YES! She was innocent, but not a flat character. She learned, grew, and evolved!

Well, there's also the fact that you can't really compare character depth between most traditional media and roleplaying games. For example, in an average movie, there is simply not enough runtime to organically establish and flesh out a character in the same way. You can't expect the same level of character depth from, say, a 2-hour long movie or a 300-page novel, and a 500+ hour long D&D campaign. It is entirely possible, that if we condense the story of CRC2 into a similar format, that Jester would come off much dumber, flatter and more ignorant as a character, than how we all know her. This is something I realized after watching the Vox Machina animated show. Not to say the characters were depicted poorly in it, not at all, just that there is an enormous gap in what's possible. tl;dr: imo it isn't fair to compare 500+ hour D&D campaigns with other forms of fiction, when talking about character depth

Laura's emotional intelligence is off the charts. I'd also mention how well she uses her characters' abilities in combat. Tactically smart in addition to her psychological insight.

The difference is to keep an honest hope for a better future, hope for each character and for the world in general. That is how you avoid seeming silly or cringy.

And I think the one thing she was truly “innocent” on was the whole “porn is real life relationships” 😂 which was partially a meme but also a really good example of how she couldn’t have learned that with her upbringing.

Maybe the most epic scene in DnD. The creativity, the set up, the con, beating the odds. So good

@@tom2678 Dunno. I have a special place in my heart for, "Oh the Ruby of the Sea is the best lay ever."

That scene was a master class on just how epic Laura / Jester is.

Sincerely the best moment of the campaign

In one moment, Laura Bailey did the impossible, she won DND. She became a legend in all of our hearts and minds

She was LOOKING for a chance

Pretty sure she just needed to tell Matt that she was going to romance Fjord in this campaign and he made it happen.

Oskarrr...

I STILL want an irl Tusk Love! Come on guys I want the smut give us it XD

She didnt tell matt that specifically, but im sure she let matt know her goal was to get travis to come around to romance at the table and matt helped make it make sense by having Jester run across Tusk Love, cause it would make total since a innocent chaotic woman would read a book about tusk love and become obsessed with the idea of being with a orc or half orc

Laura did a fantastic job making her truly feel like a fleshed out character, I was so impressed watching it unfold

This is also an incredibly good point. The kidnapping was somewhat of a turning point for her character, and I think she handled it flawlessly

The moment when she asked The Traveler "why didn't you come?" changed everything I thought I understood about Jester up to that point.

I will get to Liam eventually! I probably will focus on other series outside of critical role for a bit thoughj

Also his ability to describe and being a half dm for his own things, like spells and his tower

I think Liam leaves Liam at home and shows up IN character.

@@mtndewmslayer2564 Reminds a lot of when you Brennan Lee Mulligan as a player rather than a DM. It's all that focus and attention that's usually put into building a whole world condensed down to being on a single character.

To the point where it was such a great jarring joke in the return to Victors shop. "Vax is going to stay here and fail to remain in character."

thisssssss

Mmmmm not really though. Her mother still chose her lifestyle and profession over her child. Jester was basically kept a secret and rarely ever allowed out of the house at all and never had any friends, all because her mother was scared of people finding out she had a daughter and it effecting her business. That's selfish and neglectful parenting however you look at it. She might very well have loved Jester but she still loved her position more. Do you really think if a mother really loved her child with all her heart she wouldn't deal with her own agoraphobia and problems in order to give her child the best and most fulfilling life possible? Seems more it was an excuse she made to herself to justify picking her job and comfy lifestyle over her child growing up and having a normal life.

This is true! I can't wait to do a breakdown of Cad eventually

Honestly I think Cad and Jester are two sides of the same coin, each being the heart of the party in different ways. While Jester is the "child" and brings out a certain protectiveness and hope in the other members, Caduceus sort of fills that role of family and something to just hold onto, particularly for Caleb. He serves the purpose of being a guiding hand for Fjord and a sort of big brother in the way he helps assure Veth that she's a good mother. He serves as a point of stability for Yasha after her experiences and I think that sort of stability and friendship helped her truly branch out and have a healthy relationship with Beau. Jester does a lot and Cad does an equal number of amazing things to be a pillar all the members. In some ways I think if Molly has survived he might have strived to fill that role in his own way but due to lacking certain features like a complete and happy family, it would've come up short.(of course we can't truly predict what role Molly might have evolved to fill, but I think Cad does an amazing job of support).

Cad wasn't the heart, he was the compass.

@@Rated314 Why not both? Both a guiding hand and a heart.

@@Sanya6496 that's up to them. In my perception watching C2... Cad spent as much time freaking out. He was there and helped sort mental stuff... but the emotional stuff was all Jester, all the time.

Yeah she was MADE to be loved and by God she succeeded

Didn’t Nott admit to liking her too?

I don't think especially considering that nott was already married. I could be wrong.

@@LocalMaple No, she did nott

Caleb? Not really.

Not sure if this is the reply you mean but I love it when Essek said "well that depends, you show me a little kindness" and she replied, "We've done nothing but show you kindness"... ❤️

@@Picklescape ah, I didn't mean any specific bit, but just her response overall. Holding his hand, her focus on the topic when saying, "he said we were friends?", and indeed what you mention as well. Just her approach/'response' to the whole thing. Though funnily enough I feel Caleb of all TM9 responded the most reasonably haha, her enthusiastic unwavering faith in him did a number no doubt. Jester is a special person ♡

I think it all stemmed from when Henry Crabgrass told her it hurt to be stepped on and she says: “Now I know why Essek floats everywhere! He has a heart of gold!”

Couldn't agree more. One of my favourite interactions between the two, who are my two favourite characters of campaign 2, is in episode 92, Home is Where the Heart is, when Beau confronts her dad (literally one of the most difficult and gut-wrenching episodes for me to watch in the whole history of CR, props to Marisha). Jester pulls her aside for a moment. - Beau: How did you do it? - Jester: Do what? - Beau: Forgive your dad so quickly? - Jester: Well, I mean, he seemed pretty earnest, and there's not a lot to be gained from holding grudges. You know, it feels like poison inside of you. How much better would it feel if you could just be clean? - Beau: But I'm so good at holding grudges. - Jester: I know, you're really good at it. - Beau: You make an interesting point, though. Beau is really in awe and also somehow envious of Jester's ability to be so forgiving and loving to someone who's been shitty, and you can tell with that "How did you do it?" that she really looks up to Jester when it comes to kindness, forgiveness and just being a good person.

"You're getting loved motherfucker!" is a good one too

Ahh you would be surprised how many men are not.

That sounds SO COOL!

I completely agree. Cad made such a huge difference to the other characters in his own, quiet way.

Can I watch C2 without having watched C1 yet?, Or is it better to go in order?, I have wanted to watch CR for a while but I have heard it's loooooong. Although to be fair I am watching World of Io at the moment which (at the time of writing this) has like 255+ episodes, but you know, the heart be fickle it whatever

@@adrianrandom3448 You should start with C2 ! C1 is currently made into an Animated Series (Legends of Vox Machina, Season 1 was AWESOME). C3 is in its beginnings and has HEAVY spoilers for C1. C2 is its own thing. Their DM didn't want ANY spoilers, stories or characters from C1 in it.

@@Luzarioth I started with Amazon’s animated series then went straight to C2 after hearing Jester’s accent and description… she’s perfect. I will blow $200+ when her sideshow collectible comes out later this year

Yeah me too. I honestly found Jester really annoying at the beginning. I tend to find the childish thing obnoxious more than cute. Especially when I learned that she was an adult and not a literal child as I had thought before starting C2. She's growing on me more now that I'm far enough in to see her mature more. I much prefer Caduceus as the therapy friend personally, just as I prefer Orym in C3 over FCG.

You're right, Jester being sweet and kind and a little silly is definitely a conscious choice on her part, and one that she uses to her advantage, and I love that. She finds herself in a world of sinister political machinations and deliberate cruelty, and she pushes back against it by saying, no -- hamster-sized unicorns and pastries! She chooses joy, with intent and without shame, because joy is what she feels the world needs. It's very much a "be the change you want to see" kind of vibe, and she does it naturally and organically, simply because that's who Jester is. It's right there in the name.

First of all let me just say that I love the concept of your character. He truly sounds charming and very sweet, I especially love the idea that he finds everyone cool and is cheering them on. He actually has way too many similarities to my character we're playing in our campaign, especially in build and backstory. My character is a goblin druid, circle of spores, who's 14 in human years (like 5 or 6 in goblin years), and she's FROM the Feywild, specifically from a village of giants, where she has the kinship of giants, who are responsible for protecting the Everlasting Flame from the Tree of Life, the source of all life and magic in the Feywild. She had a disarmingly happy and innocent backstory compared to the others who had hardcore tragic ones, because the flame was mysteriously snuffed out and she was tasked to figure out where it was and bring it back using her druidic powers, but on her way to a grand adventure she got lost and accidentally left the Feywild and entered Feyrûn without even knowing it, which is where she met the party. And let me just say, being born and (mostly) raised in the Feywild, she's an absolute agent of chaos in the most charming way to the point where the other two depressed and brooding characters (we have a small party of three) actually genuinely light up and learn to have fun and not take things so seriously or grimly. At the beginning of the campaign it was all just mischievous fun and chaos, but once things started to get serious, our DM being evil and enjoying suffering plus poetic dice rolls lead to my character being traumatised during the actual campaign which hit extremely hard (for example, returning to find everyone in her village dead with no survivors, herself feeling like a failure because she didn't find the flame to save them, finding out two evil forest hags set it all up as a joke to laugh at her, and then saving both her other party members from a powerful lich that killed both of them, and she had to keep them alive or revive them, all while killing the lich, and all that in an extremely hard battle that burned all my spells) (also to note on her dark character development, the dice rolls spoke that she had the final kill on both of those boss battles, kind of showing her dabbling into revenge and punishment). It was honestly kind of shocking seeing the "heart" of the party like a ghost afterwards, getting angry and sad and upset, letting vengeance enter her heart, but also being much stronger emotionally and mentally than the other two, who in their own pasts respectively both gave up on life from the things that happened to them. Compared to them, my character didn't miss a beat and was devoted to do what's right with a new strong motivation, despite hurting so much. And the amazing thing is that what she went through ACTUALLY had some similarities to the backstories of the other characters that had traumatised them, not many, just some little details that they could relate with, so by trying to help her they actually started to help themselves, but what's interesting is that whatever the others lack in her wisdom and lightheartedness, she only lacks in life experience because she's so young. She actually looks up to them in many ways, but despite being the youngest by a lot, she's the one with most her shit together (Wisdom score of 20, guys), just in her own way. She's still strong and functional, much more than the other two, she's just more quiet and confused and a bit darker. Daresay, mature? We have a joke that both the other characters would rather die than watch my character die or suffer. It's kinda fun being the comic relief and the heart of the story at once. Edit: If you'd like any advice for playing a kid character that others will actually want to play with, make sure they're not too childish in the way they act. You can combine innocence with maturity, and that's going to work especially well by playing the "heart". Remember to not necessarily roleplay a child, think of it as a small person with very little life experience. Most kids are smarter and more mature than they seem anyway, especially in a scenario where they have skills in the same level of other adult adventurers. Make sure to have something valuable to give to the party in the exact same way you'd play any character. If they're a fighter, make them the best swordsman. If they're a bard, make them the most charismatic. Make them the smartest or the wisest or the most sneaky and dexterous, or just really good at it if not the best, but don't be afraid to give them childish quirks such being extremely physically weak or they're really impressionable like in your case. Just don't roleplay an average child for the sake of playing just a child, and your character will be loveable and unforgettable :)

Damn bros you guys throwing those long ass background comment at each others rly cured my short time reading problem

Thank you!

She still chose her profession over her child. She made the active decision to keep Jester mostly a secret, just so it wouldn't effect the most profitable part of her business. She could have allowed Jester to have a normal happy childhood while still performing her singing and such which was clearly very talented at without having a child being any kind of issue, but no, she knew that the 'lady of the night' stuff is what made her the most money and that having a child was a liability to that, so she made the decision to deny Jester growing up with any friends to hold onto it.

@@Noobie2k7 And what would happen if she couldn’t support her and Jester on singing alone? It might mean that Jester is isolated, but she would be safe, and cared for. And as a singer, then she would likely be *forced* into travelling to large, wide open spaces to sing, as unsurprisingly, that’s where a voice can carry well. And then that would only compound her agoraphobia. You can say whatever you want, but in this case, I say that Marian chose stability over risk. Singers lose their voices; courtesans fall out of favour; a courtesan famous for her singing can make her fortune large enough and amass enough of a loyal audience to keep herself and maybe her daughter living comfortably for the rest of her life.

Her emotional intelligence is kind of scary.

*Fjord noises*

Oh my God thats terrifying in so many ways

@@PlayYourRole Look at the bright side: I gave you a legitimate excuse to play as Grogu. … Was one of the ways it was terrifying how he referred to constrictors as “huggies?” First off, he’s five; second, Common is his second language. Third, would it help if his last name was Irwin? Another way to roleplay the young Shepherd: “I call big pinchies, and glowy fuzzy! One pinchy will be my pony, the others will pinch the meanies!” _Translation_ Conjure Giant Crabs, one of which will serve as my mount and keep me out of trouble (Small Elf on Large Crab). Bonus Action conjures the Bear Spirit to bolster the crabs’ grapples. On their turn, the crabs will attack and grapple enemies.

@@PlayYourRole Looked it up for specifics. Adulthood IRL is considered 20, and Elves (and supposedly Eladrin, the Feywild Elves), reach adulthood at the age of 100. So that’s a 1:5 ratio, not 1:6. Still means my 5 year old Elf/Eladrin has lived for 25 years; more if the Feywild messes with Eladrin lifespans.

Our Moon druid in our current game is a several lifetimes old fairy currently taking the persona/role of a cute little girl. She asked us to call her Wendy. Learning that it's short for Wendigo has made us all reevaluate a lot of things...

I dunno my dude ; Not only might the baby talk get tiring after a while, maybe the other players aren’t comfortable actively encouraging a mental 5 years old into fights to the death and other unsavory adventurer activities (and also I dunno about you, but having my character constantly infantilized, and their opinions and goals not being taken seriously, for valid reason, seems frustrating to me)