In-game Character Discussion

[LaCelestina]

***May contain spoilers!***

I am actually not quite sure where exactly this post would fit, but it is regarding the RQG world. So, here we go.

I am at episode 60, so maybe some of these perceptions will be changed in a matter of days, but at the risk of spoilers, what does everyone think about the characters? Or is there a better place to discuss this? In the event there isn't a better place, I post four questions to all: 1) What's your perception about them? 2) What's been your most memorable (good or bad) scene with each character so far? 3) How have they changed from the beginning? 4) What do you see/would like to see happening moving forward?

Here's my list (in alpha order because sorting them any other way wouldn't be right):

Bertie - 1) I hope he gets another pet. He's definitely a lovable one, despite what his human creator may say... Ok, he was. Which leads us to: 2) most memorable memory was when he pretty much up and quit the party after his contract was resolved in dreamland/illusion land. That one actually hurt me a lot, and that he was so into leaving was a kick in the gut. Hearts broken there, Bertie. I was fine with you changing Brutor's memories, even just being a pretense hero for your own personal gain. But not learning from all that and sticking with the crew for the greater good? Bad, Bertie. Bad. 3) Hard to say. I guess now that we know more about him, I find myself seeing his actions once seen as funny and enjoyable as deceptive and a bit hypocritical. I still like him though... I have hope. 4) My hope is that he becomes a better person. He has to, no? No? Not even a little bit? Sadness...

Hamid - 1) I'll admit that I wasn't sure the stature of a halfling until like 20 episodes in. I knew he was small, just not HOW small. I think he's very endearing. Despite my size confusion, I really like his character, his compassion, and how normal/normal-odd he reacts to things. Seeing a person cut down in half? Totally warrants a throw-up fit. Getting stuck with a doomsday tentacle monster in zero visibility? Definitely warrants more than a couple of tears. That he actually did those actions, sacrificing gameplay was outstanding. 2) Any time he prestidigitizes. Especially during single female lawyer episode. Also the first time he saw his claws, and each time they've reappeared since. He's taking it like a champ for being someone with a... somewhat frail mental constitution compared to the rest of the Rangers. 4) I hope he cheers up a little. It made me sad when he was wandering around sad and defeated at the posh hotel in Paris, trying to tell others not to worry about the party, but to go help out. If he was trying to tug at heartstrings, he succeeded. That gave me more feeling of chaos and depression than the riots.

Sasha - 1) I love her. She's like the human in a lot of us. She's quirky, focused, so far has dealt a heck of a lot of damage on things for being the sneaky rogue, and she makes me laugh a lot. 2) My favorite memory? When Zult lets it slip that he had to put her organs back inside. He mentioned it in such a quiet voice amidst his unusual fit of panic and frustration, but she was right on it and her reaction was awesome. Also, while saying goodbye to Brock's fleeing form. 3) A good thing about listening to so much of the story in such small time is that a lot is still very fresh in my mind. I still remember how she critically failed to escape her assailants a few weeks ago when it all started (scattering makeup all over a crowd while trying to disguise herself) and how she hid behind Bertie like a little scared kid. Now? Ha. She's right in front of (or behind) being all stabby stabby or throwing little pieces of hellsfire. She's really come out of her shell, and I like her reactions to having friends and people she likes. She's very loyal and mostly compassionate, except to that boss she triple stabbed and never let cast one single spell. 4) Hopefully more of that stabby stabby deal, and seeing her rising as a leader.

Zolf - 1) The leader figure who doesn't have his stuff figured out gets major thumbs up from me. We don't need a holy guardian of all that is good that makes the best decisions and is always right and civil. He's a mercenary with a lot of years of experience, and who hasnt always had it easy, who has a blemished background, yet tries to keep to his faith and get the work done. I don't know what it is about him, but I respect him greatly. 2) Killing the two gnomes after their failed attempt to kidnap Oscar in such an unceremonious way... I was actually kind of shocked when that happened. 3) I think that at first I saw him as a focused, let's-stick-to-the-task leader. I still see him that way, but now I see him more human--err, dwarf. More of a normal person who's had his downs, his very low downs, then some ups and good successes. I feel good when the Rangers do well, as it reflects on him. I like to think he's proud when they do well, even if he's not very upfront about congratulating people. After the whole thing with the court date and going AWOL, he's definitely a lot more normal in my eyes. After losing both legs and regaining them? I can feel he's thankful but still hasn't opened up to things. That said... 4) I think he's not one to open up any time soon, but he's a lot more human/dwarf than other people... *side glance at Bertie*. He was a bit calculatingly cold towards Hamid while he was sulking in the hotel in Paris before he got his legs back. That shows a lot about him and his let's-get-it-done attitude and commitment to it.

[Alex Newall]

For obvious reasons I can’t really weigh in on this one apart from to say thanks! It can sometimes feel like we are chucking these out into the void so hearing people actually engage with the characters is a huge deal for me.

[Brave Sir Robin]

To echo what Alex said, thanks for posting this, it's really interesting to hear peoples' takes on our characters, but it's hard for us to conrtibute.

Would love to see if/how your opinions change 30 episodes later.

[dangerfield]

LaCelestina, are you all caught up? I would love to engage with this one but I'd hate to spoil anyone.

[hyoscyamus]

@LaCelestina , just in case, spoilers for latest episodes.

Bertie - As said in another thread before, he was an amazingly good parody of entitled, racist, egoistic people and as awful a person as he was, I will miss the pun-filled jokes and antics. He brought a lot of strife and trouble into the group, but this also provided a lot of spark and hilarious moments. There are way too many things that were great to list all of them.
I'm curious whether he will stay dead and in the poo dimension or whether he will find a way to make a come-back. If not, I'm sure James' next character will be just as funny.

Grizzop - Ben already played this character right into my heart even though it were so few episodes with him. I always loved it when stories had friendly interactions with beings who were usually considered evil. (In Baldur's gate was a quest in which one could arrange a trading relationship between villagers and a Gnoll group who wanted to live peacefully. The players of Critical Role made allies with an outcast Illithid for a while. In dragon Age one could speak and ally with Werewolfs, The Witcher had Trolls who were just adorably fun when one talked to them, etc...) I always loved stuff like this! So a Lawful Good Goblin Paladin is A+ in advance anyway and what we saw of him so far is splendid.

He appears to be very no-nonsense and efficient when he's onto a task and considerate of his allies. It will be very interesting to see how he deals with Sasha's condition since he needs to remember that healing has the opposite effect on her now. The scene were he found out was funny - "What about potions? Is it just me?"
Obviously society at large gives him a hard time respecting him and acknowledging his profession. Every person who stays steadfast in their believes and continues to do good under such circumstances has an inner strength that's admirable. While Paladins with their strict morals can in general get very boring to me, I doubt this will be the case here. How he dealt with the Mars-interrogator showed that he has a mischievous, sarcastic side and I look forward to hear more about him and Goblins in this world in general.

Hamid - He's a sweet ray of sunshine. His friendly attitude and will to be a good person is great to see. He's a very emotional and compassionate character, which I like a lot, and the way Bryn plays him live through bad events and strife with an adequate amount of sadness and tears makes me have even more sympathy for him. And that he finds the strength to follow his principles and do a heroes work, even though he thinks he's not suited for it, shows he is much more a hero than he realizes. One particular noteworthy, fun moment in this regard was him sitting dejectedly in the president's suite eating way too much cheesecake to the point of vomiting on the messenger, and then still picking himself up to help defeat Mr. Ceiling.

His initial description was that he's a playboy and rather vain. What I like is that being used to riches and vanity didn't make him a chinless wonder. Instead he's very charming, polite and respectful of other people. One of the moments that were really nice to hear for me that made this all the more clear was his date with the receptionist. She wasn't interested in spending a night with him, it wasn't going anywhere, but they had a pleasant, nice evening of conversation that was enjoyable and there was no petty resentment, no indication he thought it was a waste of time, unlike a snotty playboy would likely view it. So yeah, he's a really good guy. And being a bit vain is not necessarily bad, especially when one has Prestidigitation at one's disposal. (I think I'd use this too all the time, if it were possible in RL. XD)
Having him come from Egypt is also a very neat choice, in almost all games I saw Halflings are portrait as some kind of white people, a diversion from this is very welcome. It also makes his emotional, open reactions even more of a nice shake up, since this isn't what's considered manly in a lot of Mediterranean countries in our world.

I'm very curious to hear more about his backstory with Gideon. I mean, I could read up on it on patreon, but I don't want to. It's so much more fun for me to hear things like this explored in-game. And that his ex is involved in the whole necromancy deal is thrilling. And of course the dragon ancestry! (There's a dragon breeding game I'm playing rather often and the hatchlings of one of the breeds look like I kinda imagine Hamid in his dragon form, just with a snout that's a bit longer. They are incidentally the hatchies I think are the most adorable. XD Here's a scry-portrait from the game.)


Sasha - I love our Awkward Neutral Rogue, she's awesome! I can relate to her problems with meeting people a lot. It's always nice to see when she can let loose a bit and has fun, like in the automobile race or on the air-ship. At first glance she seems the opposite of Hamid - mistrusting of people, quiet and uncomfortable with showing feelings. But she's friendly and warm-hearted with the people she likes and trusts and this is easy to see in moments like the meeting with Mr. Gusset or that she instantly made friends with the Gargoyles on the roof.

Lydia always makes her characters fun to listen to, Sasha made me laugh so often with her reactions. The talk with the healer who treated her recurring injuries was just hilarious! Her undead status is incredibly interesting, can't wait to hear where this goes. If they go against more necromancers this will maybe even be very helpful. I can imagine someone casting a negative energy spell on her and accidentally healing her, that would be fun. And her explanations to the group was so funny. "I'm not undead! Maybe I have a dead kidney or some'ing."
She's a great rogue in general and efficient in fights. It will be very interesting once she reaches levels where she has even more skills. 

Zolf - Again, a very complex character with unique disadvantages which made him even more interesting. A man who's been through a lot, has seen a lot of bad things and behaviour, done bad things, but ultimately wants to do good. His gruff attitude was sometimes putting off the ones around him and he was in general not the best at articulating his intentions and feelings. A problem everyone has often enough, this made his characterization believable. The dispute about him wanting everyone to be more careful seemed reasonable to me, although the way he said it came across as less caring of the dangers to possible victims in the area to Hamid. I think under his brusqueness he worried even a bit too much about the people he felt responsible for.
Having this hidden sentimental, soft core was also apparent when it came out he loved schmaltzy romance novels.

His troubled faith is another exciting point. A god who clearly believes in him, yet him totally unsure whether he still wants to worship Poseidon is a really interesting problem. If he does come back one day I'm very interested about the ties his family had to the Harlequins and how he dealt with everything that happened.

Alex- GMing - The best characters can't have fun, thrilling adventures without an engaging, interesting world to adventure in. Alex is wonderful in creating this world, with beautiful descriptions of the places as well as with playing the NPCs and how he reacts to player choices. As a listener who also loves horror I really love the bits that get gruesome, even if the characters have trouble due to it. As they say - no pain, no gain. Real character growth is seldom achieved without bad events. And Alex's sense of humour never failed to make these events very funny for me!

DOOM!!! Keeesh. Mr. Ceiling. Mr. Crow. Dumb zombie hordes. Failing villains. Everything awesome, hilarious and makes up for only hearing him as a PC during one-shots (which was also always incredibly fun).