Everyone else during the first clip: *making fun of Riz* Brennan: *secretly scribbling down “Baron from the Baronies” so he can torture Riz and the group later on*
Yeah, I wonder how much of it was planned out or how much they planned each pc’s arc at first for it all to line up so well. I know Riz and Fig getting kidnapped was scripted since Brian and Emily were going on vacation and wouldn’t be there that week for filming. But it did work out pretty seamlessly and actually played a big part in the plot
When Brennan said "everyone will find someone that matters more to them than you". This man really calling out my worst fears. Between this and "I don't know why I was so easy to discard" I'm getting free therapy
Oh man Riz and I share a lot of the same fears, and if Brennan had looked in my eyes and said that to me, I would have straight up started crying. Struck way too deep for a D&D campaign about highschool.
I’m not sure if I believe in fate in the traditional sense but I do believe we all have a purpose in life. Things we’re supposed to do that help us and other people grow
Truly, the fact that such a horrifying and funny and iconic character can be spawned via improv, and the fact that Baron is only really a character for three scenes and is yet a large component in Riz's arc is incredible. Baron, Chungle-Down Bim, and to an extent Ayda are such great examples for why Brennan is such a great storyteller.
@@jayn0tja3 I wouldn’t say that was what she wanted. It was more like not letting her get away with lazy lying. Lol Just because you are good at lying doesn’t mean you can just completely stop trying. No one is falling for Hilda Hilda from Hildaville on Hilda St AND Hilda Ave. or whatever she said. Not even on a natural 20 should any decent DM allow that. Lol
It really shows how much of a talented dm Brennan is. He can let his players go in any direction they want, but those actions are definitely not gonna go without consequences
The happiness in Brennan’s face when he says “you guys think I’m scary?” Is something I vibe with since I’m a dm running a horror campaign and it makes me happy when I successfully scare a pc
It’s funny cause normally I play a lawful chaotic character but instead I’m chaotic neutral and my DM is flip flopping my character where one moment he’s like the evil in human skin and next he’s just a habitual liar and kleptomaniac. My character is such a liar he portrays himself as a Wizard even tho he’s actually a rouge, a Mastermind Rouge mind you.
Also, one of my favorite horror tropes tropes, “a genuinely threatening being talks to you in potentially one of the silliest voices your little ears will ever hear.”
This character is amazing and Brennan is a genius but can we talk about this accent? Like this half-cartoon Frenchman half-goblin ghost situation is arguably that most terrifying part of this character.
It has Peter lorrie vibes It's quite creepy and it's that sort of inflexion at the end of what he says that just is so unsettling to me personally and if you've ever played the jump start grade for haunted math's game I know it's a weird title from a very obscure game but the bat in that game does a cheesy Peter lorry which has the sort a same sort of lilt and inflexion as bārön
I don’t know if it’s the same game you’re talking about, but Jump start 4th grade’s scary stories gave me legit nightmares, in addition to reading comprehension skills.
@@beefpelican if its the one where the witch teacher turned all her students into monster versions of themselves and you have to go around saving them all, then it is. The name sounds about right
That quote about Penny Luckstone was particularly ruthless. Penny was a catalyst, if not THE catalyst to him going on an adventure in the first place. After they saved her, Riz (and Murph, really) seemed wholly uninterested in Penny's wellbeing after that. If I had a DM say that to me, it would cut through me like a knife.
@@snazzyfeathers "Tell me, Riz Gukgak... your close friend, Penny Luckstone who you searched for so much... did you spend much time together, or did you like her more when she was a mystery and not a person?" Riz dropped Penny like a bad habit after that story arc was done. I don't think they interact _once_ after she's saved at the end of Season 1. Doesn't ask her to hang out, doesn't even check in to see how she's feeling after being kidnapped for a prolonged period of time. _I'd_ definitely be second guessing myself after creating a backstory and being called out for not following up on it.
@@sph3re Oh...yeah. It's a chilling line. I don't think it's meant to go after Murph for not following up with Penny or anything like that. I think its just pointing out Riz's obsession with solving mysteries so much so that once its solved its onto the next mystery without any time to take breaks (like taking some time out of his day to talk to Penny). Riz is a workaholic and even when his friends are being teenagers he's almost always fully focused on the mission or mystery. There's only been a few exceptions like when he got drunk and got the tatoos, and the whole shrimp party thing lol
@@sph3reThat is so wrong, cause in Season 1's epilogue, Riz mentions that he and Penny do still hangout and remain close friends. The only reason they don't interact much is because of his PI work, the crown of the Nightmare King case, and Penny's work with her own adventuring party. In fact, Murph even mentions that Riz's attraction to Penny was nothing more than an adolencent crush and Riz is fine with that because he's not looking for romantic involvement.
I mean, Riz says she’s his friend, but technically she’s introduced as “Riz’ babysitter” and that’s how she’s mostly referred to. Riz getting friends and not needing his babysitter to be his only friend seems healthy, not sad.
So glad i finally have context for this; "YOEU HAV BEENE NAEUTY THRICE RIZ GUKGAK!" Just kept showing up in my facebook shorts and putting me on the floor, I had to know
@@vilkarmooringstead5346 For real! That line is simultaneously kind of funny and absolutely terrifying. Brennan is a master at his craft taking a throwaway “Canadian girlfriend” joke and turning it into one of the scariest encounters anyone in the group has to face. Total chef’s kiss.
This shit gave me chills, especially the mirror sequence where Baron says "You know who you are most unlike? Your mother, and your father" that shit was creepy
I love how everyone was laughing and smiling then Murph comes in with the "I fear being wrong and it getting my friends hurt...like Kristen." Everyone else's smiles just vanished! The "Oh shit" moment is so good!
@@greenvampbun6332 SPOILER: she died a few scenes prior to this which is why there's an absence this episode. But her story develops and she comes back after this next episode.
@@ezrawyrd9275 "Say hello, communist comrades." "Hello, communist comrades!". "Amazing. All of you are dropped into a citizen confession resolution chamber. and your next clones are activated."
You can see Brennan’s eyes widen for a split second in the first clip when Riz says to Baron, “So…you’re born of lies?” Maybe Brennan had already had some sort of idea for Baron at that point, but I like to think that it’s all part of the imrov, that The Ball just unintentionally gave the DM information about the character, and how it can be used to expand what Baron’s manifestation means for Riz in the future.
People have different relationships, that doesn't make anyone second most important. What your wellbeing depends on is meeting your social and connection needs and you can do that. And you can have close friendships and queerplatonic relationships.
No really!! Brennan bringing Baron back to torment Riz over his apparent asexuality is such a cool choice to lure out the small cues that Murph has dropped in his portrayal like it is a genuine fear that a lot of aspec people have that Brennan was smart enough to acknowledge and make into a point on Riz’s character sheet idk I just really love the realness to subtle ace portrayal
As an Asexual watching this season I was shocked by how on the nose Brennan was talking about the fear of being different from everyone you love and being left behind as they all get into serious relationships. Shit is real
@@musiclikerperson except the problem is, when people get into serious relationships and get married you Will be less important. you Will be less of a priority. those fears are very real and could easily come true.
to all you aro/ace people, a word of solidarity, if not comfort, from someone who is neither of those things. the truth is, there is no escape from loneliness. romantic relationships and sex will certainly not save you. that's because loneliness comes from within, not without. sure, there's a lot of joy in having a romaence paertnaer, but most of you who don't have one will never have to experience the crushing existential horror of looking into the eyes of the person who pledged their life and body to you, someone who loves you more than anyone else, and realizing, "this person is physically incapable of understanding me and what I'm going through, and their attempts at trying to are bringing me greater pain." you also won't be plagued by constant fear of their mortality or the fact that you're not good enough for them. yes, those moments aren't frequent for everyone, and they're usually balanced out by the moments when you DO connect, but they shouldn't be discounted. relationships are painful. finally, it's propaganda by normative society, imo, that romantic relationships are necessarily the higher tier over platonic ones. some of the most beautiful, long-lasting, and meaningful relationships I've ever seen have been between fellow priests/nuns/monks who have not a shred of romantic intimacy to fuel their closeness. I'm not aware of what secular analogs to these religious vocational paths exist, but I hope the secular aro/ace community can start looking to these religious groups for inspiration if there aren't any at the moment. Finally, I wish you all the best, and I hope that you all find the friends you deserve to put you in place of first importance. hell, my wife and I would love to know some of you and to be your friends into old age, and our kids could always use more people who love them just as they are - I can guarantee they'll love you back.
I wonder if after the first time the baron creature showed up, Murph and emily went home and she just kept calling him her "romance partner" in that voice
What I really like about Riz in this one is that you can see how much he cares about the people in his life. He points out that Ragh doesn't like this weird Elven dude and is happy to see his parents and his friends being happy, even though all of it was intended to mock him or hurt him. He doesn't need to be in a romance (romænce) to be valued and loved. Ace rights
“The years will go by, and everyone will find someone that matters more to them than you.” … way to go giving me a new fear I have to sort out Brennan, thanks a bunch asshole…
@@ezrawyrd9275 I spent years after highschool coming to terms with the fact that I am so introverted I can't cohabitate with someone longer than a few days at max. This rang a lot of old bells for me too.
In college I learned a weird thing about myself where with a strict schedule and shows/books I can replace people with parasocial relationships to characters. Now after the first year I no longer needed that adaption but I also never really forgot its value. So now, while I'm certain my high standards, conservative outlook, and wet blanket nature garuntee my eventual death in isolation (save for cats)? A little part of me almost enjoys when a friend moves on out of happiness or difference of opinion.Its like the old joke about how great canceling plans are, but multiplied by the rest of a friendship. Plus you get to know they're happier. That adaption takes a lot of the venom from being alone. (Granted, like any adaption or tool, overusing it to excuse driving people away regularly probably signals a need for therapy)
Critical Role and D20 both have pretty ravenous and eager fan bases, so I would not be surprised by D20 pulling off a similarly successful crowdfunding campaign for an animated Fantasy High.
@@amelooloo making something up "wholecloth" means inventing it from scratch. You didn't use anything as a baseline. Baron is implying that Riz made them up completely from his own brain, not basing Baron on anyone in particular.
I've literally never seen this show before but I love this Baron character and wish there was more of them :0c They're so creepy and they're such an interesting reflection of Riz's insecurities of being the odd man out and possibly even being asexual, if I'm reading things correctly. This is such an interesting way to explore those feelings, I love it and I love this character so much for it, even if I technically only met them moments ago.
@@day2139 I don’t know if I would fully call him ace just because Murph hasn’t stated that (I don’t think) and Siobhan was asked if Adaine was ace or aro and she said that Adaine is too young to make that decision and she’ll see what happens naturally. I would assume it’s he same with Riz, might be ace or aro, but best to wait until it’s confirmed
@@rosemacqueen5172 murph literally says "it [romance] just isn't happening yet... me wanting to do that is not happening" in the scene where riz is talking to his dad, and as an aroace, that entire conversation 110% read as a very ace experience, id say thats evidence enough for people to call riz ace! saying "well, hes just a teen, that doesnt mean anything" invalidates his (and many other ace people's) experiences, please dont do so. even if he changes his identity later in life, while we see him, riz is ace. (also, murph + brennan made a VERY ace story in s2, this compilation is proof of that)
*“It’s not my fault I am born of lies, it is the fault of the deceiver”* Is a metal as fuck line, but I’m more interested in “I try to shoot the mirror” because I would too at that point💀
I really like Brennan’s blunt way of describing things sometimes. It conveys a kind of intensity, that gives you zero time to process it. “The mirrors shatter and Baron is dead.”
My favorite part o the Live season is that it really was just Brennan taking one off jokes his players did earlier in the series and absolutely wrecking them with said gags later
Probably the moment Riz made Baron up. Watching Murph, it's not hard to tell Riz is trying to get out of an uncomfortable situation. Brennan be like "!!! .... 😈!"
The sheer satisfaction Brennan must get from making his fellow brilliant comedians laugh and cringe in terror. I can't even imagine how good that must feel
highlights 1:46 baron first appears 2:43 baron physical description 3:55 baron introduces himself 4:55 the things that are true about me are: I am your romance partner, I am from the Baronies, and my name is Baron 5:29 it is not my fault I am born of lies, it is the fault of the deceiver 6:22 YOU HAVE BEEN NAUGHTY THRICE RIZ GUKGAK 7:45 nightmare forest! 8:26 whaëy did you mëke me up wholecloth früm yer mahnd 9:12 yu would not have laëd so friVoLousLy 9:50 you made me up because you are worried about being wrong? 11:05 whaey do yu think your fraends keep you around, riz gukgak? 11:50 the years will go by and everyone will find someone who matters more to them than you 13:29 brennan saying "f'threthriel" in the Baron accent 14:33 do you know how I know that you are not like them riz gukgak? 15:12 I admit there might be something wrong with me 15:45 riz takes comfort in the image of his friends makin' out 17:55 or did you like her more when she was a mystery instead of a person? 18:20 I'm the little shrimp of this crew!
no joke, this is genius, all my biggest fears just became incarnate in the most skin crawling way i think a dnd game can achive, that was so freaking heartfelt, so well performed, so dark
I think D20 Live Episode 17 is probably my favourite single episode that they've ever put out. Brennan just takes the gloves off is relentless non-stop for the whole 2 and a half hours.
Have you seen his Calamity run on Critical Role? I've yet to really approach the huge CR backlog but I watch Calamity because Brennan was Dming and it was a prequel. More than half of that miniseries is Brennan throwing some wild curveballs at the players.
Okay, so I looked up stark and it has several meanings, and one of them happens to be 'Barren/desolate' (Ignoring that it could also mean 'rigid', so could also just mean a strict/dead? father)
I just realized that at 7:27 Emily said they used to fight vegetables, and I know she was probably referring to the corn cuties, but we now know they had just gotten done with filming a crown of candy and they were fighting even more vegetables then... Did Emily leak ACOC and none of us even realize it? Lol
Ally did that as well in another episode. When SandraLynn was fighting I think in the pirate brawl, Ally said “huh I should play a ranger next time” which made Emily laugh
I always forget Murph's "oh my god" at the end, in the same tome you would answer a phone call from the police saying "we found him, your son is okay.." The sheer relief.
