Critical Role Critical Role Campaign 4 Episode 4 is a High-Octane Rollercoaster

[Charlaquin]

So the recap video for the overture on YouTube kind of sort of spoils the Seekers and the Schemers groups...even though they were what we were expecting but maybe didn't get final confirmation on. Which is basically to say yeah, Liam and Luis will be in the same group.

Yeah, as will the two broody semi-antagonistic PCs (Julien and Vaelus). Neither are ideal pair-ups for my tastes, but c'est la vie.

 

[Mort]

Yeah, as will the two broody semi-antagonistic PCs (Julien and Vaelus). Neither are ideal pair-ups for my tastes, but c'est la vie.

I generally love Matt and Ashley but that seekers table looks like it will be tough to watch!

The soldiers table, on the other hand, looks to be an absolute blast. And will almost certainly be much more fast paced too.

 

[TiQuinn]

I generally love Matt and Ashley but that seekers table looks like it will be tough to watch!

The soldiers table, on the other hand, looks to be an absolute blast. And will almost certainly be much more fast paced too.

Matt and Aabria are gonna be a blast with their whole dynamic they’ve got going.

 

[Charlaquin]

I generally love Matt and Ashley but that seekers table looks like it will be tough to watch!

To be fair, I think episode 4 was the best episode of the Overture, and the first half of it was just the Seekers. And, I do really like all of the characters on that squad, despite some reservations about Julien. I’m just really hopping he and Ashley don’t make a habit of competing for who has the bigger martyr complex.

The soldiers table, on the other hand, looks to be an absolute blast. And will almost certainly be much more fast paced too.

Oh, undoubtedly! Cattigan isn’t my favorite (I like him fine, just low on the list), but it’s otherwise the group I’m probably most excited to watch.

Schemers will have my current frontrunner for favorite character, and the adorkable duo of Murray and Azune, so I’m sure it’ll be a good time. And Liam’s character will also be there.

Huh, I’ve just realized each group has one character I’m a bit ho-hum about, and I love the rest. Maybe that’s actually an ideal situation.

 

[Seramus]

To be honest, I don’t see that as an inherently bad thing. Like, would I personally want to play an angel/dragon hybrid with heterochromia? No, that’s trying to do too much, and ends up being less effective because it’s too unfocused. But what’s it to me if someone else plays a character with a concept that’s too busy for my tastes? Let people have their fun, it doesn’t hurt anyone.

Oh certainly, I'm happy to let them have their fun, and used to exist in those spaces (very prevalent in freeform RP circles) for many years.

Though I will admit to being very mildly triggered when I see trenchcoats, katanas, smirking, substituting i with y, and unnecessary heterochromia.

 

[BRayne]

Have you ever interacted with, or at least observed, the online OC community? There is an extremely common trend to make characters who are super special snowflakes. Often, but not always, Mary Sues. I can't (and won't) speak for @overgeeked, obviously, but, Taliesin's characters do have a whiff of that mentality about them.

In my experience, players gravitating to non-standard options tends to be for one of three reasons:

1. They've played everything under the sun and need something novel.
2. The have a very specific concept in mind that cannot be realised elsewise.
3. They're a poor roleplayer who uses it as a crutch to be distinct at best, and a spotlight hog at worst.

Outside of Critical Role, Taliesin's gaming has predominantly been Vampire: The Masquerade and Call of Cthulhu (to the surprise of no one), so it's definitely not the first. It's easy to look at Bolaire and attribute it to the second, but that hardly applies to the previous characters. With the exception of Caduceus, Taliesin's characters have been rather one-note; that note being "broken but well-meaning arsehole". Whilst Taliesin isn't a spotlight hog by any means, the impression I get is that he leans toward the least-standard option he can get away with precisely because he's so poor at differentiating through characterisation, while wanting his character to be unique.

Personally, I'd find Bolaire less egregious if he was a regular person unable to remove the mask because it's a cursed item granting him his Warlock powers. Though that's obviously a different character arc.

It's explicitly the first, he has said as much