Brennan Leaves The Cast SHOCKED | Critical Moments EXU Calamity
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- čas přidán 2. 06. 2022
- In this episode of critical moments, Brennen leaves the cast shocked with his big reveal by the god Asmodeus. In a chilling moment Asmodeus tells his story to Zerxus the paladin, a story which gives new meaning to the calamity.
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brennan lee mulligan
critical role
crit role
critical moments
exu calamity
exandria unlimited
we were called betrayers
matt mercer - Zábava
This might be the craziest moment in Critical Role history
The story is always more impactful when you listen to all sides.
@@pcalix17 Or at least listen to one sides lies. It will be interesting to see just how much Asmodeus is telling the truth here.
Aabria: hold my Blight
@@bluesnake4626 what turned out to be really cool is that he *wasn’t lying*
Everything he said he genuinely believed, he just hid his hatred
So crazy you made it the very last two seconds of the video with no cast reaction.
This is a masterclass in running a villain like Asmodeus. Asmodeus calls *himself* the father of lies multiple times and a third of the viewers are still wondering if he might be genuine here.
How many flat-out lies did he even tell?
Well he... he was genuine in the things he said... it’s just the things he left out that give the dark context
The way he strategically tells the truth or some of it most of the time is what really makes him an amazing liar I think
@@Squeekysquid A truth of omission is still a lie.
It was quite interesting for me having never watched Critical Role. I never knew if he was good or bad until after he was brought into the world and showed his true face.
He is an INCREDIBLE Dm. I will never forget Brennan's Robert Moses monologue: roads represent the false promise of choice, you can choose which road you take but someone built the roads. Gave me chill. It's truly beautiful role-playing
HOLY SHIT thank you wow.... do you have a link to where this was? or is it spoiler-y?
@@mayuwu4408 it’s from “The Unsleeping City” all of which is free on CZcams (17 episodes ~2 hours each) I fully recommend you watch it in full but here is a clip which doesn’t really spoil anything.
czcams.com/users/shortsOP03XyK-pTc?feature=share
@@mayuwu4408 it's from Unsleeping City (idk which episode but the entire campaign is on CZcams for free ☺️)
@@mayuwu4408 czcams.com/users/shortsOP03XyK-pTc?&ab_channel=Sadee There's this
The king shit is that it's not role play, it's just philosophy. Brennan was a philosophy major and he's incredibly well versed and read in a vast array of moral philosophy. Combined with being a massive nerd, he can ask himself why a God would create lies and find a plausible answer. He can understand the ethos - if not agree with - of the worst possible beings because they have to be driven by something.
getting Brennan to do the Calamity was probably one of the best decisions CR has made. He is absolutely nailing the complexity that would come with godhood and morality, or he's nailing Asmodeus being a lying, manipulative bastard. Either way, he's KILLING it.
Knowing Brennan's other villains, I can say with 90% certainty that it's both: the morality of godhood is complex, and also Asmodeus is a lying, manipulative bastard.
He puts to good use that philosophy degree hahaha
@@HenriqueErzinger That explains a lot
The brilliance of this Asmodeus is that he can be both at the same time. When you listen to his argument, when you listen to what he says about his 'gifts'....he's not at all wrong. He might be lying about his intentions, he might be lying about some of his feelings, he might be lying about the history of how things actually went down, but what he says about his gifts still makes compelling sense.
He might have come to this story about his intentions and his 'gifts' after millennia of thought, introspection, and philosophy to salve his own bruised ego, but that doesn't mean *it's inherently a wrong way to look at it* and that's just brilliant. I would LOVE to play a paladin who looks at all the 'negatives' Asmodeus created in this way, who thanks him for creating true free will for us, even if that can sometimes be painful. Can we really say we're good if we aren't *capable* of anything else? Are we not just a kind of automaton, obedient and programmed to be a certain way? Asmodeus made choice and free will possible, and he's hated for it.
@@SaintDaisley the best lies are shrouded in truth
For me, Asmodeus not allowing the atonement ceremony to be completed is the most telling part of that whole interaction. The lord of the hells doesn't see himself as needing atonement. There is no hope for redemption for a being that sees nothing wrong with what they've done.
That's lawful evil for ya.
See the issue is that Atonement reverts your alignment to the original clean slate you started as. Unfortunately for Zerxus, Asmodeus has been Evil since the beginning
@@robinhoodproductions5102 good point!
@@robinhoodproductions5102 I'm not sure that Brennan believes the Exandrian version of the lord of the hells is "pure" evil. I'm not sure he's down with the idea that these beings of proclaimed infinite power within a narrow subset of existence are per sé actually any different than any mortal.
I say this because time and again the Dawn Father in CR lore has proven himself to be a monstrous asshole. He may be "intrinsically good" but he's still a dick.
@@robinhoodproductions5102 If that's the case then why would Asmodeus feel the need to stop the atonement? If it's going to ultimately do nothing for him then he could have just let Zerxus complete the spell and then lie to him by saying, "I'm good, now!" I think he stopped it because it was pointless, because he doesn't *need* atonement -- in his mind it's everybody else who should atone.
“Our promises were to the Primordial and WE WERE CALLED BETRAYERS!”
Oof man
The Primordials were beings of chaos, they just lost to the celestials. The deities owed them nothing.
@@foolslayer9416 I think there has to be a bit of truth to *some* kind of broken promise/bargin/agreement made, if for no other reason than it to be a parallel of the wizards aiming to break their promise to the GauDrashari. I am hoping they don't ruin the alien, raw chaos that is primordial forces by making them just poor misunderstood victims.
@@foolslayer9416 this implies though, that chaos is inherently evil. And the issue with that, especially in DnD, is that it isn’t.
@@bluewilliams4911 Here's the interesting thing. People who claim are lawful claim to want to serve their collective. People who are more chaotic tend to be self-serving.
The primordials wanted nothing but chaos and ruin for their own benefit. They could've negotiated with the celestial, made a deal or an agreement.
@@hhylobates4098 same. Misunderstood, sure. Victims? No.
This is exactly how i would envision the god of lies to express himself, he reads the situations, and figures out how to tug the heartstrings of those hes talking to, how to make them empathize with him. How to be the victim and garner their sympathy. Amazing roleplay.
Yeah, one of the dude's commandments is literally to exploit the kindness of others, and he does it perfectly
But is he lying though? Just because one is the god of lies doesn't mean they are constantly lying.
@@TheKirbyT that is the question isn't it. Ultimately it comes down to what you believe.
@@TheKirbyT thats part of the beauty, we dont know.
I honestly love this idea of them. Most times someone plays the part of the god of lies, it is cocky and a I know more than you way. This questionable vulnerability is amazing.
Commandment #2 of Asmodeus: "Repay cruelty done unto you with further evil. If others show you kindness, exploit it." (Explores Guide to Wildemount)
I love that I legitimately don’t know if I should trust Asmodius or not, like I know I should not trust the god of lies but with Vespin making moves it is possible. Either way, I would totally be ok with Xerzes becoming a champion of the betrayer gods.
Spoilers
Welp, we have our answer
Never trust asmo thats how he gets ya.. He is totally manipulating zerxus and hes a paladin whos a non believer, theyre perfect for eachother, in the lore non believers go to the ninth layer of hell when they die, asmodeus's layer he feeds on them cause he is wounded and has been for a very long time..
@@benjaminZ20 but is DnD canon also Exandria canon?
@@Ryquard1
As far as I can remember the exandrian pantheon is 1 for 1 from dnd lore
Sure, they are Matt’s version of those gods and are called by their titles in the exandria supplements to prevent people from mixing the two up (+possibly other, such as legal, reasons) but I think the answer is essentially yes, to some degree
That’s why I personally don’t think it’s a stretch for anyone to make comparisons
The thing about Asmodeus is that he never lies directly The things unspoken between the words speak entire libraries of falsehoods that he leaves unsaid. Asmodeus is the worst of the betrayers because every time there is a conflict, he switches sides, he's only looking up for himself and his own power but he uses his silver tongue to get away with it. Our paladin friend is absolutely being manipulated here
@@override367 Tharizdun is far worse than Asmodeus…Asmodeus may be a sociopath, but Tharizdun is a nihilist.
"Brennan Leaves the Cast SHOCKED"
* cuts before we can see their reaction *
and even the shocking moment is covered by link cards
The subscribe button literally covers his face at the climax of the scene
MY GOD THE EMOTION IN HIS VOICE! Brennan never fails to kill me with feels every single time
The theology in this episode was delicious! I loved every moment of it. From the "why become a god when all we need is access to what the gods have?" to the "he was too scared to even speak their names, for if you kneel to one god, you kneel to them all" to this scene.... so good!
No wonder they're doomed and how all the wizards after the Age of Arcanum thought the wizards at that time as madmen. They were too ignorant, conceited, and blind by their own ambitions to trust in the beings that have protected them for centuries.
At this point they asked for it, they dug their own graves and were too arrogant to see it coming.
@@foolslayer9416 This statement takes on a really ugly flip-side when you remember one thing: that world history bears out a long saga of humans with pretentions to something like godhood, systematically subjecting humans that looked different from themselves to the same logic as this.
The weird creative fold implied by Brennan's acknowledgment that the gods gifted humans the very powers that they themselves used to create--it gets at those implications somewhat. How different are these arrogant beings from the gods that they resemble in so many ways--including the ability to create? And then add to that the fact that at least one god (The Raven Queen) ascended to that mantle from mortal being via the Ritual of Seating.
So the average mortal in this world is truly only separated from the gods by degrees of magical prowess and their willingness or unwillingness to perform things like the Ritual of Seating.
It rings differently in a game where gods are literally, evidently real (though still sustained by the belief and good faith of followers), but the long history of European engagement with Christian religion (which, along with Greek mythology, implicitly structures D&D's treatment of godhood, and influences what Matt Mercer is doing with his gods to an even greater extent) bears out a similar blurring of the boundaries between (specifically, white) man and god--one that was then used in an attempt to justify horrific things like slavery and colonialism. In Brennan's hands, I imagine that reality isn't being slept on.
I don't say this to bash you, or as a gotcha--just to point out that there are some parallels at work here that might bear out a really nuanced critique of notions like godhood and mastery.
@@foolslayer9416 Perhaps. Or perhaps they are right to question, mistrust, and have personal ambitions. Just because someone protects you doesn't mean they're good; you need to know both the actions and motivations of someone before you can make a moral judgment. If they've only ever heard the Prime Deities' side of the story, they have no idea what the motivations truly are.
Consider a bit of real-world mythology as an analogy: the story of the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Knowledge. The usual assumption is that the story proves Satan (or Lucifer, or just a serpent, depending on interpretation) is evil and Eve was a sinner and that's why suffering exists. And many people believe that and don't question. But that same story can be read in a very different way as well. In the story, God himself tells Adam and Eve not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (knowing, as he is omniscient, that they will). The serpent basically says to Eve, "hey, you deserve that knowledge, too." And Eve goes, "yeah, you're right," eats from the tree, gives some fruit to Adam. Now they become aware of good vs evil; they become capable of making moral judgments. And for this, God -- who tried to keep that knowledge away from humans, yet somehow failed despite his omnipotence and omniscience -- punishes all of humanity, *and* punishes all serpents forevermore.
In that reading, you might argue that God was the evil one, trying to keep morality away from humanity and expecting blind obedience in that, and punishing everyone forever when he didn't get that obedience; while the serpent was the kind one, trying to help provide a gift to humanity that God was withholding.
So you see, it's not necessarily arrogance to think the gods might not be trustworthy, even if they seem to have been protecting mortals. It's at least worth questioning and trying to find the answers the gods have not given.
@@HozukiHangetsu Ego, a lust for power and the drive to see yourself as moral or correct, are unfortunately very human things. Religious zealotry is just one form of that. But it has shown itself in many forms throughout history. To even think we are past it today, anyone for that matter, is ignoring how common this way of thinking is for humans.
@@foolslayer9416 And we know this is all true because.... oh yeah, the Prime Deities told us it is. Remember History is written by the Winners. I have no doubt that the Prime Deities betrayed the primordial and the pact that they had with them. The "Betrayer Gods" instead betrayed their creations. Either side is not right or wrong. One won the War, and one lost it.
I truly can't tell whether or not Brennan is doing "this is the god of lies" or "people and situations are more complicated than we realize".
Both statements can be true.
Spoilers
It’s all complete bullshit.
@@GrndAdmiralThrawn he did not lie he just did not think he did something wrong
The best lies are mixed with some truth. But I'm really disappointed in people who would sympathyze with Asmodeus xD I mean how can they be so naive?
he can do both
brennan pulling his college major out for his silly little dnd games is my favorite thing
Asmodeus was described by Chris Perkins as the nicest man you will ever meet, and I definitely got that vibe here. He is nice, he is cordial, and he definitely shows that there is more to the story than the simple creation myth that we all know. I think he legitimately didn't mean to hurt the world by creating the contrast, but small comfort to those who are hurt by those gifts.
I think the prime deities did what they thought was right giving magic to the mortals, I think they wanted them to be able to protect themselves, and to be safe. Was it a mistake? Maybe... Could it have been avoided, I don't know, I don't know exactly what was happening that caused the need for such magic. I understand the feeling of responsibility to the primordials (He is a being of law, tho I wonder why the others sided with the primordials), but I also understand the feeling of responsibility to your creations, to your children. I think the prime deities definitely turned the betrayers into what they are now. By casting them away, they only made them more angry, more twisted rather than attempting to offer forgiveness and understanding of why they did what they did.
However, all that being said, Zerxus is right, Asmodeus isn't a good man, he turned his fury on mortals when his anger was with his siblings. He did terrible things, were some of them justified, maybe, but there are just as many cruelties for the sake of cruelty. I do not think he wants to be redeemed (Sarenrae will later try the same thing for him, and he turns on her), I think he wants to make people suffer as he did.
all of this just makes Azmodeus more human, lashing out to others and wanting everyone to suffer as you suffer when you are brought to your limit is a very human response to trauma
This feels like a conversation a scholar on Exandria would have.
More likely what we're seeing here is a drop of a lie diluted in a lake of truth. He's said enough of the truth, in his perspective, to make him seem the victim. Note that he literally stops the alignment change spell being cast on him; this is not a being who wishes to be good.
He also openly tells Zerxus he is too trusting, and he's correct: the man so embittered against the gods who stole the love of his life is accepting every word coming out of the mouth of the King of _Lies,_ with not even a single ounce of doubt or critical thought, because they both have contempt for the gods. The spell he gives to Zerxus instead of the Atonement he was to receive? Doesn't prevent lies from being told.
@@Ryquard1 What people aren't understanding is that Azmodeus is no different than any other God. He just has different gifts. He is showing his human side, but that side exists within all Gods. The Prime Deities suffer from the same faults as Humans do. The fact that a Human can just cast a ritual and replace one of them and no one really sees a difference between her and any of the other gods just proves how they are just like Humans with great power and knowledge (sometimes wisdom).
@@romxxii I mean, isn't that what the Prime Deities do? How often do they speak Directly, Plainly, and in "Whole Truths"? How often do they share the Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth to their followers and creations?
So glad Brennen played in that space, Matt Mercer's twist on the cosmology and EXCELLENT choice in naming that ideological branch of gods the Betrayers has so much potential. Didn't expect him to dip into this aspect of it when the EXU was announced but GREAT that they did.
They've really no right but whatever, doesn't mean it's canon.
Here's a question, what if Asmodius, the God of Lies, is lying to himself?
Absolutely excellent point
🤯
He'd know if he did, cause he detects lies...
@@DiabloBG drink your own kool-aid long enough and you start to believe it yourself
"That's the problem... I'm a _really_ good liar"
Can I just say Brennan is amazing, I was completely sucked in into this story because his role playing for this God was epic!
Asmodeus was NOT down with letting that atonement spell finish lol, poor Xerxus in way over his head. I absolutely adore how Luis is playing Zerxus I so want him to come back as a guest character in C3 or something. Brennan also is so good at this I really wish he'd do more tonally serious campaigns like this.
He's 100% telling the truth. There's just other thing's he's not telling. A lie of omission is not a lie as it were. After all the truth is a more potent weapon then any lie he could tell. Totally epic btw
Between Gorthalax in Dimension 20 and now Asmodeus, Brennan absolutely NAILS playing devils. He's so good at giving complexity to characters that in less talented hands could have merely been one-note villains
"Please allow me to introduce myself. I'm a man of wealth and taste... " -The Rolling Stones, "Sympathy For The Devil"... Suffice to say, Brennan gets the character of Asmodeus. He got a raw deal way back when and he's still a bit... upset...
As soon as he said the primordials were there before us I knew exactly where this was going and it was still so amazing to watch him explain it.
Whether Asmodeus is honest in this scene or not, it definitely reminds me of the foreword to Curse of Strahd by the original writers, where they spoke to the original idea of vampires as the archetypical spouse abuser and spouse killer, as beings who use the “I can fix him” ideology as their bait, compared to the more modern Twilight or more applicable Masquerade counterparts.
However they play it out in Calamity, you know these folks are going to slam it out of the ballpark.
Brennan is such a good DM :)
The genius of having asmodeus say this, is that this is the correct way to lie. Misdirect and mislead by saying things that are 90% true.
Love and beauty and honor and trust are highlighted because of the existence of greed, horror, and betrayal. Asmos trickery lies in saying 90% of this correct but twisting "highlighted" into "mattering". All the true parts makes it seem like the untrue part is also correct.
Kudos Brennan. Kudos
Rewatching the god damn episode, coming to the moment where they investigate the cultist's body - the invisible guy Cerrit insta-killed - Zerxus tried to connect with the corpse using Lay on Hands, and Brennan told him that, while he doesn't know just how lost this man was to do what he did and seek what he sought for - Zerxus is a man with a lot of questions, and *he understands what it's like to feel lost*.
Holy fucking shit Brennan Lee Mulligan lmao god damn it, I've had so many chills throughout this episode and even the fucking rewatch is giving me some oh my GOD.
The full interaction is one of the most intense things i've ever seen. Glad I got to see the rebroadcast as it happened
"But then there was fire, and with fire came disparity- heat and cold, life and death, and of course, light and dark."
I know he is a betrayer. I know he is a god if literal lies. And yet even now, I cant help but understand him...i cant help but agree with him. This is phenomenal
I like how there's 5 minutes and 40 seconds of build up only for the video recommendations to pop right at the climax, obscuring not only Brennan but also the cast's reactions lol
Literal chills at the end. Loving this series. My PC's are about to embark on a journey to hell. (Planescape Campaign so not as big a deal but...) definitely stealing some of this shit. Fucking brilliant and beautiful. Luis is an amazing player his two spots to shine and he fucking crushed it.
@@Ryquard1 tyty
it's good and all to always remember Asmodeus as an evil god. however, we're all allowed to love evil characters and if we get a Big Bad Asmo at the end, that would only make me love the tragedy and characters more. for now, love me a funky likable evil god who looks like godless paladin's dead husband.
We did and we do.
I literally cannot wait to find out if this was a dupe or legit
His logic is a little twisted, but it does make a certain amount of sense. If all that exists is good, then good has no meaning. By creating evil, by creating something to compare against good, then good becomes all the more precious and you learn to appreciate all that is good.
If the creation and propagation of evil is done with the intent to embolden and raise up all that is good, that's an... interesting perspective, but it's still the creation and the propagation of evil and all the pain and suffering that entails to be felt by mortals and divine alike.
@@shadcroly "They wanted to abscond with sorrow, hoping to have only joy. They found that in the absence of sorrow, joy lost its savor and thus lost their will to live."
@@shadcroly It gets into the concept of balance. For one thing to exist and be defined, it needs an opposite. If everything was tall, then the concept of being tall wouldn't exist, it would just be considered the norm. If everything was explainable because "that's just the way it is," then life would be dull.
Whether he knew it or not, Asmodeus' line of thinking was just the laws of the universe acting to create balance. He created the things that gave meaning to the elements that fell under the "good" category so that in their absence, everyone would learn to value them. But he was vilified for it, and tbh, if I were in his shoes, I'd be fucking pissed too.
@@nicolaj990 I know that reference 😀 I will gift you a beautiful flower.
@@nicolaj990 ok I’ll bite where is it from?
End cards cover almost everyone's faces
Asmodeus seems like a pretty reasonable guy.
Such a great clip! I appreciate you pulling them out and uploading them. Small gripe, it was nearly impossible to see the cast's reactions to Brennan's yell because it was right at the end and the youtube cards popped up.
one thing i think people miss that they brought up in the wrap up is that Brennan usually puts on dialects and accents and cadences for his various NPCs but for Asmodeous, its more-or-less just him. His voice, his cadence. It just adds that bit more to the unnerving nature of him, if only in a meta sense
This was such an astounding, mindblowing, amazing moment
I was screaming at the screen, “DON’T TRUST IT YOU DAMN FOOL!”
Same. And there are so many Asmodeus apologists here, it irks me.
I don't think he does. Zerxus saw that puppet cultist, was the one who figured out what it meant. I don't think he's totally buying this play of "I don't know where I am or what's going on, Im just innocently sitting here hurt and sad >:)". Zerxus is looking for a solution to this problem, and I cant fault him for at least *trying* kindness and reason. As long as he dosent do anything to actually empower thr devil, and isworking on plan b for when this all continues to go very badly
You can understand a fall (one that may be true to him at least)
And still see that what is and has been done since is still wrong
Luis is gradually becoming my favorite player
He is so incredibly lowkey, and I am sure that most people don't know how difficult it is to do something that you, the player, know is wrong and bad and will likely get you all killed, but still do it because it's in character, *especially* something on THIS level. His acting was PHENOMENAL.
His roleplay reminds me a lot of Liam. And Liam is my favorite player
Might want to push the next video pop ups at the end out farther. It keeps covering up the important bits.
please listen to this man
I'm reminded of a line from V For Vendetta:
"Politicians use the truth to tell lies. Artists use lies to tell the truth."
It seems to me that Asmodeus is being an artist in his telling of lies, that are actually the truth -- especially when he says that the city above Dominus is corrupt. It's almost as though he despises the politicians there who use the truth to tell lies, despite the fact they are practicing his art.
Perhaps it is a superiority complex that Asmodeus has, in that he thinks nobody should be as good at telling lies as he is?
And, I do find it very theological, in that ExU: Calamity, that Asmodeus is in the role of Lucifer, from Christianity, as Lucifer is called several times the "Father of Lies," not to mention the "Lord of the Hells," as well as having a countenance that is bright and shining, as Lucifer is also called "The Bright and Morning Star."
Very interesting episode, to say the least.
Lucifer literally means Bearer of light
I am definitely enjoying the Satan analog/variant. His “gift” allowing people to choose darkness or light is an interesting parallel to “the knowledge of good and evil”. Many people have waxed philosophical about needing contrast to truly appreciate things and I think an extreme and thus flawed version of this mentality is what we see from Asmodeus. And then at the end of the scene we see his “lawful” alignment being expressed. “We had a deal with the Primordials and the Prime Deities broke it” sounds reasonable, but of course the devil’s in the details, if you’ll pardon the pun.
I find it interesting that you say Asmodeus is lying in this scene. I think he’s being more like the politician in the dichotomy than the artist. I suspect that what he said either entirely or largely aligns with what occurred. He just framed what happened and possibly omitted details to paint him in a sympathetic light. If we’re reflecting on how much like people these gods are, he might even have convinced himself of this narrative. I’m reminded of an interesting perspective on the story of the garden of Eden that I’ve heard: in the story, God is the one who lied, saying that Adam and Eve would die if they ate the fruit, and the snake (who in this reading we’ll let stand in for Satan whether that was originally part of the story or not) said that eating the fruit wouldn’t kill them, it would just let them understand right from wrong, which was arguably all true. Now, there are all sorts of debates to have about the details and translation, but I thought it an interesting perspective and in a story that doesn’t ascribe a bunch of omni- qualities to its gods it could be an interesting story indeed.
And yet Asmodeus is a politician, his domain is one of deceit and tyranny. He's a tyrant who seeks power only for himself.
This scene was so good. Luis and Brennan brought so much emotion to both sides of the conversation.
Terrifying how Brennan used his own voice as Asmodeus and it f*cking sold. Amazing DM.
People saying Asmodeus here, is fully, black-and-white, lying and manipulating Zerxus, doesn't know Brennan Lee Goddamn Mulligan's DMing style. Lmao
(He might be manipulating Zerxus, but it will never be black and white with Brennan. He is trying to actually make Asmodeus an actual character here, not just a blanket Lawful Evil force of nothing actually real)
thats the best way to represent Asmodeus, u cant read him (at some point probably not even himself can :D)
He's not doing it black and white, but I'm sure it all sounds mighty convenient that he's always a victim in his narrative. It's one side saying something for some foolish mages to gulp down whe they just think gods are arrogant and not necessary.
Yeap, there is no truths or lies here
i absolutley **LOVE** the idea that the betrayers, or at least some of them, were the good guys of the story
This is gonna sound very Meta: I don't trust Asmodeus, but I trust Brennan PLAYING as Asmodeus. Let me explain to all the Critters who haven't seen Dimension 20. He plays with STRIKINGLY SIMILAR themes on his main series Fantasy High. "The Gods aren't always Good, and the Devils aren't always evil. The Gods have better PR, and are the victors who got to write the religions." Brennan rejects the Abrahamic notion of absolute Good and Evil because its oppressive and he has structured Heaven and Hell in Fantasy High as a criticism of it. He has said as much in a "DM Fireside Chat" with Matt Mercer about the stifling rigidity of D&Ds traditional alignment system especially pre 3.5 edition. So with all that being said, we can trust Asmodeus to an extent.
counterpoint: Asmodeus always lies by always telling the thruth. That is literally his thing, never trust him.
This made me so curious about the other Betrayers and their stories especially since Opal had that talk with Lolth about changing how others see her in EXU Kymal
i gave you darkness so the light felt more brighter... but you hated it...
I can be your angle... or yuor devil
This scene had me enraptured, Brennan has such an incredible talent for exposition. His pacing and inflection took me for a ride
Brennan is made for DM’ing from his ability to make and act out a compelling storyline within 15 seconds of being prompted to
i love everything about this moment. the emotion, Brennan's phenomenal acting. i fully dont know if i believe Asmodeus or not. the LORE between the ancient beings ugh *chef's kiss*
im expecting Asmodeus to betray any promise he made to Zerxus but im so excited to see what happens next
Amodeus NEVER breaks a deal. He always follows through on any deal he makes to the letter...its the wording of the deal that can be an issue
@@Chris_Meade this isn't necessarily "Asmodeus." It's the Lord of the Hells, sure. But Exandria can have it's own cosmology with its own rules, same as Eberron or any setting.
@@Squeekysquid Yes, but it's messy and intentionally wiggly piggledy. For IP reasons, they try super hard _never_ to refer to any of their intellectual property in the same breath as the name "Asmodeus" if they can help it. It's not the "Mace of Asmodeus," for example, which it could easily have been called.
There's several reasons why, probably first and foremost is their ability (and propensity) to go off and make things without the explicit involvement of WotC. For example, their new source book, chock-a-block full of unofficial character options and spells and crap has nothing to do with WotC, so they use all of these Titles & Monikers to refer to the various entities to dodge the copyright and IP issues.
The "official" stance of WotC is that there's only one Hell(s), Asmodeus is Asmodeus is Asmodeus, whatever your world may call them. If it's the entity in charge of Hell, then they're Asmodeus. But I (and surely thousands of other tables) get deeply bored by the idea of every world having the same gods and planes, so I often change the cosmology to my liking. Matt has done this as well, extensively. So, when Brennan (or Matt, or anyone else) consciously _avoids_ using those names, it's for several reasons; Like I said, the IP one is probably the biggest, since then they don't risk infringement. But the less big one, and the one that (to me, anyway) is of relevance and importance here is that it _does_ imply a subtle amount of separation, a subtle distinction. Can we conceive of a world on the Prime Material Plane that existed for _hundreds_ of years with Asmodeus just wandering around and hanging out with the other gods and not hating and reviling each other? No.
(Spoilers)
Can we conceive of an Asmodeus who _doesn't_ want to conquer the multiverse, he wants to kill all mortals, annihilate a world, and force those who (the way he sees it) betrayed him to watch as he does it since, in his words, "I **HATE TO SAY** _**I TOLD YOU SO**_."
This Asmodeus has much more in common with "Lucifer" and the mythologies of the devil that emerged from traditional Abrahamic religions than it does typical depictions of Asmodeus. Later episodes, Brennan even calls him "The Devil," not "Lord of Hells" or whatever. That choice of language is intentional, and I think its meaning pretty clear.
@@SeanBoyce-gp Uhhhhm...buddy he is literally called asmodeus in the book, and by Matt several times even in C3
You know it's an amazingly rich and detailed fantasy world when it contains this portrayal of Asmodeus and also is the same world in which, many many years later, Henry Crabgrass teaches us about consent.
I was so not ready for Brennan to scream at the end of this moment. I like physically recoiled when I listened to it the first time.
ooooh fff i didnt realise brennen was speaking as asmodeus till almost the end when i look at the desription
it added sooooo much extra too it
If an Oscar can be given for a CZcams series then Brennan deserves one. His performance in The Calamity series was nothing less than superb acting.
This is the best thing to come out of critical role
This shit had me shook last night I cried
The thing that's crazy to me is how well Brennen captures Asmodius. Like listing to that whole speech he fucking has me hook line and sinker, even though I know this is the god of lies every fibre of me wants to believe and sympathise with him and it's sooo hard to remember who he is.
Good job brennan, u made half of the comments actually believe on what Asmodeus said 😂😂😂
Help! What is the music in the background? I have to know!
Can someone please tell me what I need to search or drop a link to where I can see the full episode(s)
Wish I could see the faces of everyone at the end but the other vid links just cover almost everyone up
History is written by the winners, as always
Those links popped up at exactly the wrong time
Brennan is amazing!
I KNEW Brennan Lee "Ro'ro'ro'ro'ro'kin'drath" Mulligan would be perfect for this mini season. Watching him from Adventure High I knew the cosmic horror and unsurmountable dread would be exactly what I wanted from a view into the Calamity. I'm so glad most of the fans seem to agree!
Beware SYMPATHY for the DEVIL
Asmodeus is a hell of a salesman
Do I have to be caught up with the current season of critical role and the other EXU properties to understand the events happening in Calamity?
Nope
no, Calamity is 1000 year prequel to the campaigns
You might get a bit more context for certain moments that had the lower table: Sam, Aabria, and Travis reacted so.
The best lies of all are not lies at all. If truth hurts more than any lie then there is no need to lie.
What is the song?
What a trustworthy fellow!
😅
Next week Brennan makes us cry for the chained oblivion
That's a very tall order. From what I gather Tharizdun is a big fan of entropy.
Brennan is BRILLIANT
Ahriman is at it again.
I love how this description, true or not, means that the war between the gods was started because of a bad reaction to constructive criticism of an art project by Asmodeus, from a certain point of view.
Where can you watch this?
Check the Critical Role channel on CZcams! This is part of a 4 part mini-series called EXU: Calamity (The clip above is from Episode 2) The actual show is "live" on Twitch and CZcams every Thursday at 7pm PST, and they post the recording on the Critical Role channel every Monday. Hope that helps!
Can anyone tell me what Ceremony would have done or it's implications and why Asmodeus stopped it
changes your alignment back to your original alignment
I doubt it would've had an effect ("Atonement" changes a creature's alignment back to its original one on a successful insight check, but the DC is laughable with the target being a god AND THE FATHER OF LIES), but I imagine Zerxus's IDEA was to restore him to what he THOUGHT was his original alignment. Some form of neutral or good, he might suspect. But either way, I think Asmo stopped it because 1. It's silly, 2. It wouldn't work anyway, 3. It's a great flex, and finally 4...... He doesn't WANT to atone.
Ceremony has a number of different effects that can be chosen, Zerxus chose Atonement: Atonement. You touch one willing creature whose alignment has changed, and you make a DC 20 Wisdom (Insight) check. On a successful check, you restore the target to its original alignment.
Asmodeus was originally (if we go based on usually dnd, tho Exandria may be different) lawful good, but changed... If I had to guess why he stopped it, is because he doesn't want redemption, he wants war, to make his enemies suffer, he wants Ghor Dranas.
Echoing what the others before said and adding here this is a great way to keep some mystery; you will NEVER know what Asmodeus's "true" alignment was, you will always be kept guessing.
@@Brunetta6 exactly. But that's all a player needs to know he's in fact trying to deceive.
It's important for folks to note, Exandria avoids the specific names of the gods in the official lore. Explorers Guide to Wildemount, Call of the Netherdeep, none of these call the Lord of the Hells "Asmodeus." And he doesn't call himself that either. Same with Llolth or any of the other names. Exandria doesn't run on Forgotten Realms rules. So what we know about Asmodeus and betrayers and demons and primordials - might not mean anything in this setting.
Buddy just no, you are 100% wrong on that. He is literally called Asmodeus in Explorer´s Guide, _All_ the gods have their names in those books
wait.. where do i find the second episode?
Episodes are officially realest on Mondays at about noon pacific time
The subscribe button at the end literally covers his face at the climax of the scene. Good job CZcams 🙄
It'd be great to actually see the cast being shocked as mentioned in the video title, unfortunately the end cards have covered up 2/3rds of the reactions.
Wow, really mucked up the delivery of this with the end cards. Guess it's still good audio though.
First. Yay. Also. Why is Zerxus so trusting?
This temptation is practically tailor made to manipulate Zerxus. Zerxus is a paladin that detests high and mighty gods, would give anything for the people, and is mourning the death of his husband.
-Asmodeus is disparaging the other gods as arrogant and in the wrong, which plays to what Zerxus already believes. He's also speaking to him as an equal, which causes the paladin to see him as a man instead of some otherworldly force he can dismiss.
-Asmodeus is talking to him in the guise of a wounded and distraught tiefling who was betrayed and abused, which triggers the part of him that lives to protect the oppressed and right wrongs.
-Asmodeus has taken a form that looks like his late husband if he was a tiefling, which puts Zerxus right away in a vulnerable mindset and makes the Lord of the Hells easier to trust.
The best lies are told through Truths... And Asmodeous is the father of Lies, and Zerxus is being lied to.
@@joenap17 Playing Asmodeus's advocate for a moment... yes, all those things make it easier for Zerxus to trust him, but what evidence do we have that it's manipulation? Perhaps those things that make him trustworthy are simply true and viable reasons to trust him, and the reasons for not trusting him are propaganda and prejudice, just as he said.
@@IceMetalPunk Yeah, there's a chance that Brennan is pulling a Cassandra here.
@@IceMetalPunk The evidence is that Asmodeus literally invented the concepts of lying and betrayal. Anything he says should be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Of course Asmodeus cancelled ceremony. He cant lose his alignment.
For the guys who are reading way to hard into the ceremony failure you are over thinking it. It simply could just be that Brennan, as all DM's have to do, was managing what little time he had left for the session to end on a high note. The casting time for the spell is 1 hr. It really sucks all the build up to these last 10ish minutes of the session to say "Yeah sure you both just chill out for an hr in the alternate dimension. He spends some time cleaning up the place well you focus on completing the spell. Not like you have any other pressing needs with very little time remaining." Stop making things needlessly complex.
Either way it's good storytelling.
How you gonna stop the video there :(
Ah yes, the philosophy degree
people talking about how he manipulating zerxus, which might be so, but he does make a good point. whom did the "betrayer gods" betrayed? their loyalties were to the primordials, not the other gods.
he is the father of lies, true, but he is *lawful* evil for a reason.
and zerxus makes a good point too. even if they were justified in going against the other gods, it doesn't make the pain and suffering they inflicted upon the mortals justified.
The other gods are his literal family, the primordials were just the people who were there before. So no, his loyalties should have been with the other gods. That being said I actually believe that the prime deities were the ones who betrayed the betrayer gods. They cast out their own family because that family didn't want the selfish monkeys running around with machine guns. And look at what happened as a result, one of their siblings was erased from existence because one of those selfish monkeys decided she wanted to be a god.
Bruh why are you putting spoilers in the thumbnail???????????????
Don't trust it
I wasn’t expecting to find an unsubtle metaphor for colonialism in Exandria's theology, but I am totally here for it.
Most religions has a cast out god or fallen angel that sided with what was right rather than what was expected such as Catholicism with Lucifer,
Nah, it’s not. Not a single colonizer believed they were doing good.
@@primecreator5257 You don't think that any colonizers had one legitimately God-smitten missionary priest who was just in love with the concept of Christianity and saw it as a beautiful thing he was "gifting to the savages"?
To me, saying that "none" of the colonizers believed they were doing good implies a lot... More than anything else, it implies more monolithic view of the act of colonizing from the same people doing that colonizing. I can't say I agree.
That being said, I would also need clarification as to why this metaphor is colonialism more than something else.
@@primecreator5257 Of course some of them did, they even called it 'the white mans burden' they thought it was their god given duty/burden to bring civilisation to the 'savage lands' in a lot of their minds they thought they were doing good.
@@primecreator5257 I don't think for a second that the Prime Deities believed they were "doing good," They were doing what was in their nature and what pleased them most which was creating. It is like when a Painter Paints are they "doing good"? It is just their nature. When the Primordials then threatened to destroy what they created they defended their creations. I don't think that would be considered "good" either. It all seems like selfish acts. I would say the Devine Gate may have been the first selfless act they performed.
Now this is a hook to get into the series if ever I've seen one
Sure, Asmodeus might be the god of Trickery, but he's spitting straight facts about Divine Colonialism.
you now that one of the theories that matt said is the gods are just concepts, they dont do good or evil things, they are what they are (nature, law, light, entropy etc)...on asmo case lies, lawfulness (on the tyrannical way) etc
Both can be true.
*cough* Elegy for the First World *cough*
Given how old these themes are in relation to IRL cosmologies; I’d say its more tribalism than colonialism
why believe the prince of liars??
Because paradoxically the best liars tell the truth.
Please to meet you.... Hope you guess My name...
Ruined it by putting all those adds over the final moment.
If someone TELLS you that they're going to lie to you, is that a lie? Meaning they're going to tell you the truth? Very interesting question to ponder.