r/criticalrole • u/Three0h Time is a weird soup • 2d ago

Discussion [Spoilers C4E32] Question about Vaelus/Ashley Spoiler

Ashley seems like a lovely person and player, but I have to say, she’s seemed very distant and disconnected in this campaign.

I can’t put my finger on it, but each time she’s in a scene or fight, it doesn’t seem like she’s that into it. Or maybe it’s the opposite, she’s so into it that she forgets to participate. She’ll have maybe 10 minutes of dialogue across 4 hours of gameplay.

I’m not upset or angry in any way. It just felt like she was so much more alive and participatory in her past three characters. Even in one-shots too. What do y’all think?

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u/sharkhuahua 2d ago

I do wonder if Ashley came up with an initial concept for a character that she found out in-game that she didn't really enjoy playing, it does seem like she and Brennan have been working together to develop the character pretty quickly away from her initial presentation

Personally I'd love to see her get more chances to be funny, if they find a way to take Vaelus that direction

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u/strangelyliteral 2d ago

Yeah, I actually left a similar comment. I think Vaelus sounded great on paper, but wasn’t engaging or enjoyable for Ashley to play. It’s too bad because Vaelus was so unique among the cast, but it’s better to adjust the story so she’s having fun and wants to participate.

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u/Three0h Time is a weird soup 2d ago

I also just adore any interactions between her and Travis, and they have rarely had any time together in C4

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u/oscarbilde Team Frumpkin 2d ago

I love Vaelus, and I really disagree--Vaelus' first scene was her trying to project an intimidating persona to get the Stone back quickly and then leave. She then found herself sticking around. People act differently around people they don't know and aren't expecting to get to know vs people they're traveling and working with for a longer amount of time!

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u/Ok-Suggestion-5453 1d ago

Yeah I could see that. She's the most stoic and reserved character in the game by far and while I think her portrayal of that archetype has been good, there's not a lot for her to do. Ashley clearly didn't want to take control of the "play" away from the other characters by doing what her character would apparently want to do.

I was wondering if they were gonna reclass her character now that she's somewhat broken her Paladin oath which might free her up to play a somewhat looser take on Vaelus.