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"Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) is the seventeenth special episode of Critical RoleMatthew Mercer sits down for a Q&A with the chat room and works with them to build a future NPC and enemy encounter.

Synopsis[]

Q&A[]

  • Where's Larkin?
    • Funnily enough, in the same place where Raishan resides now, very deceased.
  • What's your favorite trope in D&D or just in general? What was your favorite storyline besides the Chroma Conclave?[1]
    • Matt really likes the political intrigue. Fighting monsters is fun, but he likes to balance that with nations that are warring and crumbling.
    • As for previous campaigns that he enjoyed, he ran the expedition at Castle Ravenloft and absolutely adored it.
  • What's your favorite class in D&D?[2]
    • Matt always loved casters classes. It was a big thing for him growing up. He loves the option of spellcasting ans the utility you can have in the party.
  • Has the Raishan trophy mount arrived yet?[3]
    • It has arrived! They're planning to open it in another Critmas but they have a really busy and hard to put together schedule for the moment.
  • How surprised were you when Liam killed everyone midway last week?[4]
    • Definitely surprised! Matt wasn't expecting him to just throw out the Abyss against level one characters.
  • Did you know that's not a real fireplace behind you?[5]
    • ...yes.
  • What do you think of the new Mystic class?[6]
    • Matt has had a tumultuous relationship with psionics for a large portion of their D&D existence. The psychic points system always felt like it didn't fit in the rest of the theme of D&D from previous editions. The new Mystic class has got a lot of really cool options, but Matt is uncertain of it. It seems there's a lot of everything in one class and it definitely has a few options that are extremely overpowered, which is why it's test. Matt is not sold on it yet.
  • When starting the campaign, how much did you start with? What level did everyone start at?[7]
    • For the time the game was planned as a one-shot. The characters were at third level because Matt "wanted it to be enough of a character ability spread that they had at least a number of options at their disposal.
    • The characters were originally built in 4th edition for that one-shot because it was the most button-push.
  • What is your favorite tabletop RPG system?[8]
    • Matt is partial to D&D because it means so much to him as far as the genre. He's a big fantasy person, it'the first game he ever played, and the one he had played the most. He enjoyed the Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game and the Traveller system But D&D 5th edition is the one he's most fond to though.
  • What do you recommend when you have no good reason for player characters to pop in and out of the story between sessions?[9]
    • If your parties is not locked into having to keep a very realistic narrative, you can introduce somewhat silly suspension of disbelief moments in the game. Like introducing the heroes, as part of this venture, were cursed or locked to a specific artifact and at randomized times it will fold or steal the players into an alternate reality. So when the players can't be there, and they have to wait for them to return.
    • Having ventures where the planes can be unstable and occasionally individuals fade from one realm to the other. That can be part of the overall narrative: to stop these planes from crossing. And thus, different party members can vanish and come back without affecting the narrative flow.
  • Any tips on dealing with audition nerves? Waiting to hear back on an audition.[10]
    • Audition nerves never go away but you learn to harness them over time. Part of it comes with experiences but also, it's coming to terms with the fact that you're not there to prove you're right for the job. They're just seeking whoever is right for the job, and if it happens to be you, it's you. If it's not, it's not. So the pressure isn't to be better than other people, it's to be the best you can be for yourself.
    • And if you're not taken for the role than doesn't necessarily mean you're bad, it just means that you're not a great fit for that particular character.
    • Matt also recommend to not wait to hear back on an audition. Do your best in an audition and once it's done, let it go and move on to the next endeavour. Because if you don't get it, you've already forgotten about it and already focusing on better things. If you do get it, that's a fantastic surprise.
  • Have you ever LARPed?[11]
    • Matt doesn't have a field character costume LARPed yet. Because either he doesn't have time or because he's scared I'll like it too much. Although he did LARPed Vampire once in the early 2000's.
  • What is your favorite kind of cheese?[12]
    • Matt relly likes smoked Goudas and has been a fan recently about extra aged Gouda.
  • I'm planning to break into the VO industry and currently taking lessons. Is there anything else you recommend to get an edge in this cuttthroat industry?[13]
    • The cold reading training. Traning in classic forms of acting and performance is so important. Being comfortable and experienced enough to where you can jump into a scene and make confident choices, not worrying is they're the right choices, but whatever feels natural.
    • As long as you're making some choices, you're doing it right. And if it's not the right path, the director will guide you back on track but they much prefer having someone who's bold in their choices. Commit.
    • For voice over, reading out loud. Taking the scripts and reading them. That's the cold read and you'll have to learn how to do that. Rarely you'll have the script in advance for a project, and most of the time, you walk into a booth, and you're and you have to deliver.
  • How do you set magical item prices?[14]
    • In the DMG there's a table that gives you the general price range for items by rarity but it doesn't really help a lot. So it comes to understanding power levels in the game. If it's a very rare item but it's really powerful with cool abilities, Matt will probably set higher up than the everage.
  • Are you surprised by what some of Vox Machina has decided to do over the past year?[15]
    • Yes. They got together last night and went through what everyone wanted to accomplish and did some rolls to see if their challenges succeeded or not. It was a throwback to them playing in their pre-stream home game. Some of those moments will be later playing out in the episode "One Year Later..." (1x95).
  • Is blood hunter being added to your campaign?[16]
  • You always try to be positive and down-to-earth. How do you do it?[17]
    • By being empathic. Be willing to make mistakes and own up to them. Even if you're angry at someone, let yourself to be able to give people the benefit of the doubt because you don't know what the person in front of you has been through. There's of course bad people in the world but it's not always the case.
  • Pineapples on pizza: yay or nay?[18]
    • Eh. It's okay but not Matt's first choice.
  • How do you balance your major part in Critical Role and your career as a voice actor?[19]
    • Doesn't know yet, still working on it. They're a lot of projects going on, both outside and inside Critical Role. But both Matt and Marisha are working on getting more off-time together, spending time with close friends.
  • Is there some NPC in particular you've been itching to introduce, but the moment never presented itself?[20]
    • Yes, a few. Butt Matt is not going to reveal any of them because an NPC that doesn't have the opportunity to show up goes back in the toolbox for later. So they'll come back eventually.
  • What's your favorite type of cookie?[21]
    • Gingersnap.
  • How'd you get into Burning Man?[22]
    • Around 2008 Matt was in a rough place, losing faith in humanity and the arts in a lot of ways. Matt's acting coach at the time (who's Taliesin Jaffe's mom) had been going for many years and encouraged him to go. Matt didn't really want to and made a lot of excuses because of his false vision of the event, but eventually, he went and was a lot more than he expected. It certainly not for everybody. It became Matt's reset button ever since, he goes every year.
  • Bees: yes or no? If yes, how many?[23]
    • Bees? Yes. How many? Seven.
  • Have you ever had a moment when you almost gave up being a DM entirely?[24]
    • Not being a DM, but almost giving up in an entire campaign. Before Campaign One Matt was co-DMing with his friend Zach Hanks with players Luis Carazo, Chloe Dykstra, Sean Manzano, Brian Prisco, Taliesin, and Marisha. The first couple sessions there was a couple, husband and wife who played twins. In the first two sessions the guy got very drunk very quickly and became unruly, belligerent, and was interrupting everybody else. Making sexual jokes in the middle of people's turns, and turned it into a him show. He's a nice guy but not when he's drunk.
    • During a battle and in somebody else's turn, he jumped up and shouted something obscene, knocked his beer all over the battle map. So Matt made a narrative choice of the wall beginning to collapse and killing both of the twins. Matt apologized later to the wife telling her it's not going to fit and she understood. The husband felt bad about it.
  • What do you think of the McElroy brothers on the show Adventure Zone?[25]
    • They're phenomenal! Matt is a big fan of what they do and highly recommend.
  • Triss or Yennefer?[26]
  • How do you want to do this?[27]
    • With alcohol.
  • Can we see more dwarves? I love their accent.[28]
    • He would love that. The brogue is Matt's favorite. The soft Scots, more refine style is Matt's favorite one to do.
  • What is your favorite animated movie?[29]
  • What about a new member joining Vox Machina during the campaign?[30]
    • Matt says no to that. Seven players is already a lot. Even when Ashley is not present, six is a lot. Six to seven players is good and that leave just enough room to occasionally have a guest. So no other permanent member is planned.
  • Have you ever been charged of a crime?[31]
    • No. Matt was once interrogated by police. On his way to Matt's friend Todd Hunt's house, Matt, bearing a bag full of dice and everything else to play Rifts with his friend, stopped by at his girlfriend's house to say hi. He knocked on the door. Peek behind the window. Not detecting any trace of someone who will let him in, Matt continue walking. The cops showed up because one neighbour told them them that someone was walking around the house with a bag of tools. It was just Matt with his Rift characters and a bag of dice. Everything went well and they let Matt go.
  • Are you going to Dragon Con this year?[32]
    • No because it happens the same time as Burning Man every year. So he doesn't know if he ever going to be there again unless Dragon Con changes the week-end.
  • What's the story behind each of your braclets?[33]
    • His first bracelet is magnet-based. He received it at his first Burning Man. It represents personal responsibility and there to remind Matt of struggles his father went with drugs and alchohol. Fearing alcohol addiction may him too, Matt avoided all liquor until age of 23. At his first Burning Man, "being surrounded by drug culture", he "faced those demons as well". The bracelet symbolises that he "was not bound by the same demons of addiction that his father did, and his grandfather before him."
    • The second bracelet Marisha made for him on their first anniversary. It has engraved coordinated where Matt and Marisha had their first kiss.
    • The third bracelet was given to him by Brittany Walloch-Key who he've known for over 10 years, representing hale and supportive friendship.
    • The fourth bracelet was a gift from a Critter during on of the Critmases, representing community.
  • How did you and Marisha meet?[34]
    • They met through a mutual friend Becky Young. Becky was attending improv classes with Marisha, becoming her close friend. Matt and Becky were voice actors for a web series called There Will Be Brawl. Subsequently, she started a sketch group, inviting Matt Key, Marisha, and Matt. When they both met each other on their first writers meeting, Matt and Marisha "crushed on each other" but both were already in a relationship. Continuing to gather together in social events for about a year, Matt, hired for a mo-cap job, recommended Marisha for her dance and martial arts experience. Afterwards, they met for a dinner and immediately clicked.
  • What is that tattoo on your left wrist?[35]
    • Matt's first tattoo representing the art car of his Burning Man camp, the Sensitron 5000. It's a triangular metallic platform built on a truck bed that has a large LED umbrella that comes off the top of it.
  • Who has more shoes, Matt or Marisha?[36]
    • Marisha. Matt has like two pairs of shoes. He's not really a clothing shoe person.
  • When you get a rare chance to play, is there a personality trait that you try to avoid?[37]
    • He tries to avoid the Batman persona. Dark, broody, badass, knows everything. Matt usually waits the other players made their characters so he can fill the gap.
  • What happened to the Aasimar kids?[38]
    • We'll find out. Still in Whitestone, from what we know.
  • Skyrim or The Witcher 3?[39]
    • The Witcher 3 all the way.
  • Wine, whiskey, or vodka?[40]
    • He would have said vodka years ago, but he has come to enjoy whiskey in recent years. That happens when you girlfriend is from Kentucky and brings bourbon into your life.
  • How do you deal with rejection?[41]
    • Not well at first. Matt remembers he got rejected a lot in 7th grade. It sucks no matter what happens but you have to remember that rejection is not because you're a lesser person, you just weren't the right person. Much like an audition.
  • Matt's commentary on Taryon Darrington's coming out in "One Year Later..." (1x95) an attempts to explain his position and mind during this moment.[42]
  • How excited are you for the new Bill Nye show?[43]
    • He's conflicted. Matt loves Bill Nye and is a believer in what he has to say. But the tone of his show is little strange because he feels like it's a little preaching to the choir and condescending to those those who many not to believe. Still a great show and that would be Matt's critique about it.
  • What's your favorite band?[44]
    • The musician that affected Matt the most is Mike Patton and his work with Mr. Bungle. It was so avant-garde and strange that it changed Matt's perspective on music and vocals.
  • Kind of stagnant in life with no direction. Did you have any friends or were you like that? How did you find direction/motivation?[45]
    • Yes, Matt was like that a number of times. If anything, take solace in the fact that all of us eventually find ourself there at some point or another. Matt was in that place before going to his first Burning Man, out of school he was in that place, and right before he met Marisha, to a certain extent, he was in that place too.
    • Change of scenery helps more than anything. Being stagnant in a place of comfort that is affiliated with that stagnation can be a very stifling atmosphere without realizing it. Matt recommend taking a drive by yourself, sit somewhere and think. It maybe will not be a guaranteed success, but it will put you on the path of thinking differently.
    • Try a hobby that you always wanted to but never had the gumption to do it.
  • What instrument would you play?[46]
    • Matt is more sheepish about instruments, he's more of a singer. That said, he was decent rock drummer, hovering in that hard to expert level in his early days, probably a bit rusty by now. But if Matt could play any instrument, it would be the violin, it's his favorite instrument of all.
  • How's the date going? Are we gonna see each other again? Does Marisha mind?[47]
    • Great! We'll be good friends. We'll probably hang out and get drinks and he'll introduce us to Marisha. Wondering the CIA Bar of North Hollywood and drink over a dead clown under a glass.
  • Did you ever mow your lawn?[48]
    • He does.
  • Do you like camping?[49]
    • He loves it! He doesn't get to go anywhere near as often as he'd like though. They're planning a Vox Machina group camping trip as soon as they all get the time.
  • What music are you listening to at the moment?[50]
  • Favorite sweet alcoholic beverage?[51]
    • Long Island Iced Tea if he goes dancing. A Kentucky Mule if it's a casual conversation.
  • Worst video game you've ever played?[52]
    • Matt worked in game publishing company that made Shrek licensed products that were terrible like Shrek Super Party. Although Matt was a fan of Fallout one and two, Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel broke his heart. For Matt, Having a broken game is terrible but it is worst if its part of a great license.
  • Ever considered short hair?[53]
    • Yes, but Matt thinks he doesn't look good with it.
  • Favorite voice line? Which bugs Marisha the most?[54]
    • Favorite would be Cole Cassidy (formerly Jesse McCree)'s "It's high noon" from Overwatch. Matt is very grateful to have a catchphrase like that in a video game.
    • Bothers Marisha the most: any of the Robert MacCready post-romance wakeup lines from Fallout 4. They'll wake up in the morning, Matt leans over to Marish who's waking up and say: "So you're ready to face the day?" and she'll just punch him.
  • Any tips on how to deal with players that fight over items and gold?[55]
    • First telling them to sort this out respectfully or they're not going to play. If it doesn't work, find a story reason to force them to play nice. Cursed items are also a great deal.
  • Stars Wars or Star Trek and why?[56]
    • As a fantasy lover, Matt should love Star Wars. He enjoys Star Wars but wasn't as into it as other kids he knew. Matt is a Tolkien kid, it was either high fantasy or high fantasy in space. Star trek was really different and Matt leaned more towards that. That had much more of an impact on Matt.
  • New tattoo?[57]
    • When the Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting is out, Matt has an idea of having the outline of Tal'Dorei tattoed on his back. And each campaign guide, if they keep happening, he'll had more continents until eventually he'll have all of Exandria on his back. It's an idea still.
  • Favorite action movie character?[58]
  • Favorite doctor from Doctor Who?[59]
  • Favorite non-RPG game?[60]
  • For players that want more variety, are there any resources you can recommend for learning accents?[61]
  • Best dream you ever had?[62]
    • A nightmare because it was vivid. Matt was walking home from scholl. The sky was roiling gray and it was shifting and moving. Occasionally, you'd see a skull or skeletal hand shape and emerge out of it. He went home and saw through the window a massive funnel forming like a massive tornado above the moutain. He looked at the news and saw a giant obsidian orb apparated over in Japan. A door open and thousands of demonic spectral entities spilled out of it but didn't attack anyone. But each of these entities are attached to one corresponding person in the world, that it knew where the were and was going right for them. When it found them, it just embraced the person and they died. It was this ominous acceptance for the end, then Matt saw these entities coming over the moutain and towards him and that's the last point he remember.

NPC polls[]

Ally (bolded choices got the most votes):

  • Race? (Drow, Half-orc, Genasi, Human, or Dragonborn)[63] (results at "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 26:53)
  • Occupation? (Warlock, Baker, Royalty, Bounty hunter, or Prostitute)[64] (results at "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 32:10)
  • Interest in Vox Machina? (Grog, Wedding, Vengeance, Fanboy, or bring Tary home)[65] (results at "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 41:39)
  • Hidden secret? (Revenant, secretly a Paladin, Ziggurat, Hitman, or he's Blind)[66] (results at "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 47:25)
  • Name? (Rubrick, Miklos, Zalvs(?), K'ryyn, or Noxtra)[67] (results at "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 55:38)

Antagonist (bolded choices got the most votes):

  • Size? (Tiny, Medium, Large, Huge, or Gargantuan)[68] (results at "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:14:35)
  • Type? (Fey, Abberation, Construct, Celestial, or Elemental)[69] (results at "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:28:28)
  • Ability Score Focus? (STR, DEX, CON, WIS, INT, or CHA)[70] (results at "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:31:53)
  • Fighting Focus? (Melee, Ranged, Spell, or Environment)[71] (results at "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:37:31)
  • Name? (Kaeora, Balkanus, Yort, Exelon, Symphior, or Leth'ess)[72]

Quotations[]

Trivia[]

References[]

  1. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 3:30.
  2. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 4:37.
  3. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 5:23.
  4. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 5:55.
  5. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 7:30.
  6. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 8:24.
  7. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 9:56.
  8. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 11:23.
  9. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 13:34.
  10. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 15:35.
  11. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 18:33.
  12. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 22:48.
  13. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 24:11.
  14. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 29:32.
  15. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 31:21.
  16. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 32:30.
  17. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 33:08.
  18. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 37:50.
  19. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 38:21.
  20. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 40:48.
  21. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 41:22.
  22. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 45:12.
  23. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 50:00.
  24. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 50:34.
  25. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 56:05.
  26. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 57:39.
  27. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 58:19.
  28. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 58:37.
  29. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 59:23.
  30. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:00:02.
  31. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:00:37.
  32. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:02:53.
  33. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:03:27.
  34. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:07:45.
  35. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:10:09.
  36. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:11:10.
  37. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:12:43.
  38. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:13:58.
  39. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:16:51.
  40. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:17:03.
  41. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:17:43.
  42. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:20:07.
  43. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:29:30.
  44. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:33:14.
  45. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:34:58.
  46. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:39:57.
  47. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:41:19.
  48. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:41:56.
  49. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:42:05.
  50. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:43:03.
  51. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:44:12.
  52. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:44:50.
  53. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:45:58.
  54. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:46:29.
  55. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:47:42.
  56. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:48:45.
  57. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:50:16.
  58. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:50:51.
  59. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:51:09.
  60. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:53:20.
  61. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:54:40.
  62. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:55:29.
  63. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 20:32.
  64. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 27:20.
  65. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 35:30.
  66. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 42:08.
  67. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 47:42.
  68. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:11:23.
  69. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:14:56.
  70. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:28:51.
  71. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:32:18.
  72. See "Fireside Q&A with Matthew Mercer" (Sx17) at 1:37:47.

Art: