Jester: You WILL be our friend, you WILL like it, and I WILL probably draw dirty pictures of you and Caleb later tonight! Essek and Caleb: What? Jester: What?
Here's the thing, he always was true neutral. He never intended to cause a war, he intended to tactfully gain access to a resource to feed his self-interest.
@@TheFansOfFiction That's not True Neutral, that's Neutral Evil. To borrow the wording of TV Tropes, Neutral Evil characters are consummate pragmatists, and that was Essek. He knowingly committed crimes and betrayed his nation in order to further his own interests, and before he met the Mighty Nein, he didn't seem especially bothered that his crimes hurt other people and started a war. The fact that he didn't actively seek to hurt other people is what kept him from being fully Chaotic Evil.
@@Celedam Lawful/True/Chaotic refers to method Good/neutral/evil refers to intention (and, to a lesser extent, outlook) Lawful follows a code larger than oneself (often the law of the land) Chaotic follows whims with no regard for the law True is the balance between them -- following the law in so far as it does not hinder your intention -- or follows a personal code. Differs from chaotic in that the moments they stray from the law are carefully thought out, planned, or predictable. Good does things ethically (perceived morally) for the betterment (or perceived betterment) of others Evil does things unethically or neutrally for the detriment of others Neutral does things ethically or unethically for the betterment (or perceived betterment) of oneself often with no regard for consequences to others One can certainly argue that selfishness itself is immoral, however that would negate the very existence of the neutral category and is a moot point in this case Essek did something unethical (knowingly starting a war) but his intention was to further his research, not harming others. He may have planned to do good with his research eventually, but he was aware that the war was a greater price than the reward he would gain. When everything fell apart, he did not care about the consequence of the war, only the consequence to himself and his closest circle. He broke the law carefully, with regard to the potential consequences to himself and others (but only caring about himself) while otherwise acting within the law for his own good (though, he begins ignoring it more flagrantly after meeting the Nein, bordering on chaotic). This is true neutral, trending toward chaotic. To be neutral evil, he would have had to give away the beacons with the intent to cause harm regardless of personal gain. Like trying to start a war, trying to cause unwarranted cultural upheaval, or trying to cause harm and suffering to people (either from the absence of beacons or from the war itself).
In a way Jester did the same thing to Caleb that she did to Essek. With caring and friendship she pulled both of them from the self destructive paths they were on. She didn't do it alone, the Mighty Nein helped in both cases, but she was the catalyst for change in both of them that were willing to destroy the world as it was known for their own interests.
And the moment that reaffirmed it was when she drew him a parasol. She didn't need to, but it was the first example of something done out of care for him and his comfort.
Unless they’re an evil, abusive, manipulative wizard who emotionally, physically, and psychologically tortured and brainwashed literal CHILDREN into murdering their families. If you’re that kind of wizard then go rot in all nine hells.
Jester: I'm a healer! Beau: You don't even have a healing kit. Jester: I'm not that kind of healer. Cad: What do you heal then? Jester, hugging Essek: The soul.
I think my favorite part of the whole Essek thing was when Matt said that he was supposed to be a recurrent antagonist and they turned him into an ally.
Jester and Essek’s friendship is a thing of such wonder LOOOOOL. Love the dynamic of the unstoppable force VS. the floating and very much moveable object! 💙💜
Also because it must be said: I adore the way you draw them all!! Essek looks weirdly snuggly and cozy in your iteration of his cloak and mantle (which I adore the details of) and I loveeee the amused glances between Beau and Fjord. And your Jester is just always a delight to look at! I could feel that hug 🥺
Also I think her genuine silliness makes people (NPC's) underestimate her. Jester: Insists on having pastries during every meeting. Also Jester: uses a cupcake to trick a hag into revoking a curse, "because she enjoyed Jester's company so much". Also also Jester: sending the hag more cupcakes after the fact, as if they WERE actual friends, because why not?
I like how Matt seemed like he originally intended the war to be the Big Conflict of Campaign 2, but after the Mighty Nein defused it with what was effectively the power of friendship, he had to improvise. Luckily he's an exceptional DM who laid out the threads for many alternate climaxes from the beginning.
God its so funny to realize back than Essek was Evil alignment. And just...the fucking hug. XD Great work on the background and characters. that house was breathtaking.
I really think that this was the peeble down the mountain that shifted everything Essek was supposed to be. He had no chance resisting Jester and that was both his doom and salvation
Essek looks appropriately drop dead gorgeous in your style, thank you for sharing this incredible work with us! ✨ I may have pawned my heart for Shadowgast, but Jester and Essek's relationship was such a delight and genuinely adorable. 💙
A lot of talk in this campaign involves the Ruby of the Sea and how she is so amazingly charming and seductive and able to wrap men around her finger easily. Jester is just as capable of charming people, she just manages it a different way. It's her sincerity, her joy, her childlike heart, her honesty, and even her vulnerability. Jester makes you want to be a better person, because you want her to enjoy being herself in a world that is better than the one you live in.
So I hope everyone here has already heard the good news. Amazon is going to do a Mighty Nein animated series. I want this video to be in the show. I want this moment particularly because in this one moment and how well you animated it. You were able to convey Essek's alignment shift. It was in this moment he started to care for them.
Thank you so much! Someone who works in audio sent me a huge file with lots of effects to work with, sadly I don´t know if it´s available to download anywhere :´)
Each campaign takes a while to really get started but once the players figure out what the character dynamics are it really does lead to a fun ride with a lot of great Moments. To figure out whether or not you'll like the format overall, I'd recommend starting with EXU Calamity? It's only four episodes so you'll know pretty quickly whether or not DnD Storytelling is for you or not. If you do like the format then have fun with the main campaigns. Just know that you don't have to force yourself to watch chronologically. Each party is very different from one another. So if you don't like the characters in one group but do like the format/storytelling style, don't be afraid to jump to another group that might be more your style? Like I didn't like the Campaign One Party, but really enjoy the other parties in Campaigns 2, 3, and EXU. So I skipped most of campaign one and jumped to Mighty Nein and that was fun for me. I know there are others who have Campaign One as their favorite but they couldn't connect with (Insert one of the parties I just said I like).
I personally enjoy it. I'd suggest listening to it podcast style if you'd rather not watch it bc the hours are intimidating, but know that you'll miss quite a fair amount of important visuals such as scheming or facial expressions and reactions. I usually listen to it on audio until I feel like it's an important moment or that I felt like I missed something and switch over. If you can, watching it on a dual monitor while doing something else (that you can pause or be lazy with) is probably best, so you aren't distracted for intense moments... Between all 3 campaigns I've probably still visually watched the majority of it despite my recent switch to mostly listening, but it works great either way. I can't really suggest which campaign to watch first since idk you or what you would enjoy best. Just expect an ebb and flow, it's not always high energy. It's a story unfolding and some of it is quieter moments and the slow burn is what makes it truly a compelling one. C1 - starts halfway through so we have missed some stuff but they try to catch you up. The best imo, the characters felt incredibly fleshed out and genuine. Truly compelling characters. C2 - I personally didn't like as much, I only truly enjoyed 2-3 characters (Jester, Caleb, and Cad) but boy do Liam and Laura show their acting chops here!! C3 - I'm enjoying multiple characters, surprisingly Ashley's is up there in my favs for once and competing with Marisha's. But I'm struggling to enjoy it fully cause the hard push on woke ways and you can tell they have to watch what they say for fear of people wilding in comments bc of "toxic masculinity" or a misgendered trans... Matt actually snapped and lost his shit at one of Travis's long set up joke...
@@h.s.6269 i'm pretty sure if the dm himself was mad about the joke that goes to show that it wasn't a "hard push on woke" but just something he genuinely wanted to explore in-game, which shouldn't be seen as a problem at all by the audience (we who are privileged to even be allowed to watch their game)- also, i don't see at all any effort to avoid toxic masculinity, because the group as a whole doesn't practice ideology similar to that concept in the first place (unless you mean Chetney's RTA, which is literally a whole joke dunking on toxic masculinity)
