The Real Reason Nott Drinks So Much in The Mighty Nein
Nott’s wild nights weren’t just antics—Prime Video’s The Mighty Nein finally uncorks the tragic past fueling her drinking, ending fan speculation with a gut-punch reveal.
Fans love Nott the Brave for the chaos and the one-liners, but the constant drinking? Not exactly a quirk played for laughs. Prime Video has now put a big neon arrow over why she hits the bottle, and it lines up with what Critical Role already laid out in Campaign 2.
So, why does Nott drink?
Short version: pain management. Nott (voiced by Sam Riegel) drinks to smother trauma and loss, and because part of her still believes her friend Caleb might be the way out of all of it.
Prime Video’s production notes describe her as a "foul-mouthed alcoholic goblin girl" who "drinks to hide from her painful past, which she hopes her new friend, Caleb, can help her solve."
The backstory the campaign already told
Before she was Nott, she was Veth Brenatto, a halfling who liked wine and loved her family. A goblin raid on her village ended with her captured, tortured, and then literally remade into a goblin by a witch. That forced transformation didn’t just change her body; it cranked her traits to 11. Her habit of collecting things slid into full-on kleptomania, and that casual taste for wine spiraled into a full-blown addiction. The drinking helps numb the constant ache of being separated from her family and the lingering pain from what was done to her.
Caleb is the exit strategy
In The Mighty Nein, Nott gloms onto Caleb Widogast, seeing him as the key to undoing her goblin form. And eventually, it works. In Campaign 2, Episode 97, Caleb casts a Transmogrification spell that turns Nott back into Veth, restoring her halfling self.
Moments that make it obvious
- Her very first interaction with Caleb is basically a transaction: she offers help on a heist in exchange for a refill of her flask at the tavern.
- Any time someone pokes at her drinking, she fires off a barbed comeback. When she is not actively drinking, the hangovers turn her into a short-fused firecracker.
- Episode 4 spells it out: when Jester asks why she loves booze, Nott stares at her reflection in the bottle and says it is not about liking it — it is about needing it.
So no, the show is not inventing a new angle here. It is just saying the quiet part out loud: the goblin jokes land because the hurt underneath is real, and the bottle is armor she has been carrying since the day her life was torn apart.