The Black Powder Merchant | Critical Role | Ep 23

[@bcn1gh7h4wk]

are we safe to assume that Matt came up with the personality, aspect, voice and manners of that character in the 20 seconds it took Taliesin to pronounce Percy's full name?

[@not2shabby]

+onehandyguy Seems that way.

[@operative2136]

+onehandyguy Yeah, this was actually an improvised character, as confirmed by Mercer during a Q&A at comic con (you can find the video on youtube as a matter of fact). His reasoning behind the character, was the idea that Percy is essentially the creator of the first firearms, so they aren't in common usage and black powder is essentially useless to most folks. Hence, only someone crazy would actually keep such a hazardous compound lying around.

[@not2shabby]

Paul Mah This really shows how intelligent and quick on his feet Matt really is. He had time to consider this and create a fully fleshed-out character, including name, motivation, age, and every other possible thing, in the time it took for Taliesin to say Percy's full name. xD Hell, I bet by the time Sam said 'Huzzah', he already planned out the black powder merchant's entire family tree.

[@operative2136]

Agreed! Though I'm not sure he would have did the family tree at that time. I imagine that'd probably be designed at a later stage while eating, or using the bathroom. As a DM I've always been in awe of how efficient Matt's descriptions are. He does such an excellent job of prioritizing the relevant details, while managing to also provide a really vivid description of a given scene. It's an incredibly hard balance to maintain but Matt does it so naturally.

[@not2shabby]

Paul Mah It really speaks volumes of his experience as a DM, as well as his incredible talent as a storyteller in general.

[@daedalusnelson3192]

The look on the Gang's face when Matt starts the voice is my actual favorite.

[@swordude40]

0:14

[@darklord884]

Everyone except Orion. He looks kinda bored and annoyed.

[@operative2136]

This scene does a really great job of demonstrating what I love about Matt Mercer's DMing. His NPC's are always so fully characterized, and distinct in terms of their personalities and affectations. He's like a painter that brings his vision to life using words instead of paint.

[@KevinGooday]

+Paul Mah (Operative21) Exactly. I've been watching since the beginning, and telling my friends how great he is (well, they all are)...Just found this today, I'm totally sharing it to prove my point.

[@operative2136]

Yeah, I've been doing the same thing. ;)

[@Karak971]

+Operative 21 the best part is that he came up with viktor on the spot

[@Malhaloc]

The look on Taliesin's face is just "Oh God, what have I gotten into?"

[@Tybarnick9219]

I love Percys straight man personality and seeing him speaking to this crazy miner. its my personal favorite moment in his story this far.

[@mrrodgers0]

The look of sheer terror as he watches this crazy old coot run around wildly in a room he knows could explode from the slightest spark is priceless

[@kapitan19969838]

Yeah, I like when he's straight as well

[@Tr1sh4Lynn]

I just had to watch this twice, once for Matt Mercer's performance, and then a second time to watch everyone else. And I do love how Taliesin Jaffe is just so *in* the moment as Percy, reacting to everything that Mercer does. Like when Victor thrusts the full hog's head at him? Percy takes it, and you can see the weight in Jaffe's hand.

[@vicentecastro4221]

Yeah at 5:00 you can see the weight as he is pushed out and then he covers the hog's head as to not spill it

[@AnneIglesias]

I haven’t decided whether my favorite thing about this scene is Taliesin doing Percy’s frantic cries as Victor guides him around, or Sam being so distracted laughing that he’s basically rendering Scanlan (arguably the mouthiest member of the group and I TOTALLY FORGOT HE WAS THERE) absolutely speechless.

[@jonathanbethea8573]

The hilarious thing is Mercer made that guy up relatively on the spot.

[@biobiobio7777]

0:18 Matthew's face when he responds to the knock is just amazing! he's so composed at it!

[@KuyalawVA]

biobiobio7777 He has a poker face with that voice and it's amazing

[@rustyshackleford9538]

I love the reactions this NPC got, but Liam's reaction is priceless. The look of, "What did I just hear?"

[@leahlou8804]

The thing about the Victor scenes is you have to watch each of them several times to watch each player react. The reactions are nearly as funny as the character himself!

[@XoIoRouge]

Exactly what I ended up doing. Spent ~40m on the 5m and 8m scenes... *SO WORTH*

[@AlBQuirky]

One of Matt's most memorable NPCs yet! LOL

[@chaosrex1487]

Twist: Victor is actually a crazy old & bonkers metallic dragon.

[@hive_indicator318]

Rip T : My new headcanon is that he's Fizban.

[@jefferycrouse4652]

@@hive_indicator318 Would that make percy or scanlan tasslehoff?

[@EurikaKoli]

I was recovering from surgery and I decided I was fit enough to be able to chuckle at Vox Machina's antics....Then I saw this scene. I was in tears and in so much pain because I was laughing so hard. These guys are the best!

[@TheDarksaphira]

I love Tals whole acting and reaction to that guy nearly as much as I love Matts acting and accent for the guy. This is just always a pure joy to behold.

[@i-am-your-conscience]

You could see that Orion had problems there already.. I mean if you could be this emotionless when encountering Victor, there must be something wrong

[@imaEnVideo]

The best part here is you can Watch this scene 3 or 4 times and still discover stuff, Matt's voice and facial expressions, Taliesin total immersion, Travis and Liam going nuts.... It's so perfect.

[@nukethewhalesagain186]

I just noticed this right now. At about 1:55 Liam shares something with Laura and Sam and over the next 30 seconds you can see how much they all care for each other. It's great and why I love this show.

[@babahabat]

I'm actually dying to know what could've come up in the middle of such a silly fun scene to draw such concerned looks.

[@Avo7977]

@@babahabat We need to clip that moment and ask Vox Machina directly. I simply must know.

[@thomasfinlay280]

I think, timing may match, this would have been around the time his mom was sick and she must have taken a turn or something. Love liam to bits and seeing a bright happy optimist get shook that hard was difficult to see

[@Octy_in_Boots]

Bless you, friend, for finding these amazing moments and posting them!

[@estherk2343]

I legit was trying to check the episode I just finished to try and find this scene again, Matt's voice had me cracking up so hard. Somehow youtube knew that's what I was looking for, rec'd this. Thanks for clipping that bit, LOL. Great moment from the show.

[@VampireTheory]

Everyone being pretty drunk only adds to their reactions tbh (especially Sam and his “Hazzah!”)

[@StealthMarmot_]

The moment Marisha told herself "I am so marrying that."

[@Zombiewithabowtie]

If Victor met Zorth, the armless Moorbounder trainer from Asarius, the universe might just collapse.

[@natemoorman4562]

There's a spot in the chat where someone says "420 DO NOT BLAZE IN HERE" and I appreciate that

[@kathedgecoth4453]

I love how no one is really paying attention to what's going on until Matt goes into Victor lol then everyone starts getting invested

[@hanbeihood3202]

Imagine for a moment if Caleb ever once set foot in there edit: the fact that TIBS was potentially so close

[@LittleMissZackyVee]

Matt Mercer is a va god and legit one of the sweetest men alive I love him so much

[@BlackFalcon269]

Why do I get the feeling that someone working on Overwatch was watching this and designed Junkrat after learning about Victor?

[@Mephiston]

Well, considering Mercer does the voice for McRee, I wouldnt be surprised.

[@spencer7117]

Sam and Liam are the most adorable husbands and no one can convince me otherwise :P

[@Grey_Shard]

i am so very sorry that we will not see victor as part of the animated Legend of Vox Machina, because this would have been awesome.

[@thelorewriter9460]

Returning to this classic moment, I can't help but think Matt looks a lot younger compared to later episodes. Almost like he went through a teenager look in the beginning of CR, and his appearance matured as the campaign went on

[@phoenixmar1]

Such an excellent moment in such an excellent show, you are a saint for making this so accessible :)

[@Firestorm6651]

0:18 I just love the reaction of everyone when they hear that voice

[@sherylw4599]

I LOVE to watch Sam and Liam's reactions!

[@lobokujo7825]

The look of Marisha 2:52 is gold. This is Matt's bedroom voice for sure. Dont @ me.

[@bluedragon3657]

I can't wait to see Victor in the animated series

[@cjvs1604]

His return in Episode 43 isn't even DONE and I'm expecting it on this channel soon.

[@Shortlan]

+CJ47 it's up!

[@cjvs1604]

***** I saw, thank you.

[@TheFireyMonk]

Which episode is this one?

[@cdamo808]

They have to go back and talk to the merchant again. I would enoy it if they keep an extended conversation with him. Maybe even have a quest for vox machina. That wouldd be awesome.

[@SuzanneM264]

+Christian A. Damo Have you seen the Critical Role episode with Vox Moronica that they did for the Extra Life Charity Drive? The blackpowder merchant shows up in that episode as well! (For people that haven't seen it, you can find it by going to the Geek and Sundry website and filling in 'Critical Trolls' in the search bar, it's the first result that comes up).

[@cdamo808]

+Suzanne M hilarity is imminent. thanks

[@Finkers1988]

+Christian A. Damo Are you in luck my friend! Episode 43!

[@Shortlan]

+Jorick Bruins which is being uploaded as we speak!

[@Logan_Baron]

Supposedly Matt did not plan out Victor, and made him up on the spot. And with one word "Yes" the entire cast is in stitches.

[@skysocalbalen6075]

The voice always reminds me of Merlin from The Sword in the Stone.

[@ajlister89]

Matt is a genius

[@GoneRampant]

2:57 Oh god the look on Marisha's face.

[@jumanjicostco3248]

I didn't really know that Sam and Liam were best buds when I first watched this episode. I didn't really notice their bromance at the upper screen through all this xD

[@LilReapsy]

now i wonder why Matt didnt also do Junkrat

[@Ch40sW4rl0ck]

Liam's reaction @ 0:19-0:22 x"D

[@ExhaustedElox]

After his reappearance, I had to come back and watch the original today! :D I love the black powder merchant. I wish I could come up with a memorable NPC like this.

[@nateP82]

+Exhausted Elox Here's hoping that he remains a recurring character!

[@highlandus]

Kevin Broker it takes so much more then that...clearly you dont DM

[@poppyhwa]

I WISH THIS SCENE BEING MADE INTO THE OFFICIAL ANIMATION!!! omg it's almost 2020 but i can't wait!!! this is the prime example why i love this show so much gawd

[@petersenior5432]

The funny thing is that a hogshead is actually 1/2 a barrel. *costs 1/10 that of a barrel*

[@Mad3bunny]

Hahhahaa. XD This is fucking awesome. One of my favorite npc's ever. Poor Percy, but hey it worked well in the end.

[@RPG_Angie]

+Amanda orduno Fun fact: If you liked the black powder merchant, he's featured in the second Vox Moronica session quite heavily. You might even say, explosively.

[@klandgraf6956]

This is up there with Gilmore and Kiri as favorite NPCs

[@Sdcombo]

It's Old Man Mcgucket!

[@ZombieOfTheWest]

Everytime I come back and watch this, I have to rewind it 7 times to see everyone's initial reaction to Victor's voice.

[@mrflame3291]

This brings back memories... Dayum..

[@failsafe1608]

Looking back at this, I really dont miss Orion

[@dalkarancalimon]

no matter how many times i watch this bit, that wheeze always kills me

[@Mileadus]

Part 2 is episode 43 @ time 1:15:30 LOL equally just as entertaining as this first go around

[@Alo-gp7mk]

If I ever meet Matthew Mercer, I'm just going to straight up ask if I can get some black powder XD

[@mateusabreu7309]

Victor remembers a lot the style and mainly the voice of Chumbucket of the game Mad Max.

[@dracowolf3212]

Please! For the love of god! Please let Victor be in the animation at some point in the series!!

[@CrimsonHybrid]

Sam and Liam at 0:19 xD

[@matthewward2058]

I know Matt is fantastic but this has blown me away, WOW!!

[@sjd83]

Fairly certain THIS was the first NPC voice to break the party. Love it.

[@Jeffrey_Watkins]

Oh Matthew Mercer, I beg of you, PLEASE TELL ME VICTOR SURVIVED VECNA'S WRATH ON VASSELHEIM!

[@furiouschicken1]

Andrew Homiak victor died. He took the vecna remnants with him

[@JasperForge]

@Andrew Homiak Victor died

[@arcadiandynasty8830]

@Andrew Homiak Victor made explosive honey I'll never forget

[@arvideriksson]

I just learned there's a measurment called "hogshead"

[@shadycactus6146]

all i have to say is, it’s Very fortunate that caleb is nine years old and on a different continent

[@fatcoyote2]

This character makes me think that one of thesr days someone should take over for Mr. Mercer's DM duties so that he can actually play. Hr's obviously itching for it.

[@EldritchDoodler4828]

He's like ChumBucket from Mad Max

[@Eszra]

I'm calling it now that Victor was he's been dubbed was originally named Victon, or something like that, if you listen to Matt he clearly has no R sound in the named. But Victor works just fine, and we all love the little old man!

[@Never_heart]

I really hoped this... kobold..., ya lets go with that, would come by during the Vecna fight. Imagine mid battle this little crazy gunpowder nutt runs up and just mini nukes vecna with a homemade kegbomb. I know it would be of tone but it would have been glorious.

[@purplemagi2414]

Victor is my fav NPC

[@Narokh]

Press 8 repeatedly for some fine cartoon sound effects!

[@RadioWhisperer]

Hands down one of Matt's best NPCs lol

[@grey8288]

RIP Victor. Now time to see if the Nein find his children!

[@frankdursi2746]

Love Matt. This character reminds me of Ziggs from League of legends

[@lunarvirtue7806]

My favorite NPC EVER!

[@genarain117]

Matt is a goddamn role-playing god

[@austinreitan1179]

Carefully throws lit cigar away from hut.

[@shenronrulez]

I was laughing the whole time at their reactions

[@BaronP91]

Today I learned that Victor's name was originally Vitan.

[@themerryman1]

ah ha ha ha ha ah ha ha ha ha that voice is funniest one Matt even since you started talking like that i laughed every time you did that voice!

[@Mirrodin82]

Matt is genetically modified to be the perfect gm XD

[@andreguia1731]

Viktor reminds me of the coal guy in chihiro

[@seanjohnson3401]

Hm... Fred-104 (Travis Willingham), Apollo (Orion Acaba), and Phoenix (Sam Riegel) on the same set.

[@TFconfused]

My favorite Taliesan hair

[@andrewcole8498]

he dresses like victor during the halloween episode

[@Nubicat]

i just LOVE it all XD

[@TRUEfoe]

It's high noon.

[@virginiamooney4105]

Best. NPC. Ever.

[@finn0729]

this is basically gollum omg

[@jhinxme101]

Are you going to uploud the latest version of the black powder merchant.

[@leonardsampson7871]

My name is Sampson...

[@EldritchDoodler4828]

"Don't sneeze DragonBorn" *I'm gonna go get the pepper hehehe...*

[@Rodark_GR]

that voice reminds me of monty pythons

[@BlunderMunchkin]

The only thing about this that annoys me is that a hogshead is equal to two barrels.

[@dominickfinch5693]

Guy Smith the thing is, Victor is obviously a bit deranged. He probably wouldn’t realize that, and Percy would probably want to get the best deal.

[@LinkRue]

Is their fanart of this? Percy and the merchant with the hogs head?

[@JacobGrim]

Sam and Liam look like a pair of married gay dads

[@lisarenee3505]

Are they all enjoying an adult beverage there?

[@alioness-w-noregrets7471]

Does anyone know what episode this is from?

[@rowdeemunkee]

the rematch. mid-twenties

[@soccergirl924]

wait, what's Percy's full name?

[@GamingWithDredgenFelix]

+CJ47 But you can call him Percy.

[@dominickfinch5693]

CJ47 huzzah!

[@Gamer-ec8dv]

From what episode is this?

[@Shortlan]

ep 23, the rematch!

[@Gamer-ec8dv]

@@Shortlan Thanks!