History WebVideo / CriticalRoleCampaignTwo

* CriticalResearchFailure: An InUniverse example. The giant toad-like creature the circus had in their company named Kylre? Turns out it was a ''fiend'' of all things. The circus group thought it was a lizardfolk the entire time. Upon realizing this, Molly practically facepalms, realizing nobody even remotely thought to check until now.

** In episode 129, [spoiler: Veth goes [[UnstoppableRage absolutely berserk]] when her son Luc is killed by a fire elemental.]]

*** In episode 129, Nott goes [[UnstoppableRage absolutely berserk]] when [[spoiler:her son Luc is killed by a fire elemental.]]

* AmateurSleuth: Nott and Jester fancy themselves a [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal dynamic detective duo]]. It's mostly a RunningGag, as neither Nott nor Jester have especially high deductive skills and they mostly end up getting into mischief... but occasionally, and often by accident, TheyFightCrime.

--->'''Jester:''' [[UnEntendre You are going to make a lot of babies.]]

** Due to Aeor's strangeness, Caleb also gets turned into a sheep by a bad roll on the wild magic table ''just'' as they leave to the astral plane.

* BalefulPolymorph:
** Happened to [[spoiler:Nott]] in [[spoiler:her]] backstory, when [[spoiler:she was turned into a goblin as punishment for killing a goblin chief]].
** This also becomes the Nein's go-to move when defeating monsters; notable examples include turning a furious roc into a bat (which proceeded to attack Fjord), turning an undead giant into a turtle (which [[RunningGag proceeded to attack Fjord]]), turning a fire giant into a cow (which [[OverlyLongGag proceeded to attack Fjord]]), turning a frost worm into a rabbit and then a tortoise (which proceeded to attack [[ButtMonkey Fjord]]), and turning a dragon turtle into a sea turtle and a sea slug (which, for once, did not attack [[TheChewToy Fjord]]).
** They also learned from the bunny incident (wherein the target un-polymorphed itself by reducing its hit points to zero), and the next undead giant they ran into was turned into a tree sloth.
** Due to Aeor's strangeness, Caleb also gets turned into a sheep by a bad roll on the wild magic table ''just'' as they leave to the astral plane.

* AboveGoodAndEvil: Most of the archmages the party interacts with (even the ones they have a genuine friendship with) believe that traditional conceptions of morality are beneath them. Part of Caleb's character development has been growing in magical power without losing sight of his humanity. He does all right, as some of said archmages have remarked on how unusually humble he is for such a powerful wizard. His determination to remain so is largely due to his former EvilMentor, [[spoiler:Trent Ikithon]], whose MoralMyopia is on a level most people couldn't dream of. In fact, [[spoiler:when Trent Ikithon is commanded via magic to "empathize," even when he fails his saving throw the spell fails - because he is by nature ''incapable'' of that experience.]]
* AbusiveParents: [[spoiler:Beau's]] father neglected and belittled her, and then, when she became a teenage delinquent, [[spoiler:bribed a Cobalt Soul monk to ''kidnap her''. He is also heavily implied to have been physically violent towards her at least a few times]]. As for her mother, she seems to have the personality of an ExtremeDoormat, letting her husband get away with anything, but [[spoiler:Beau still displays affection for her]].

* ActionGirl: Much more the rule than the exception. Certainly all the female player characters count.
* ActionMom: [[spoiler:Nott/Veth]] is one. Her husband and son are in awe of her. In fact, she was one even before the campaign started, as the whole reason she [[spoiler: got turned into a goblin in the first place]] was through a HeroicSacrifice to save her family from a goblin tribe, during which she actually ''killed'' their chief by ''throwing acid in his face.'' And this was when she was still a housewife - before she was even Level 1!

* AffablyEvil: [[spoiler:Lucien]] is consistently friendly and jovial with the Nein, treating them like old friends (even though [[spoiler:he doesn't remember his time with the Nein]]. They even travel with him for a bit as tense but tolerant 'allies,' and he repeatedly leaves them alive when he could have easily killed them. That said, he's still a [[spoiler:cult leader seeking the literal end of the world]].

* AgeDownRomance: A strange variation happens in the frozen wastes of Eiselcross between [[spoiler:Fjord and Jester]]. The party encounters a strange ring of statues, all facing a central pedestal. After a series of shenanigans while they try to figure out how to 'activate' the statues (despite [[TooDumbToLive having no idea what they would do]]), [[spoiler:Jester]] stands on the center pedestal - and instantly has five years of her life drawn from her, aging her up by the same amount. It's definitely played with in that there isn't enough of an age gap between [[spoiler:Fjord]] and [[spoiler:Jester]] for the age-up itself to really make a difference; watching that happen just made [[spoiler:Fjord]] realize how easily he could lose her.

* AgentsDating: Caleb has UnresolvedSexualTension with agents on both sides of the Empire/Xhorhas conflict. On one hand, there's [[spoiler:Astrid]], his OldFlame from [[spoiler:his days as an Empire assassin]]; on the other, there's [[spoiler:Essek]], the powerful and mysterious [[spoiler:right hand to the Bright Queen]]. Both are magically and politically powerful; both are morally ambiguous. After the events of the campaign, [[spoiler: he has a relationship with Essek for an unknown amount of time before Caleb parts from him due to differences in [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim lifespans.]]]]

* ALighterShadeOfBlack: Despite the fact that he [[spoiler:has tortured and broken countless generations of talented children into being brainwashed assassins - Caleb being one of those children -]], Cerberus Assembly propagandist Trent Ikithon is this to some of the worse villains of the campaign. When the party faces off against [[spoiler:Obann, a fiendish cult leader trying to release the Chained Oblivion]], and later against [[spoiler:the Eyes of Nine]], they even consider teaming up with him.

* AlphaBitch: Celia, a rich and cruel woman who snubs Jester [[spoiler:at Traveler-con]], and according to [[spoiler:the Traveler, has a bad habit of going too far in her pranks]]. She gets the most karmic comeuppance possible when [[spoiler:Nott tricks her into permanently gluing a dick statue to her hand]].
* AllLovingHero: Jester definitely counts as this. She has defeated or at least come close to defeating several would-be bosses through ThePowerOfFriendship. Notable successful examples include [[spoiler:Essek, a drow court mage]] and [[spoiler:Isharnai, a hag]]; attempted ones include [[spoiler:the dragon turtle]] and [[spoiler:The Inevitable End, an undead drow assassin of Asmodeus]]. She even seemed to make a bit of a dent in the most dangerous enemy the Nein have yet faced, the potentially world-ending [[spoiler:Lucien]].

** Beau is revealed pretty early on to have a criminal background, knowing Thieves' Cant and having a working knowledge of the criminal underworld - something that is surprising for a monk of the Cobalt Soul. Eventually we find out that [[spoiler:her family were wealthy wine merchants, and she had ideas to expand their business, but her overprotective (and abusive) father wouldn't let her do more than balance the books. As revenge she began to sell their fine wine at cut-rates on the black market, and when her father found out, she was summarily shipped off to the Cobalt Soul archive in Zadash through a less-than-legitimate deal with an unscrupulous archivist]].

** Caleb's OldFlame and [[spoiler:Empire assassin]], Astrid, also falls into this territory. We know that she went through the same awful [[spoiler:torture and brainwashing]] that Caleb did, which inherently makes her somewhat sympathetic, but she also comes across as extremely ruthless, cutthroat and relentlessly ambitious. It's left up in the air whether or not she is truly on the Nein's side; sometimes she seems to be aiding them, while other times she might very well be leading them into a trap.
* AmbiguouslyRelated: Until it's officially confirmed in episode 85, Jester only has speculation that [[spoiler:The Gentleman]] might be her father. When she confronts him he repeatedly denies it, until Caduceus is able to persuade him to come clean.
* AmbitionIsEvil: Astrid has elements of this trope, although she isn't thoroughly evil. Caleb describes her as being very much like [[spoiler:Trent]] herself, and she definitely displays some strong [[TheStarscream Starscream]] moments. At the end of the campaign she [[spoiler:replaces Trent as the Archmage of Civil Influence. It's unclear whether she will be better than he was, although her hatred for him suggests so.]]

** When the Nein find him after [[StumblingUponTheLostWizard centuries]] missing in action, ancient wizard [[spoiler:Halas]] is in a pitiful state. [[spoiler:Apparently one of his enemies tricked him into trapping his consciousness in a ruby, and he had been trapped in his own wizard tower ever since]]. It's somewhat downplayed in that he's shown to not know how long he's been trapped there, and in fact when the Nein tell him he's been missing for centuries he has a very mild [[OhCrap panic attack]].

** Yasha does the same to a strange elemental entity [[spoiler:sent by the Stormlord to test her conviction]]. It's not exactly a ''heart,'' as the being in question is made of light, but it is described as similar.
* AndThatLittleGirlWasMe: ''Narrative Telephone'' episode 4 - Liam later confirmed on Twitter that the three children in the fairy tale were [[spoiler:Eadwulf, Astrid and Caleb.]]

* AppealToInherentNature: When the Nein implore [[spoiler:the Bright Queen]] to end the war, and all the bloodshed that goes along with it, [[spoiler:she]] refuses, saying that the Kryn Dynasty and the Dwendalian Empire have been fighting for centuries, and there is no point in fighting that. [[spoiler:It takes the Nein showing her the Dodecahedron and proving that she's been manipulated by demons before she agrees to call it off.]]
->''"The cycle cannot be broken until there is nothing living. All we can do is our best to keep it slow."''

* AppearanceAngst: Nott and Fjord both suffer from a severe case of this. Fjord has leftover body shame from [[spoiler:being relentlessly bullied for his race in the orphanage he grew up in]], to the degree that he actually files down his tusks to look more human. Nott, meanwhile, suffers from severe body dysphoria, having always felt like she wasn't meant to be a goblin. [[spoiler:It turns out she was originally a halfling cursed with a goblin body.]] While Nott is eventually able to [[spoiler:break the curse and regain her original form]], Fjord's struggle with his own insecurity is a big part of his character development.
** Downplayed, at least in comparison to the other two, with Beau. While she's generally pretty confident, her childhood being [[spoiler:belittled and made to feel like a failure by her father]] has left her with some insecurity about her grooming. When Jester tells her that her hair is pretty, she responds with sudden vulnerability and shyness - apparently she was told her whole life that it was a disgusting rat's nest.
* ApocalypseCult: [[spoiler:Yasha]] was a member of one a long time ago, until [[spoiler:she was saved by the Stormlord]]. In Episode 69, [[spoiler:she is once again captured and brainwashed by this cult, becoming an unwilling enemy of the Nein for some time. It turns out their goal is to unleash the Chained Oblivion]], and the Nein only barely manage to stop them.

** Obann, the Master of Wills, is responsible for the incursion of fiends throughout [[spoiler:Xhorhas]] that the Nein investigate on behalf of [[spoiler:the Bright Queen]] from episodes 52 to 63. After their first direct encounter with him ends with [[spoiler:an ancient servant of the Crawling King unleashed, and Yasha kidnapped and mind-controlled]], the Nein spend until episode 87 traveling the continent attempting to thwart Obann's attempts to release stronger fiends and discover his connection to their friend Yasha.
** For the Rumblecusp arc, Vokodo, the supposed volcano god (actually an [[spoiler:aberrant morkoth that broke into the Prime Material Plane and has been brainwashing travelers into worshipping it]]) is the primary antagonist. Once he is defeated and Travelercon begins, the closest thing to an antagonist is the Traveler himself.

** Interestingly, one of Molly's former names turns out to be "Nonagon"; i.e., a nine-sided polygon. Matt has [[https://twitter.com/matthewmercer/status/984798864086413312 confirmed on Twitter]] that he came up with the name Nonagon before nine became the group's arc number. That name turns out to be a reference to [[spoiler:the campaign's final boss]].

** “Welcome to the Mighty Nein.” Used for every guest player character, Kiri the kenku, [[spoiler:and Essek Thelyss.]]

* ArtificialHuman: Halas, [[StumblingUponTheLostWizard the long-lost archmage]], has an extradimensional wizard tower that is absolutely ''full'' of flesh golems and mutated clones. It turns out he was trying to grow an infinite supply of clone bodies to inhabit after he died (apparently lichdom was 'too messy'). Once he [[spoiler:accidentally trapped himself in a SoulJar while perfecting the process]], the clones were given the run of the place for 800 years.
* AssassinationAttempt: The Nein participate in one when they attempt to take down the corrupt High-Richter (that is, head of the police) of Zadash. That is, it wasn't ''supposed'' to be an assassination; they just meant to discredit her... but when she caught them snooping through her house for incriminating paperwork, [[spoiler:it's Fireball time]].
* AssShove: An ongoing joke with Fjord. After the group finds a mysterious crystal orb being worshipped by swamp merrow, Fjord is inexplicably drawn to it - [[spoiler:it reminds him heavily of the giant eyes he sees in his warlock dreams, and when he goes near it he hears the voice of his patron in his head]]. However, when he touches it, [[spoiler:he goes into a trance state and shoves the crystal ''into his chest'' with seemingly no resistance - the crystal just disappears into his body]]. The Nein have never stopped teasing him about "shoving balls into himself."
** The joke was written into the annals of history (or anals, as the case may be) when the Mighty Nein 'liberated' the pirate vessel the "Squalleater" from its original owners, and, with Captain Fjord in reluctant tow, triumphantly renamed it... the "Balleater". 50-some-odd episodes later, they attend the [[spoiler:historic peace treaty of the Empire and Dynasty]], a moment that will go down in history, as honored guests aboard the esteemed... ''Balleater''.

* AtopAMountainOfCorpses: Yasha has several scenes like this, usually in dream sequences - hearkening back to [[spoiler:her past as the Orphanmaker]]. One particularly chilling example has her, in a dream, wake up in a field of bodies - only to realize [[spoiler:they all have the faces of her friends]].

* BadassBookworm: This is the Cobalt Soul's whole 'thing', and therefore Beau is one by default. As Critical Recap put it:
--> '''Dani:''' Armed with a stunning disrespect for authority and an all-access library card, Beau is a rebel looking for a cause.
** Or, in the somewhat less diplomatic words of the Hollaback Nerds in their Mighty Nein Rap Battle:
--> '''Yasha:''' I'll crush this secret agent tearing down the old guard. Where's your license to kill? This is a library card!

** Bryce, a Crownsguard Captain and the Nein's recurring FriendOnTheForce, also counts.

* BaitAndSwitch: Episode 2 features one. The group goes back to the circus to figure out what caused the zombie attack from the first episode, namely by checking in with the performers. Initially the group, namely Nott and Jester, believe that one of the twin girls in the circus are the cause due to their aloof attitude. [[spoiler: Then it turns out to be none other than the fiend Kylre]].

* BalefulPolymorph: Happened to [[spoiler:Nott]] in [[spoiler:her]] backstory, when [[spoiler:she was turned into a goblin as punishment for killing a goblin chief]].

** [[spoiler:Due to Aeor's strangeness, Caleb also gets turned into a sheep by a bad roll on the wild magic table ''just'' as they leave to the astral plane.]]
* BanishingRitual: This is how the Nein defeat the evil volcano 'god' Vokodo, who [[spoiler:has held an entire village of people captive by erasing their memories, and almost did the same to the Nein]]. Unfortunately, because Vokodo is able to reflect magical effects, they temporarily banish ''Caduceus and Beau'' instead.
** That said, [[spoiler:the party's need for funds ends up winning out, so they bring the treasure-covered morkoth back before the banishment spell would be permanent, and end up outright killing the creature with Disintegrate.]]

* BeardOfEvil: Trent Ikithon combines this with WizardBeard; his long, thin, Merlin-like grey beard might make him look like a wise old sage if you didn't know better. In reality, though, he's a cruel archmage and propagandist who [[spoiler:tortures and brainwashes young adolescents (including Caleb) into becoming superpowered assassins]].

* BedlamHouse: While we never see anything explicit (as the Nein never visit the actual patient rooms), the Vergessen Sanatorium,[[spoiler:where Caleb was kept for 11 years]], is heavily implied to be this. [[spoiler:Just seeing Caleb's reaction when they enter the grounds - reverting to shell-shocked silence and [[AcheyScars scratching compulsively at his arms]] - would be enough to give one pause, but when the Nein break into the facility to steal anti-scrying necklaces, they see a variety of what can only be described as torture implements. The one time we do get a glimpse of the in-use part of the facility is in Caleb's magical tower, where he has created a replica of his room there. It's a dismal cell with restraining straps on the bed.]]

* BeliefMakesYouStupid: The Traveler seems to have this opinion, consistently mocking the gods and their followers - to the point of dismissing Caduceus and [[spoiler:Fjord]] outright as useless. This backfires on him spectacularly when [[spoiler:he tries to fool ''his'' followers into thinking he's the Moonweaver... and she decides she doesn't like that]].
* BeneathTheEarth: The Nein encounter an underground society of kobolds as well as a massive fire giant citadel when travelling through a massive worm tunnel on their way [[spoiler:to Xhorhas to rescue Nott's kidnapped husband]].

** Caleb's [[spoiler:real name]], Bren, is German/Zemnian for "burn." Fitting, given his [[DarkAndTroubledPast backstory.]]

--->'''Jester''': Was it hard, fighting other goblins?
--->'''Nott''': It was very satisfying.

* BreakTheCutie: It seems as though the campaign as a whole is a slow burn of this to Jester. Starting out as an incredibly sheltered and naive young woman, having been [[spoiler:essentially locked in her room most of her life, not allowed to go outside due to a combination of her mother's severe agoraphobia and the potential scandal of the Ruby of the Sea having a daughter]], much of her arc is about being exposed to the world for the first time - including its darker elements. Over the course of the campaign, she manages to maintain her natural kindness and compassion, but her initially bubbly personality sobers into a more mature, jaded outlook.

** The sovereign glue. Bought from a really creepy lady (hinted to be a hag) who also sold Yasha her bone harp, it was promised to be the source of some ''amazing'' pranks. It seemed to have fulfilled its purpose when Nott used it at Travelercon to [[spoiler:''permanently glue a dick statue to a rude woman's hand.'']] However, the sovereign glue was not done with them, nor they with the sovereign glue - in one of the very last episodes, it was instrumental in the defeat of [[spoiler:Trent Ikithon, as they permanently affixed Halas' anti-magic collar onto his neck and glued his hands together, forcing him to spend the ''rest of his life'' [[KarmicJustice mute and unable to cast spells]], being [[AndIMustScream force-fed and sponge-bathed in a tiny cell]]]].

* ClearMyName: The first story arc centers around this, as Molly and Yasha's circus is accused of bringing a zombie plague (which [[spoiler:unknown to Molly and Yasha, they actually ''did'']]) and the rest of the party is roped in as collaborators because they [[PoliceAreUseless happened to be in the vicinity]]. Figuring out the truth is made even more difficult by the fact that they are all under house arrest in their inn - and sneaking out to investigate only makes them look more guilty.

-->'''Yasha:''' [[SelfDeprecatingHumor That looks like a piece of shit ship]].

* CriticalResearchFailure: An InUniverse example. The giant toad-like creature the circus had in their company named Kylre? [[spoiler: Turns out it was a ''fiend'' of all things. The circus group thought it was a lizardfolk the entire time]]. Upon realizing this, Molly practically facepalms, realizing nobody even remotely thought to check until now.

** True of any D&D campaign, but EXTREMELY prominent where Caleb and Fjord are concerned, due to both of them having a very strong desire for arcane knowledge and power (Fjord being entirely new to arcane magic at all, and having a ''[[DumpStat Wisdom score of 7]]'', doesn't help matters either). The pendulum of curiosity has swung between the Nein gaining new spells or powers and finding very intriguing lore about the world, to [[spoiler: being forced at swordpoint to help a cultist pirate crew attempt to unleash a sealed demigod, and ''quite literally'' falling onto a dragon's lap with no clear escape route after blindly exploring what seemed to be an ancient wizard's personal pocket dungeon.]]

** In episode 2, Molly states that his mother always taught him never to give a story away for free, to which Jester replies that her mother told her not to give "other things" away for free. [[spoiler:Jester's mother turns out to be a famous courtesan.]]
** Nott's interest in powerful magic comes up at the beginning of Episode 11, when she is clearly fascinated by the Cerberus Assembly that Pumat Sol is tied to. During the confrontation between her, Fjord and Molly, later in the episode, it becomes clear why she was so invested in learning more about them: [[spoiler: she wants someone to change her into another race]]. Or rather [[spoiler: back into the race she once was.]]

* HappyFunBall: The aforementioned strange magical device ends up being slapped with this moniker by the party; at first glance, it's a puzzle sphere that just spits out treasure. [[spoiler:Its other name is "Heirloom Sphere" and, if you count the hideously dangerous chain of pocket dimensions inside of it, "The Archmage's Bane" and "The Folding Halls of Halas." It includes a golem laboratory, a study complete with mimics pretending to be furniture, a garden that's more a forest, a prison, a young blue dragon and its hoard, the Permaheart of the Laughing Hand, and an ''astral dreadnaught''. All while being patrolled by anti-mage golems, and those are just the bits the Mighty Nein have explored so far!]]

* LittleHeroBigWar: Despite war being formally declared between the Dwendalian Empire and Kryn Dynasty in episode 18, the Mighty Nein proceed to focus on smaller mercenary jobs and their own personal goals instead, to the point of actively avoiding taking sides in the larger conflicts around them. [[spoiler:By episode 57, the fighting has escalated to the point that they consider committing to PreventTheWar (or minimizing the damage) as a collective goal.]]
-->'''Caleb:''' [[spoiler:I would like to propose something. As a goal. I think we should stop a war. (addressing Beau) And I think we will do that by cutting the cancer out of our homeland.]]

** The [[spoiler: Manticore]] from Episode 7 is definitely one, [[spoiler: which Nott finds out the hard way after killing its baby. By the end of its attacks, Nott is left barely standing.]]

*** In episode 129, [[spoiler:Veth]] goes [[UnstoppableRage absolutely berserk]] when [[spoiler:her son Luc is killed by a fire elemental.]]

* RapidAging: [[spoiler:Jester]] undergoes this during the Eiselcross arc when [[spoiler:she trades several years of her life to a mysterious ring of arcane statues in return for a vision of the Eyes of Nine]].

* ReallyWasBornYesterday: Molly is fairly "with it" for this trope, but his [[TheHedonist]] hedonistic lifestyle and fascination with new experiences make much more sense once he reveals that [[spoiler:he has no memory of anything before two years ago]].

-->'''Matt:''' Nott's invisible and [[UpToEleven (rolled a stealth check) over 30,]] ''no one'' could have seen Nott! Beyond the eyes of the gods behind the Divine Gate, they're watching on, going "Oh shit, how'd ''that'' happen?!"

* SymbolicWeaponDiscarding: Fjord's signature weapon for the first part of the campaign, the Sword of Fathoms, represents the DealWithTheDevil he made with the SeaSerpent Uk'otoa. He eventually gets sick of the monster attempting to control him, and breaks the pact by throwing the sword into a lava pit.

* BadassLongcoat: Beau and Caleb both wear one. Later on Fjord joins in on the act, pairing it with a [[NiceHat truly ridiculous tricorn 'captain's hat']].

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Near the beginning of the campaign, whenever a party member was about to go through something personal or related to their backstory. Matt would have the rest of the players leave the room while the scene plays out. Eventually this concept was dropped and the players were allowed to stay for private scenes.

** The Corona district in Rosohna, capital of the Dynasty, is the wealthiest neighborhood. It's probably no accident that "corona" is Latin for "crown."

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to [[WordOfGod Aimee and Matt]], Creator/AimeeCarrero was going to be a guest character in Campaign Two. She was scheduled to drop in a few weeks after the pandemic struck.

* BaldBlackLeaderGuy: Gender inverted with Dairon, Beau's teacher at the Cobalt Soul and a high-ranking Expositor, overlapping with BlackBossLady.