u/DragonKing0203

https://www.reddit.com/r/fansofcriticalrole/s/hEM634zqcC

So almost 200 days ago I made a post after episode 3 dropped, where I ranked every character by aura. I promised an update when the full rotation finished so here it is. Quick disclaimer, having low aura doesn’t mean I dislike the character nor does having high aura mean I like the character. I’m pretty upfront about who I dislike on this list tbh. I’ve included how many places the character has risen or dropped and also more reasoning than I provided last time. Enjoy!

Thimble (+4)
Shooting up from 5th place we have the pixie menace herself, Thimble. This is actually my formal apology to her for calling her an aura gold digger and saying she had implied aura. I turned out very wrong. She really put the entire soldiers team on her back and she’s three apples tall. GOAT behavior. Not only is she good in a fight, but she’s willing to make big sacrifices and that makes her feel incredibly cool.

Julien (+2)
There’s gotta be something about revenge plotlines, right? I mean, when I first made this list we had never really gotten to see him in his element and he still did quite well, so it only makes sense that when we see him start stabbing some bitches that he goes up. His fighting style based around hitting and getting hit is so unbelievably badass. A well deserved silver medalist.

Valeus (-2)
Our former 1st place. She is basically riding off her introduction. It was incredibly strong, dripping with aura. But also putting her next to the seekers helped a lot. All of them besides her are having the worst week of their life, so she comes across as very levelheaded in comparison. Elephant in the room, she did lose some points because Ashley Johnson doesn’t know how to play D&D. She’s still, all things considered, very cool.

Teor (-2)
It hurt to drop Teor, it really did. He was so strong in the overture but his showing at the soldiers table left a bit to be desired imo. What’s really helping his is the fact that his table looks to him for leadership, and the fact House Halovar is obsessively looking for him. I won’t lie, being the most wanted guy according to a cult is pretty badass. It actually supports him as a more important figure than he already is because his name gets tossed around so much.

Bolaire (+2)
Bolaire was a shocking riser for me. I didn’t have super high expectations for him but looking back he was consistently pretty awesome. What really helps him is that Tal has the vibes on lock. Love him or hate him he’s a creative edgelord. He knows exactly what energy he wants to bring. He’s also got the same thing that Valeus has going on, the rest of his rabble is wigging out so staying typically levelheaded makes him feel grounding. It’s shocking to say he’s the coolest guy at the schemers table but looking back he really was.

Azune (+5)
Speaking of the schemers, sergeant sad eye reported for misery and power gaming because HOLY FUCK! Azune is the character most like Thjazi in many ways. A charismatic warrior who has risen above the circumstances of his birth. A finger in every pie, incapable of sitting by and watching injustice. He rapidly flips between a wet dishrag saddest boy you’ve ever seen and the most badass man ever and that does limit his aura a bit, but it’s definitely not holding him back that much. His aura stock is rising. He’s expanding the aura portfolio.

Thaisha (+1)
Thaisha is an interesting case. She’s done cool things, certainly, but I don’t know if I would describe her as cool. Aura farming is clearly not her top priority. It’s been a pretty even split for her between aura gains and aura losses. If I had to describe her in 5 words, nothing like cool/badass/awesome would be one of them. She’s got different things going on and that puts her pretty solidly in this area of the list.

Kattigan (-5)
Welcome to my barely disguised Kattigan Vale hate post. Just kidding, kinda. See we get into a fun part of ranking something subjective and vibes based like aura. Your own personal feelings on the character will affect it. I tried to be a unbiased as possible, but I will admit that I find every character who’s arc turns into “I miss my wife tails, I miss her a lot” and then drinks about it to be kinda lame. I’m sorry, I just do. It’s fucking boring. If you’re a Kattigan enjoyer tell me where you think he should be.

Murray (+0)
Consistency is key! I wouldn’t consider Murray a joke character, there’s a real pathos to her, but she is very silly. I can point out a few really cool things she’s done, but she’s been mostly stressed, beaten down, and tripping out like most of her table. Her build is not particularly made for combat as it seems, so she doesn’t really get a chance to farm crazy aura. She’s not without aura but she’s not in high supply, in my opinion.

Occtis (+2)
What does dying do to someone’s aura? What does coming back wrong do to someone’s aura? Occtis is interesting. He’s certainly not high on the list but he did make gains. He was kinda a pathetic loser in life and then he died like a bitch. But now he’s back! Since coming back he’s made some real progress towards becoming cool. Intimidating the Druids in Valeus defense, doing well in combat, and being the smart guy on team seeker has made him feel a tad bit cooler than he was. Just a bit.

Tyranny (-5)
I must confess, I really overrated Tyranny on my last post. I think I just liked her and wanted to rank her high, but she’s always been a bit of a girl failure. She’s got a real complex about feeling like she’ll always be bad by nature, and she’s got a dependency on her bond with Wic. She’s got a lot of heart, and she’s real endearing, but I can’t say she’s cool. Seeing the rest of her sisters did put her into perspective, I’ll give her that.

Wicander (+1)
Listen. I know. Not in last place anymore? Crazy. He did cheat death at least twice and basically be a reincarnation of a god, so… idk man that seems like aura to me. That seems like he’s got a little bit of cool in him. A small amount of swagger could be possessed. Shocking, I understand. He’s still not particularly cool, but he did show some serious backbone when the team needed it. Excited to see if he can keep rising the list.

Hal (-3)
Hal is kinda boring. He has, arguably, the most interesting connection to anyone in the game at all. He’s Thjazi’s brother. Not enough is done with that, in my opinion. He’s gets the Liam special, where he’s just sad with big sad wet eyes and a melancholy attitude. I don’t hate it, I historically like Liam’s characters, but it certainly makes it hard to have aura. Another thing is that Liam wanted a character who has adventure thrust upon to him instead of seeking it out, which is fine and dandy, but oftentimes means he feels like he lacks agency which is also not that cool.