Nott the Brave
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Nott, the Brave (originally Veth Brenatto) |
| Occupation: | |
| Relationships: | Yeza (husband), Luke (son) |
| Fandom: | Critical Role |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Nott, the Brave (also known as Veth), is one of the main characters in the Second Campaign of Critical Role. She is played by Sam Riegel.
Nott, the Brave is a goblin[1] rogue first introduced as a companion to Caleb Widogast. At the beginning of the campaign, Nott often stole "shinies" from people the Mighty Nein encountered. Nott is described as having light green skin, large yellow eyes, and a wide mouth of broken fangs and teeth designed for carnivorous eating. She keeps herself and her body hidden with wraps, a cloak, and a porcelain half-mask that she uses to blend in. Early in the campaign, she displays a self-hatred of goblins, and a personal fear of water.
Everything you’ve heard about goblins is true, they’re - they’re just awful in every way.(#C2E19)- The Gentleman's Path
While early episodes make it appear that Caleb and Nott have a Father-daughter relationship, Nott is often fiercely protective of Caleb, and treats him like he was her own child.
I think there’s a bit of a misconception here. Caleb and I have a very special relationship. It is that of a parent and a child. But I am the parent. You do understand that, correct? I protect him. He’s my boy, and I keep him safe. I want him to thrive and get better and better, and more powerful and stronger. Because he can achieve great things. When I found him, he was nothing. He was a scared little boy in the corner of a jail cell. As we have gotten more comfortable, he has gotten more comfortable and come out of his shell. It’s my job to protect him, because I love him, and I am his protector. Not because he protects me.(#C2E13)- Lost & Found
In the Nein's travels, as war is brewing in the Empire, they eventually travel to the small town of Felderwin, where Nott had previously revealed that her clan had lived near. Events quickly transpire to reveal that Nott was in fact Veth, a hafling who had been tortured by goblins, and cursed to appear as one.
(about her transformation into a goblin): They made me everything...that I thought I was: not pretty...not good...just Nott.(#C2E49)- A Game of Names
Veth reveals that she has a child and a husband, and retrieving him becomes the Nein's next arc as they travel into Xhorhas. The reveal of Nott to have a son, and Veth to be Nott shocked the Critical Role fandom [2] [3].
Fandom
Nott and Veth are both frequently featured in fanart. [4].
While initially, Sam's choice of "voice" for Nott caused laughter and jokes, fans and cast alike quickly embraced it.
Before Nott's identity as Veth became public, her negative opinions about goblins, as well as the opinion she expressed about herself led fans to identify Nott as trans. Trans fans also admitted they related to Nott:
The moment she became explicitly important to me was when we first got her (heavily edited) backstory, and she talked more openly/explicitly about her dysphoria. Nott’s dysphoria is much stronger than mine, but she’s also the first character whose dysphoria I’ve been able to relate to. And I think weirdly that might be a product of the fact that she’s not a trans character. Most trans characters whose dysphoria get explored in-narrative are binary trans people. Most of the (very, very few) nonbinary characters I’ve seen don’t really have dysphoria explored in relation to their character. It’s been a lot easier for me to relate to Nott’s dysphoria on a metaphoric level–and in general the extent to which her story is so focused on identity and self-hood has been really affirming, and led to a lot of really important conversations.[5]
Early on (especially after episode 19 of campaign 2) fans argued about the direction Nott's story was going, some insisting that she should learn to love her body, instead of looking for a way to change it. Others didn't agree[6].
Some fans didn't want the theories floating around that Nott was in fact originally a different race to come true for a variety of reasons.
If she were some other creature who had been transformed, I think that it would undermine the metaphor for Body dysphoria and Transgender Identity issues that Nott seems to represent. With the amount of respect this cast has for under and mis represented peoples, it just doesn't seem like the sort of choice Matt or Sam would make. Whatever choice Nott makes in the end, I feel like for that decision to have meaning it's important that she starts from a position where her body is her body and her soul is her soul. Finding out this was just another case of "a wizard did it" seems to me like it would cheapen that journey.[7]
Fanworks
Fanfics
- Little Monster by Lesetoilesfous Nott hasn't been in prison for very long when she gets a cellmate, a human called Caleb. This story follows the development of an unlikely friendship, and the way it saves two people who'd long since decided to give up on the world. Or: prison is not the first place Nott imagined she'd find a family, but she isn't complaining. |Words: 21,102|
- No One Else by SeveralSmallHedgehogs Twenty years ago, a mutated fungus started turning humans into killing machines, and Nott figures this is just how things will be forever. Then she meets Caleb and discovers that he's immune to the fungus. If she can just get him to the Fireflies, they might be able to find a cure. |Words: 65,647|
Caleb watches over the back of the couch as Veth and Yeza disappear, a fond smile dancing across his face. Essek watches him watch them, and says, “You can join them, if you like. This is a dense one—I’ll be here reading all night.” He holds up the book in question.
Caleb’s gaze returns to him. There’s a softness around his eyes that fills Essek with warmth—Caleb’s eyes always used to look so tired. It’s taken years to wash most of that exhaustion from his gaze.
Essek reminisces about the evolution of his relationship with Caleb, Veth and Yeza.But then their dinner is interrupted by a frantic knock and- oh, what is this?
The Brenatto family seems like it's growing. And quickly.Fanart
Meta
- Could Nott just… stop being a rogue?, Archived version - Nott, who time and time again has re-iterated that she is frightened to be the one scouting ahead, to be the one checking for traps, to be the first in the line of fire. She drinks to excess to cope with that terror (among other things), and in a non-DnD-based story, you could see the party reassuring her that she doesn’t have to do this alone: that someone could go with her to scout, or they could take turns checking for traps. But that isn’t what happens. That discussion isn’t even on the table, because rogues scout ahead, and rogues do the checks, and Nott is the party’s rogue. ===Other=== * [[R -posted 12/12/2019
- veth is so so cool as a character because like. - i love that veths conflict becomes her deep longing to return home and her taste for adventure; the way these two selves, nott the brave and veth brenatto, clash and conflict. - posted 3/10/2022
- Nott the Brave: How to Masterfully Foreshadow Backstory - video, posted 5/20/2022
Cosplay
Nott by Caffeinated Cosplay, 8/17/2018
[No Spoilers] Indigenous Reimagination of Veth Brenatto by mimesaway, 5/29/2022
First Nott/Veth level 10 photos from @kufspawn ! by essegigi, 1/29/2024
Other
- resurrection - a fansong by Lilli Furfaro
References
- ^ Goblins became a playable character race in Dungeons and Dragons when Volo’s Guide To Monsters was published (November 15, 2016). Additional rules and guidelines were further explained in Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting (written by Matthew Mercer, James Haeck, Joseph Carriker, and Steve Kenson) and Explorer's Guide to Wildemount, written by Matthew Mercer, Chris Lockey, James Introcaso, and James Haeck.
- ^ [1], 'Critical Role' Reveals Tragic Backstory That Was Hiding in Plain Sight Comicbook.com, January 25, 2019
- ^ [2], Homeward Bound | Critical Role | Campaign 2, Episode 48
- ^ [3], Critical Role Fanart
- ^ how about Nott? by disasterhumans, accessed by 26 September 2020
- ^ nott doesn’t HAVE to learn to love her body OR being a goblin, and that she’s entitled to pursue whatever’s gonna make her comfortable in her skin. the entire attitude that she needs to “learn to love herself” to have a fulfilling arc is so belittling, especially toward a female character. - some ep. 19 opinions: by trans-karkat, accessed 26 September 2020
- ^ Meta reason why Nott by kaannaa, accessed 26 September 2020