Talks Machina 79: Commerce & Chaos

is the seventy-ninth episode of Talks Machina. Matthew Mercer and Marisha Ray discuss with host Brian Wayne Foster.

Synopsis

 * Ken Fagan: Matt: When you have episodes like these where the group comes in prepared with things they'd like to do during a time jump, how do you prepare for that? Do you meet with them in advance to discuss stuff or do you let them do their own thing?
 * Estevan Rodriguez: Marisha: How did Beau like her training with the halfling monk, do you think she would come to him more often for certain types of training or advice in the future?
 * @EmperorRiptide: For Matt: Do you ever try to balance the karmic scales for players when they try to do something cool during downtime and the dice just refuse to work with them (like Fjord's failed walkabout)? Or do you just let the dice fall where they may and move on?
 * @Cybrwulf1201: Marisha: Which part of the Cobalt Soul montage was your favorite, and what new skills are you most excited to use in the battles to come?
 * @Frankelstein_: Matt: What ever happened to the Waste Hunter Blade? I it gone because Fjord consumed it or did it come out of him when Fjord consumed the Summers Dance?
 * Barbara Octaviani: Marisha: What were Beau's thoughts when it was discovered that Fjord ghosted on the party during the two weeks? Did she even register it at all, or was she concerned for him due to his recent trauma?
 * @JustSaiyan59: For Matt: How do you decide which information to dole out during library sessions? Does it depend on the time spent and what you have prepared?
 * Gif of the Week: Chris Lum aka @coinopthinktank's gif of Caduceus pondering ghost punching.
 * @_ATowers: Marisha: Everyone seems to have long-term personal goals but we haven't heard much about Beau's. Without spoiling anything, does she have something specific she's working towards? Have the goals she may have had changed in any way since meeting the Mighty Nein?
 * @herkyavello: Matt: Was Beau's training montage a matter of convenient elegant storytelling, or is Beau expected to spend a few days with the Cobalt Soul for every new class feature? With time, would she learn she has access to them herself, or is it required that they are taught?
 * Fan Art of the Week: Olivia Hintz aka @oliviahintz's drawing of Fjord after the shipwreck.
 * @Agent_Panic: For Matt: The Gentleman has been a big influence on the story so far, but the Mighty Nein only ever found out about him because Beau decided to steal some mail. How much had you planned of him at that point and did you think he would play such an important role?
 * @DonaldCheeto: For Marisha: Beau was disappointed she didn't get to kill the archers during her training. Does she often have trouble distinguishing between necessary and unnecessary violence?
 * Tyler Turner: Matt: What was going through your head during the Jester-Nott shenanigans?
 * @Spicy_Beauritos: Marisha: When Jester, Yasha, and Fjord were captured, Beau referred to them as her "family," and this episode, she behaved in a joking-teasing manner with Caleb. Does this mean she's opening up and admitting (to herself and others) that she has friends?
 * withabrickk: For Matt: What is it like to build the story of Jester and The Traveler? How is crafting her story with her deity different than others you have done for characters in the past?

Quotations

 * Marisha: "In my head, when I thought I might encounter Dairon, I had other things that I wanted to do, that I wanted to tell her about things that had happened. But when it was...this guy, I was like 'well...ok. I'll learn from you I guess.' And I kind of just shelved the other stuff for now."
 * Matt: "We're not all trying to fight for the spotlight. Not everyone's trying to force their backstory into the limelight. They'll let each person take the story as it's needed and, when the opportunity arises, step up and kind of see where it takes them. I think that's part of why I really enjoyed playing with you guys as a group, as opposed to some of the groups I played with years ago. You guys are willing to step back and let each other have those moments as players and as characters. It's not always the case."
 * Marisha: "At the end of the day, we're an ensemble cast, as they would call it in the industry. Which is--It's true! Ensemble casts are notoriously the most difficult to write because trying to balance everybody and not having like one or two main--" Matt: "major protagonists that come through." Marisha: "Correct."
 * Matt: "We wanted to try to diverge from the provided [Hexblade] lore."
 * Brian: "You can only swallow so many swords before it starts to become a problem."
 * Dani: "[Fjord]'ll have to choose, eventually if he finds another cool sword, to let his memento of Molly go." Matt: "Oh don't think I haven't thought of that!" Dani: "Cause it's so sad!"
 * Marisha: "She was the type (I had a few stories kind of thought up in her backstory) of where there's an altercation in the back of the bar between two people who are not her and have nothing to do with her and as soon as she sees a punch go she's like 'BAR FIGHT!!' and immediately just goes for it so--" Matt: "She kind of lives on the adrenaline of getting beat up and beating up other people." Marisha: "So that's definitely kind of her thing."
 * Matt: "Going chromatic colors in a Bahamut temple—that doesn't bode well."