This is a compilation, as near as I can assemble it, of
every description Taliesin has ever given of Percy’s guns, in chronological order.
For any artists and gun enthusiasts, you now have you answers in one permalink.
If you have any corrections, additional citations, or other information to contribute, I’d love to hear from you. I can be reached on Twitter or Tumblr.
[WIP: Need to add references and descriptions from the
episodes themselves.]
This research project brought to you by strong tea, every
Trial of the Take episode, OCD, and poor impulse control.
If you like this transcript, please consider donating to Critical Role Transcripts, @CRTranscript, to help them provide
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Transcript method notes: http://otdderamin.tumblr.com/post/153539301510/a-note-on-my-transcription-method
List
2015-06-13 Gun type:
https://twitter.com/RunnerJuggs/status/609897288454901760
Jonathan Huggins: “Can you send me a description of Bad News, the
Pepperbox, and Percy. Looking for how they and he would look like?”
Taliesin: “he also carries a pepper box gun and a skull white physicians
mask.”
2015-07-28 Gun type:
https://twitter.com/WarriorOfAsgard/status/626164133449367552
Joseph Pearce: “What type of guns are Bad News and Pepperbox?”
Taliesin: “pepperbox is the type of gun, not its name 🙂 it has 6
barrels’ 1 fire 1 ice. It has 2 sets of 3 auto ready flintlocks.”
2015-08-07 Visual description:
https://twitter.com/MikeyB7667/status/629753360602767360
Trebeard: “could you describe of what the Pepper Box looks like as i’m
trying to build a scale model for you.”
Taliesin: “Pepperbox: 6 Barrel 6 Flintlock (3 on each side) with one blue
and one red shaded barrel.”
2015-08-22 How reload works:
https://twitter.com/BrachionBlick/status/635171555585101824
Brent Blick: “Can you tell me how your reload works? Is the number for the
amount of bullets or guns used? How advanced are Percy’s guns?”
Taliesin: “per bullets. 6 & reload for the pepperbox, 1 & reload
for BN. I call them the best guns the 18th ish century had to offer.”
Brent: “ So the pepperbox takes 6 turns to load at a minimum?”
Taliesin: “ one turn. It’s got a load crank.”
Brent: “oh I have it, but my buddy is military & asking how a
pepperbox from olden days is reloaded so fast. I say ‘because fantasy!’”
Brent: “he would like to know what would a loading crank do to something
that ‘rotates freely with your off hand’?”
Taliesin: “PB is definitely considered a 2 hand weapon.”
2015-09-24 Pepperbox Enchantments:
https://twitter.com/techiecarer/status/647199831144968192
Liam @techiecarer: “Two quick questions, what is the extra damage on the
Pepperbox’s fire/ice barrels and did Tiberius enchant it for the effect?”
Taliesin: “1D4 bonus and they were enchanted metals.”
2015-10-23 Percy’s always had the List:
https://twitter.com/Waffleman26/status/657760969255325696
Sean Robert Warren: “1. Keep doing what you do, which is kicking acting’s
ass. 2. Has Percy always had his gun from level 1, or something else?”
Taliesin: “1. Thanks man, glad you’re enjoying the ride. @. Yep, he’s had
the Pepperbox since day one.”
2015-11-20 Elemental Damage:
https://twitter.com/jjerrell89/status/667869857023696896
Jerry Jerrell: “I am sure you get annoyed with these questions, but I was
wondering how Percy was able to do elemental shots?”
Taliesin: “almost answered with a gif.. Two of the barrels of bad news are
infused with magic materials.”
(Typo: List has multiple barrels with elemental damage, Bad News has one barrel
and no enchantment.)
2015-12-11 Cost of The List:
https://twitter.com/ToonEzon/status/675341133720002560
Joe Ezon: “what was the GP value of the list? How much did Scanlan cost
percy?”
Crit Role Stats: “Generic pepperbox: 450 GP. The List was enchanted, so…
a bit more.”
Joe Ezon: “a little bit or a lot abit?, say 100-200 GP maybe?”
Crit Role Stats: “Months of enchantments and years of repairs… Let’s try
thousands.”
2016-01-05 New pepperbox design:
https://twitter.com/artofbartlett/status/684639763819851776
Taliesin: “Love the handle inlay :-)”
2016-01-15 Lorenzoni mechanism:
https://twitter.com/thewauzzer/status/688084522294996996
Anton: “If you ever need another handgun for Percy or some NPC look up the
Lorenzoni repeating flintlock pistol Cheers”
Taliesin: “The Pepperbox actually had a modified Lorenzoni mechanism.
:-)”
2016-11-01 Inlay design example:
https://twitter.com/VoiceOfOBrien/status/793530599105363968
Liam retweeted to Taliesin.
2016-12-07 List firing mechanism:
https://twitter.com/executivegoth/status/806426716583301120
Taliesin: “List…: Flint lock with a modified spinning Ferguson…”
Bad News
2015-04-26 First tweet about Bad News (by name):
https://twitter.com/summertealover/status/581308972218626048
Huntmaster Summer: “ Percy and Bad News are a winning team #CriticalRole
@executivegoth”
2015-04-19 When was Bad News made:
https://twitter.com/rooksnook65/status/589973929218875392
MichaelS: “Did Percy’s ‘Bad News’ come about immediately or did he craft
it over time?”
Taliesin: “It was built during the conversion from Pathfinder to 5th.
@matthewmercer made sure it was both fair and unique as a weapon.”
2015-05-22 Image reference and gun type:
https://twitter.com/AreBee1975/status/601666951757205505
Taliesin: “definitely in that direction. It’s a single shot wheel lock
with custom optics :-)”
2015-06-13 Gun type:
https://twitter.com/RunnerJuggs/status/609897288454901760
Jonathan Huggins: “Can you send me a description of Bad News, the
Pepperbox, and Percy. Looking for how they and he would look like?”
Taliesin: “@AnemoneTea has perfected Percy. As for bad news, it’s an 8 ft.
Long version of the gun from Munchausen.”
2015-07-28 Gun type:
https://twitter.com/WarriorOfAsgard/status/626164133449367552
Joseph Pearce: “What type of guns are Bad News and Pepperbox?”
Taliesin: “Bad News is a wheel lock precision sniper musket with optics,
similar to the one in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.”
This is Adolphus from “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen”
2015-07-30 Image Reference:
https://twitter.com/kennefriggles/status/626833737813090304
http://www.superpunch.net/2014/05/lego-blunderbuss-and-anglerfish.html
Taliesin: “that with about triple the barrel. Love it!”
2015-08-22 How reload works:
https://twitter.com/BrachionBlick/status/635171555585101824
Brent Blick: “Can you tell me how your reload works? Is the number for the
amount of bullets or guns used? How advanced are Percy’s guns?”
Taliesin: “per bullets. 6 & reload for the pepperbox, 1 & reload
for BN. I call them the best guns the 18th ish century had to offer.”
2015-11-19 Does Taliesin have a description:
https://twitter.com/Dvapid/status/667518288205848577
Darkervapid: “Do you have art of what “bad news” looks like
exactly. Or maybe a description?“
Taliesin: ” “there is an offical description that I haven’t shared,
but not offical art. I like to keep it vauge so that people take
liberties.”
2015-11-25 Wendy Sullivan Green Design in comic
“Critical Role: Winter’s Crest Festival #2:
http://geekandsundry.com/critical-role-winters-crest-festival-2/
2015-11-29 Gun Type:
https://twitter.com/executivegoth/status/671017135242543104
Taliesin: ” a high caliber sniper rifle, basically.“
Misty Crom: “PepperBox range quoted as ‘150 ft’ if memory serves. Bad News
range quoted as ‘disgusting’.” (Taliesin liked the comment)
2016-04-18 Image reference liked by Taliesin:
https://twitter.com/Zombified502/status/722112508006412289
2016-08-12 Joma Cuerto Bad News design:
https://twitter.com/ForgingMeanings/status/764051728425639936
Joma: “wonder if @executivegoth have any notes on how he thinks Bad News
should look!”
Taliesin: “I’ve always thought of it a bit like Adolphus’s Gun in
Munchausen without the tapered blunderbuss barrel.”
2015-10-15 Bad News Loading Mechanism:
https://twitter.com/MikeyB7667/status/654778079613595648
Trebeard: just one query. BAD NEWS is a breach loader isn’t it? I hope it is,
cos i got one hell of a surprise for you if it is :-)“
Taliesin: “an old form of breach loader, yes :-)”
https://twitter.com/MikeyB7667/status/655500211062775809
Trebeard: “The breach for bad news is based on this.”
2016-09-08 Bad News Loading Mechanism:
https://twitter.com/LeSemblantON/status/773984722993180672
Jamie M: “Is Bad News a muzzleloader, or breach loader like a Smith
Carbine? Flint lock firing mechanism?”
Taliesin: “VERY early form of breechloader, with a dutch style wheel
lock.”
2016-12-07 Bad News firing mechanism:
https://twitter.com/executivegoth/status/806426739303845888
Taliesin: “Bad news is a Wheel Lock with a Rolling Block connected to a
break action.”
sotnaS èrdnA: “That sounds incredibly complicated/impractical/dangerous. I
love it. Thank you,”
Taliesin.“ yes. So much yes. But surpringly fast to load. With a 1/10 –
1/7 failure rate.”
2017-01-11 Video example of a 1625 Breechloading Wheellock
gun:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beOgmCxeh7A
https://twitter.com/McFly_McGoven/status/819331150380417024
Taliesin: “ It’s actually even more complicated, but that’s part of the
main description, yes. It’s a mess.”
Taliesin: “ GREAT FIND BTW”
Taliesin: “ Boy his breach is WAY better than Percy’s….”
Christopher Mayfield: “Will Percy ever “create” the cartridge or
shell like modern firearms or will it be more primitive like now.“
Taliesin: “My plan is to keep it Ball shot. Don’t wanna break the game
:-)”
Retort
2016-04-21 screenshot from the Ep50 opening:
https://twitter.com/Miami_BaT/status/723333568219492356
Retort was the only pepperbox Percy had when the opening was filmed.
2016-05-01 Retort name origin:
https://twitter.com/theduganator/status/726871972571930625
Stephen Dugan: “i heard you mention “retort”. is that the new
gun’s name? as in “Well allow me to____” from Pulp Fiction?“
Taliesin liked the tweet
2016-12-07 Retort firing mechanism:
https://twitter.com/executivegoth/status/806426716583301120
Taliesin: “Retort…: Flint lock with a modified… Breach…”
Animus
2016-12-01 – Joma Cueto design:
https://twitter.com/ForgingMeanings/status/804564487491592193
https://twitter.com/rasnac_khan/status/806363137389817856
rasnac: “Mr.Jaffe I’d be glad if you please finalize this discussion among
us: Are Percy’s guns muzzleloader matchlocks?”
Taliesin: “I always want to encourage artistic licenses, and these guns
are obviously not real. That being said…”
https://twitter.com/executivegoth/status/806426716583301120
Taliesin: “… Animus: Flint lock with a modified spinning Ferguson…”
2017-01-09 Animus 3D model:
https://twitter.com/WillRed90/status/818557710505537539
Liked by Taliesin
Miscellanea
2015-08-31 You can’t duel wield pepperboxes:
https://twitter.com/theduganator/status/638533898679517184
Stephen Dugan: “would Percy be able to wield a second pepperbox in his
offhand, or are firearms not able to be dual wielded?”
Taliesin: “They can’t. You need two hands to reload.”
Dugan: “ also, since you now have 3 attacks, does that mean you can fire
bad news twice a round?”
Taliesin: “Yep 🙂 every other round.”
Dugan: “that’s right. Fire, reload, fire. then reload, fire, reload.
although having ammo will help lol”
2015-10-22 The Birthplace of Percy’s style:
http://geekandsundry.com/critical-role-character-soundtrack-number-one-with-a-bullet/
Taliesin: “Also, see Plunkett & Macleane. It’s the birthplace
of Percy’s style.”
2015-10-23 Action type to switch guns:
https://twitter.com/averysdaddy05/status/657624259016048640
Jason Waddle: “is it an action/bonus action for Percy to switch from
Pepperbox to Bad News?”
Matt: “Stowing/Drawing weapons is included in the attack action.”
2015-10-24 Mask Description:
https://twitter.com/BrandiYorkArt/status/657985287788728320
Brandi: “Finally caught up on #CriticalRole. @executivegoth Is Percy’s
mask a plague dr’s mask? Bird motif and all. Or something else?”
Taliesin: “it’s a plague doctor with a bit more of a skull motif and the
beak swept down rather than out.”
Cashew!: “Thank you for asking and answering! This is on my to-do list for
this week.What color is the mask? Skulltoned?”
Taliesin: “The one I’m building will be skull toned with brown and silver
inserts.”
2016-02-27 Firearms and stealth:
https://twitter.com/jaa0109/status/703646025639137280
John Appleton: “How do you handle firearms in relation to stealth? What’s
the range on the noise each shot makes?”
Matt: “Its pretty damn loud regardless, so they’ll break stealth in most
cases”
John: “I’m asking more in the terms of, ‘Do the bandits further in the
dungeon hear it?’”
Matt: “For a pistol, it’s possible (you can roll their perception), but
Bad News? That’s gonna echo for awhile!”
Mathew Michalak: “is it possible to enchant weapons (gun,bows) like with
(heavy) armour (silent moves)?”
Matt: “It would indeed be possible, IMO.”
2017-01-10 Talks Machina Ep8:
Twitch 0:54:58 https://www.twitch.tv/geekandsundry/v/113915245
[Alpha time + link, someone please?]
Brian: “Taliesin, aisle5 on Reddit… Cleanup on aisle 5.
What a great name! ‘Taliesin, Percy has recently had an unfortunate string of
his weapons breaking in really bad moments, does this weigh on his conscious or
does he think of it as an acceptable risk?’”
Taliesin: “It’s interesting, because he doesn’t blame
himself when they break, at all, it’s not his fault. That’s just bad luck, even
though it’s entirely his fault. Yeah, he hasn’t taken any of that into heart,
other than getting really, really frustrated at his tools, and feeling like he
needs to- He’ll probably upgrade something while there’s breathing room of any
kind. But it’s part of the fun of that kind of character class, though, is that
everything can go horribly wrong so quickly.”
Brian: “Was it Bad News that broke down? You had to
bust out Retort?”
Taliesin: “Retort broke, and then Bad News came out.
Which is funny because Bad News breaks down much more easily. I occasionally
have a couple gun nerds, who every now and then, text me to get a more complete
description of these guns. And every now and then they’re like, ‘I kind of
imagine it like this.’ And I’m like, ‘You’ve just described a functional tool.
I’m going to describe something to you, and you’re going to have to look up
some of these words for really early technology that by its nature kills the
person using it 1 out of 9 times.’
These
are not highly, well made machines.
These
are terrible.”
Travis: “Those guns took right turns when they
fired.”
Taliesin: “It was a Loony Toon gun, yeah.”
Travis mimics a gun firing to the side: “Whoops! I’m
sorry!”
Laura: “Oh geez.”
Travis: “Oh, damn.”
Brian: “Every third shot it just shoots balloons for
some reason.”
Taliesin: “It’s a breech load wheel lock. These things
explode. Yeah, I’ve made a few gun nerds cry going, ‘Who would build that? It’s
so dumb!’ This asshole! It’s really dumb, I know! It’s got a 1 in 7 chance of
failing every shot. God!”
Brian: “Let’s roll those dice.”
Taliesin: “Yeah. They’re designed to fail, and so I
kind of- But he’s definitely way too egotistical to think it’s his fault.”
Brian: “Will you tell us what the upgrades are, or
should we wait?”
Taliesin: “I haven’t really figured it out yet. I don’t
want to get more powerful, I’m not interested in getting more powerful, it’s
all about streamlining the notion of the character at this point.”
Brian: “Interesting. What do you mean by that?”
Taliesin: “He’s had several epiphanies over the last-
few games, and we haven’t really had time to stop and think about ourselves,
but he’s… yeah…”
Brian: “Do what I do: make time every day.”
Taliesin: “Make time every day. He’s got a much clearer
idea of who he wants to be, and one of those is he wants to stop relying so
much- He wants, especially in combat and things of that nature, he feels like
he’s relying on things he can’t control, and is very much about the idea of
creating bubbles of control. And so, a lot of it will be like, ‘Oh look at this
weird little magical thing that does this for me. Well, we can’t have that
anymore, I don’t understand how that works, get rid of it.’ It’s a lot of, ‘If
you can’t explain to me how it works, I want it gone.’”
Brian: “Yeah.”
Travis: “Interesting.”
Taliesin: “So, there’s a lot of that. It’s a very
Batman thing.”
Brian: “Yeah, it’s going to make the next few – -”
Taliesin: “He’s doesn’t have a Green Lantern ring
because he’s like, ‘I don’t get it.’”
2017-09-26 Bullet
type for all guns
https://twitter.com/executivegoth/status/912365385055322112
Taliesin: “I’ve
kept it vague (I may get more precise after the game) But it’s a modified cap
and ball that doesn’t need a ramrod except for cleaning.”
Critical Analysis 