Liam on cult implying it's hogwash, more a cult is more secretive than a religion, Jester wasn't in a cult because she worshipped the traveller, she was in a cult because knowledge of the deity and the rituals done in his faith are held quite close to the chest.

[@GlacialScion]

The distinction between a cult and a religion has always been tenuous and generally comes down to how long it's been active in society. It's extremely difficult to come up with a definition for cult which doesn't encompass mainstream religions to a degree.

[@thethirdsicily4802]

@@GlacialScion this is true, personally I go with the secrecy because then I'm not really giving it a negative connotation, and I feel it's pretty accurate, the early christians were 100% a cult as not only did they keep their worship secret from Roman authorities but also what actually happened within those meetings, people didn't know what happened if you were a part of cults like that of Bacchus, Sol Invictus, etc. In Roman times, compared to the state religion of Rome or the later Catholic Church, Islam, etc. Where it's pretty easy to find out anything you would want to know about the ritual aspect.

[@GlacialScion]

@@thethirdsicily4802 Fair.

[@BlommaBaumbart]

@@thethirdsicily4802 "Cultus" was simply the Latin word for "mandatory religious rites", this had nothing to do with whether they belonged to the state's religion or some other, nor with secrecy nor some form of judgement. Rome had plenty of public cults, the cult of Bacchus being one of them. The Bacchanalia (and Vulcanalia and so on) were public holidays and part of the god's cult.

[@rikospostmodernlife]

You all should search the BITE model

[@dartdevious561]

A cult just means a smaller following than a recognized religion

[@RTGell]

It doesn’t. But okay.

[@mast3734]

@@RTGell it more or less does as the negative implications are present in the definition but not mandatory. It means a small religious group that others find strange or sinister, often focused around a central person or object. Christianity was initially considered a Cult until it became popular enough.

[@TheMrBonzz]

Religion is just a cult that got too big.

[@blazer2123]

Cults in the sinister sense is a more recent develpoment of the meaning (recent as in from the 16 and 1700s onward, but most especially in the late 19th and early 20th century). In antiquity (including to a much reduced degree through the age of enlightenment), a cult was simply a smaller religious group focused around a singular entity, potentially to one god or another as in ancient Rome or Greece, but also in regards to saints in the Christian world later on.

[@plemgrubern]

a god is a cult with a franchise

[@solomonheppner]

The irony...

[@Stopinvadingmyhardware]

I’m not. You are

[@stuyg86]

So we know that luadna, is jester's hag right?

[@jamauln1]

Def a cult.

[@RicardoMontanon]

I don’t get these

[@Captain_Blue_Beard]

Really no safety dance reference? For shame

[@Lord_necromancer]

The definition of a cult is "a system of religious veneration or devotion to a particular figure or object." By that definition, any monotheistic religion is a cult lol

[@randomclod385]

i wsh to d

[@ZPlayer_2288]

Maaaan, the Mighty Nein was so much better than the Bell's Hells

[@HarperSanchez]

This arc really bugged me lol. There were no consequences for anything Jester or the Traveler did and it was very main charactery for Jester.

[@kjj26k]

Not at all. They both got humbled and their relationship changed significantly, with Jester no longer literally worshipping Artagan and he going against his very Fey nature and confessing he loves her. They are now actually, honestly friends.

[@HarperSanchez]

@@kjj26k Uh no. Them "being friends" is not a proper consequence for what happened. Not to mention the fact that he was essentially an abusive bf. "He used to abuse me, but its okay because we're totally friends now!" That's insane.

[@renevil2105]

Just like the LGBT.

[@fenrizsharp3938]

Uhhh no, that's like so wrong