Talks Machina 71: Have Bird, Will Travel

is the seventy-first episode of Talks Machina. Matt and Sam discuss with host Brian Wayne Foster.

Synopsis

 * Critical Role is moving to a new studio (though Critical Role and Talks Machina will continue to be broadcast in the same ways). As a result, neither Talks Machina nor Critical Role will broadcast the week of July 2.
 * Sam: Matt: No NPC (or PC, for that matter) has ever had a French accent. Can you not do a French accent?
 * Lakandalawa: Sam: which was the greater achievement, winning an Emmy or the DnD Beyond Theme Song Video?
 * @arone_mac: Matt: Did the battle with the Merrow play out to be more difficult than you had imagined? If so, how much of that was due to Nott staying behind and the players’ strategy?
 * @MegMHanna: Sam: Where does Nott’s fear of water come from? Is it a goblin thing or did she have a bad water experience similar to Fjord’s?
 * @RadoricStorme: For Matt: When a player makes a character choice to avoid combat (Nott refusing to swim through the tunnel to help face the Merrow), do you adjust combat difficulty to not penalize the other players, or let it play out as designed?
 * Cuddlefish333: Sam: How does Nott feel about sitting out most of the fight with the Merrow people and Caleb coming so close to death
 * @nutellaicecream: How much of adding Kiri was wanting to prove you could pull off Jester’s accent?
 * Gif of the Week: James Earle aka @JustJamesEarle’s gif of Fjord’s near death moments during the troll fight.
 * @not_a_pyramid: Sam: After Kiri repeated part of Nott and Caleb’s private conversation to the rest of the group, has Nott’s opinion of her changed?
 * @cattywampus_ Matt: How stoked are you whenever someone says something dumb and/or reveals secrets in front of Kiri?
 * @islanderscaper: Sam: what was going through Nott’s head when Kiri began repeating elements of her backstory?
 * @careybearygamer: Matt, how much does Dagon influence your Kiri mannerisms?
 * @wormstacheINC: Sam: Nott let Beau take care of Caleb after the troll fight. Is she starting to trust the rest of the M9 more or is Beau the exception since Caleb seemed to trust her with his backstory?
 * Fanart of the Week: Josh Freeman aka @ObeyMyBrain’s Haunted Mansion take on the Mighty Nein
 * @NFLDNerd: Matt: were you expecting the party to immediately go after the venom troll? How close were they to dying if he didn’t get slowed by Caleb?
 * @DrunkGriffinski: For Sam: Which is stronger: Nott’s love for Caleb, or Sam’s love for Liam?
 * Brett Bartle: For Matt: with Dynamite being introduced in this campaign, do you think you’ll have to prepare for your builds to be destroyed more often?
 * @Runingwolf19: Sam: Does Nott secretly wish she could tell Caleb everything that’s really going on with herself?
 * @F1reAnd1ce: For Matt: What made you decide to play the Fjord/patron scenes regarding the Cat's eye in front of all the players instead of one on one?
 * Paxfer: For Sam: How do you feel about Molly accepting the bandit’s apologies even after they damaged Nott so much?
 * Xundax: Matt: Did the party’s excitement for Hupperdook influence your design of the town or did you know what kind of place it would be before they even heard the name?
 * @JTiffGames: for Sam: Save Brian from thinking of a segue with an answer to this question: Do you ever practice for your ads ahead of time or do you just write the script and wing it?
 * SkettiOnToast: Question for Matt: The Gentleman is one of the most interesting characters I’ve seen from critical role, was there any specific inspiration behind him?
 * Finkleiseinhorn55: Sam: Does Nott still think her old tribe is a threat to her now that she’s obviously grown in power and has made some equally powerful friends?
 * @AtomicRoboTesla: Matt: Is Wildemount gun-technology (partially) developed from Percy's achievements shared by Ripley in C1 or did these develop independently/parallel in a kill-things-in-a-crazy-dangerous-manner zeitgeist?
 * dcoughler: Matt: How much joy do you get from Taliesin’s face every time you bring up the fact that firearms are present in Wildemount?
 * @Leigh574: Sam: Do you miss giving inspiration as a bard at all? As far as the songs, limericks etc.
 * @inarijoker: for Matt: who is your favorite M9 voice to mimic as Kiri?
 * #thankmyguests: Stabby Crow Voicer, Boomstick Non-Lethal, and I’m your host, Projectile Tears Cost Extra.

Quotations

 * Sam: “Liam kisses back.”
 * Matt: “Hideous Laughter is no joke, even at higher levels.”