Critical Role's Taliesin Jaffe Discusses the Tragedy and Terror of Downfall

As a long-time fan of Critical Role and its richly imagined world of Exandria, I have always been intrigued by the pantheon of gods that inhabit this fantastic universe. However, I must confess that I’ve never been particularly fond of these deities, having had limited positive experiences with them in my past role-playing games.

Taliesin Jaffe from Critical Role gains a fresh perspective on the gods in the latest three-episode arc of Downfall, a standalone series by Dimension 20’s Brennan Lee Mulligan. In this storyline, Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Abubakar Salim, Nick Marini, and Noshar Dalal portray the godly “aspects” aiming to infiltrate Aeor, a floating city, and destroy a powerful weapon with divine capabilities.

In an interview with ComicBook prior to the release of the second episode, Jaffe confessed that he hadn’t held a fond appreciation for the pantheons commonly present in games like Dungeons & Dragons, despite having portrayed a cleric during the show’s second campaign. He explained, “To be honest, I’ve never been particularly drawn to these pantheons in Dungeons & Dragons. The way they were developed, with a group of men in a basement brainstorming gods and powers, left me feeling a bit uneasy. It seemed haphazard, and more like an arbitrary means to empower paladins and clerics.”

Although his experience as a deity in Exandria transformed his point of view, Jaffe admitted that he previously underestimated the complexity of these characters. He used to believe that their presented personas were their entirety. However, observing how everyone brought these figures to life made them seem more intricately flawed and captivating to him. Previously, he had not realized that they possessed such depths of imperfection, other than the imperfections inherent in divine beings.

Jaffe decided to interpret the Wildmother goddess, known for her connection to nature and harvest, in an unconventional way. Rather than portraying her as a kind and powerful being with mastery over the natural world, he represented her as Asha, a wolf transforming into an elven monk. When probed about his motivation for deviating from a typical nature-infused build, Jaffe explained that during the Calamity, a period of widespread destruction caused by a divine conflict among gods, it was not a propitious moment for druids.

As a gamer, I’m drawn to the concept of creating a character who deeply connects with nature during challenging times. Instead of relying on supernatural powers like others, she chooses a simpler path. Her monk-like existence is about staying grounded and unique. She’s not flashy or spellbinding; instead, she’s just barefoot and focused, perhaps even hungry but never angry. The absence of anger in her character was an intentional choice, making her more relatable to players seeking a calmer gameplay experience.

In the latest series, the intricate connection between Exandria’s Prime Deities (the benevolent gods) and the Betrayer Gods is delved into further. While a war between these two groups initiated the Calamity, the Downfall miniseries unveiled a more complex narrative. Jaffe likened the gods as a whole to Neil Gaiman’s The Endless in Sandman. He shared that from his perspective, the Calamity represented a disagreement rather than an all-out war among the deities. “I found myself developing a great deal of empathy for them,” Jaffe expressed. “I came to understand that the divide between the Betrayers and the Prime Deities was thin indeed. I even found myself siding with them frequently, which was quite unsettling.”

As a dedicated gamer, I’ve been deeply engrossed in the Downfall arc, despite knowing its predetermined outcome – Aeor’s inevitable fall from the sky due to the gods’ success. But Brennan Lee Mulligan’s exceptional storytelling has made every moment leading up to that tragedy an exhilarating experience for me. I’ve known Brennan for a long time, and our time together never seems to be enough. He’s the type of person who could make nine games worth exploring.

Two initial episodes of Downfall can be streamed on Critical Role’s Beacon platform, and you can also watch them on YouTube on demand. The concluding part of Downfall will be broadcast this Thursday, making no prior experience with Critical Role mandatory for an enjoyable viewing experience of the arc.

2024-07-22 20:40

Critical Role’s Taliesin Jaffe Discusses the Tragedy and Terror of Downfall

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