People tend to forget that Matt and the crew played DnD before they started streaming and they stated many times that this is their style of play. Campaign 1 was already 2 years long, I guess, when Geek & Sundry called them to do Critical Role. The show skyrocketed and now stands on its own. If DnD is so popular nowadays it is, in part, due to their work in sharing their game experience. At least some respect they deserve. Most haters criticisms come from not knowing this or some kind of envy. In one episode of Dragon Talk Perkins said they had interest in working with Mercer as an adventure councilor, either to DnD adventures (SKT, by that time) and Acquisitions Incorporated. People should stop complaining about them and enjoy all the investment the game is receiving, which is due to its popularity, which, I reinforce, grew like this because of CR.
You don't have like what or how they do it to appreciate the good they are doing for the hobby. Let people like what they like. So I totally agree with you. Nerdarchist Dave
It got me back into the game and my group have been playing for over a year and it also aided me in finding this great channel witch gave me confidence to run are homebrew games
A more forgotten fact was that the group played Pathfinder before streaming which is why Percy was a gunslinger. They swapped over to D&D for its efficiency.
I've been playing D&D for forty years, as have half the folks I play with. What I learned from CR and its community is that the hobby is in really good hands. And that kindness, imagination and fun are at least as important as rules and dice.
@@Nerdarchy oh most definitely! We do a lot of looking after each other! There's quite a bit of "my back's gone again, can you move my mini..." But such a joy.
been with my d&d group for 24 years guess im lucky. what is sad is the gate keepers being so toxic to new players who came to D&D from CR. weather you like CR or not it is a positive for the community.
I first heard of Mercer when he the Red Nose day event. A 1 on 1 sesh with Stephen Colbert. I had barely thought of DnD or other RPGs in years. Since then I have discovered Matt Colville, Seth Skorkowski, Dungeon Craft, Nerdarchy and others. I learned that I don't enjoy watching as much as playing but I still appreciate all the hard work done by CR and others to bring RPG's into the spotlight.
I had been playing on and off with the same group for a long time and things were getting stale we just created the characters and moved thou the adventure. CR and the other streams reminded me there where other ways to play and got me reenvigorated trying other groups trying to up my role playing in my old groups as well.
The #1 thing I learned from Critical Role, that all of them do well but I find Travis does particularly well, is to be generous with the limelight and allow the other characters to insert themselves in your moments. It's given me far more satisfaction to have moments where my character happens to be the focus of the moment be a shared experience.
Could not agree more as a player that is my number one take away. I think the experience that the players have as stage actors helps. Travis is the most gracious but watch Taliesin really closely he is incredibly supportive of the other players.
There's a lot of bile in this comment section towards CR and I don't get it. It's really sad, seeing as they were such an inspiration to so many people. No, CR isn't perfect, the characters aren't perfect, and that's not a flaw, that's a strength. If everything was perfect, it would be boring. They're actors, they're only human, their characters are fallible, and that is great. It makes for far more of an interesting story and playstyle and that's the point.
@@Nerdarchy Yes I agree, I really enjoy browsing the comment section on your channel since it's overwhelmingly positive and constructive and full of people sharing their own fun experiences with this game. The one part about the CR fandom that I severely dislike is the people who don't separate the characters from the actors and blame one for the actions of the other, implying that when faced with difficult and on the fly decisions, they themselves wouldn't screw up regularily or maybe pull a move that's ooc. Similar accusations I see hurled at Matt, when he doesn't DM the way some people think he should, which is just sad. They may be professional actors, but as I said, they're human after all. I'm not about to start this fight here, I'm simply stating how I've experienced what is in my opinion the worst side of the fandom. I'm not talking about all the people who give good and constructive criticism, I'm talking about the few same people that you find on every CR related video who are always yammering their same old tirades, and some of them sadly made it here. The rest of the fandom and the show I find fantastic, so I think it's best we don't let it get to us. You make great videos, and there will always be bitter people somewhere.
I think this was a good video but I get the impression some of those commenting never made it past your opening joke. One major thing I think many viewers overlook about Critical Role is how much their game has changed since it started streaming. What was explained in the very first show was that they changed from Pathfinder to 5E for the stream, so many of them didn't know the 5E rules well and there was going to be confusion and mistakes. Another thing to be noted is that in the beginning they didn't have fancy maps, just chart paper with maps hand drawn by Matt Mercer. Two reasons that this changed are that Matt was given a number of items over the first few months of the game that started with coloured mats and a few trees/rocks and ultimately the modular plastic bases/walls for the current map builds they use today. The second reason is that being a streamed game they felt a more visual element would assist in viewers enjoyment of the game.One of the biggest critiques of Matt Mercer is how much control he has over the game, which makes no sense to me as he is the GM and in total control. Even with that he most famous line is asking a player "How do you want to do this?" where he gives them a chance to define how they defeat a strong foe or boss. His elaborate descriptions of said events after the fact are brought about by the groups acceptance that Matt has a great way with words and is more descriptive and creative in that regard.The biggest thing I have learned about D&D from Critical Role is that while anyone can play, just as anyone can play any game be it a sport, a board game or a video game, there are always going to be those who are great and those that are just average. And it is perfectly fine to be either! Just as long as you are having fun, and everyone at your table is enjoying themselves, being a perfect player or a mediocre player doesn't matter. This is a game and nobody can tell you that YOUR FUN IS WRONG!
well certainly people can tell you your fun is wrong, they would just be mistaken to do so. semantics aside though i disagree with your assessment that much has changed when it comes to their mastery (or lack thereof) of the rules, they have gotten a little better (well some of them have) but some people still have no idea what any of their abilities do (only slightly hyperbolic), most of the rules they should know by now simply due to repetition, other than that though i can't argue with what you said.
I like to end sessions or take breaks at the start of combat (before initiative) or immediately after before the party loots. For me the biggest thing I learned from CR, and Mercer specifically, is how to deal with a mistake. I had a similar issue with the spell Animate Dead cast by a wizard, I miss-read the casting time as 1 round. When the player caught my mistake after combat, I told her it was because there was Shadowfell seeping through in the area ... this made me have to change the campaign a bit because I had to add notes on this spot, as it was now a landmark. I never take away from my players when I miss-interpret the rules.
Sometimes mistakes can make for cool and fun experiences at the table such as your new land mark. Keep in mind the monsters don't always have to play by the same rules as the player characters. Also the DM shouldn't feel obligated to explain those differences. They can come out in the game eventually or never. Sometimes the players just don't have the answers. If they bring it up just responded cryptically with something like "yea isn't that odd." Nerdarchist Dave
I have to mention the most important thing I learned from Matt Mercer and his conversations about Critical Role is that your game dose not have to be like his to still be good.
4th thing I learned from CR, as a DM always use the improv rule of “yes and” or “no but” with your dming and role play, and encourage your players to do this as well!
Another thing that CR taught me is that when I'm the DM, ALWAYS have Plans B, C, D, E.....Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, etc because the Players will always surprise you & could circumvent a Battle you had planned. Case in point, the Mighty Nien were heading back to port & were being followed by another ship, & once that ship had gotten within 300 feet, Taliesin's character used Control Water [Flood] & Matt upped the "25% chance to capsize to 30% chance to capsize" & he had Tal roll a percentile, in which he rolled so well that even if Matt kept it at the 25% the Ship had still capsized. [iirc Tal rolled 15]. Completely negating the entire Ship-to-Ship Battle that Matt had ready.
I've learned more from CR as a DM than as a player. One of the biggest things I've learned is flexibility, allow players to do the things they want and adjust the rules on the fly to accommodate such decisions. I started watching CR pretty close to the beginning and went back and binged to catch up. As a player it was entertaining (for the first time, I usually can't stand watching others play). But then I started DMing for my kids, which was extremely frustrating the first night when they wanted to do some wildly radical stuff. I watched a few episodes of CR before the next session and completely changed my approach, with Matt's phrase, "you may certainly try". I find we all enjoy the game more when it's flexible and the rules are more of a guideline.
________K=====\ ----------------------\---\ -----------------------\---\ ------------------------\--\ -------------------------\--\ --------------------------\-\ ---------------------------\---------\** ----------------------------\---------\ -----------------------------\---------\ ------------------------------\---------\ -------------------------------\---------\ --------------------------------\----------X K = Keyleth ====== = Keyleth getting a Running Jump ** = I know that she WS into a Goldfish, but I think that she also used gust of wind or something to push her further away from the cliff's edge as her initial decent would've had her crashing into the Cliff X = Keyleth died in Goldfish form, but the amount of damage not only went over the HP of a Goldfish but was essentially over 9,000x her own HP
The thing I take away from Critical Role is their table manners. All of them shut up and listen when the Dm is setting a scene. All of them take notes and work hard to remember which Npc or plot threads they encounter. They will shut up when other players need time to role play a scene amoung each other and also with Matt's npcs. All of these subtle skills probably gained from their acting are really useful and make the game collectively more fun for the players and the DM.
Committing to a regular game session for an indefinite period is truly one of the unsung achivements of any long-running campaign. I'm going okay ATM with fortnightly sessions (5e), but many of my players are in another campaign (2e) that's lucky to meet up once every six weeks. If you want to have your players follow an actual story, fortnightly is the _extreme limit_ of frequency. We've just come up on a time window where it's going to be almost a month before out next game and I _know_ that's going to be a problem. Luckily I have two players who are _aggressive_ note-takers, which does make things like this easier (shoutout to Rachael and Sarah), but I'm going to have to get everyone back up to speed next session. I mean, they just killed Exethanter in the Amber Temple. And they still haven't worked out what the deal is with that statue. They currently think it's just a trap. I need [redacted] to hit them with higher-level spells, that's what needs to happen. Regarding Critical Role. If I had to pick my three things that I think are awesome about that livestream, they would be this: *1. Play at a table.* There is no substitute for actually sitting around a table with friends. You can read their body language. You can look them in the eye. They can bring you food. Online may be a necessary evil in a world where the friends of youth spread out over the globe, but it's not optimal. *2. The campaign needs to be **_able_** to be taken seriously.* Not that everyone should be sitting around po-faced. There's going to be jokes.* Just don't let your campaign _be_ a joke. Laughter is the thing that comes easiest at the table; drama and investment are the things a DM needs to work at. The campaign and the game world should not be _inherently_ funny in anything other than an outright comedy campaign: the players will make their own jokes. Frequently. Trust me on this. *3. Enable your players to take chances.* The truly awesome moments in any TTRPG come when a player metaphorically takes a dive off a high board into a glass of water. It might be an insane strategy** or a cringeworthy in-character monologue. Allow for the fact that this is all improvised and go with it. Doesn't mean you need to let it work but, "You can certainly try." * Unless you lobotomize your players. Which is bad. Don't lobotomize your players. Their families and loved ones start asking questions _almost immediately._ Don't ask how I know. ** As per #2, watch this for abuse. Players saying, "It's crazy, but it _just might_ work." is awesome. Players saying, "It's crazy, so the the DM will _make_ it work." is not.
Two more things I like: They play from the character view point and not the player view point, meaning, how would my character respond in this situation? And..failing dice rolls can be more fun than succeeding. I started way back in high school (1982) and any failed dice roll generally meant your character was dead, that gets old pretty quick, so we were always meta gaming and trying to be perfect.
That's the biggest thing, back then, you HAD to Meta Game to stay alive & was generally accepted because you HAD to otherwise your Character could die. Now, not so much, and at times, that's good that you shouldn't have to MG but play it from the perspective of your Character. Which is part of what Orion (1st Campaign) got a ton of flack over was he would be MGing when the chances were higher that his Character wouldn't have actually have known it, though he had gotten more flack over Min-Max/Cheating. My tipping point with him & his character was actually towards the end of his time on the show, when he kept threatening to bring in the military of his people. It wasn't so much that it would've negated the ton of work Matt did to put into the story & everything, but his character legitimately didn't have that authority [which was why I was happy that Matt "in-character" as the Father of Orion's character told him NO]. Not to mention, realistically, the Empire that he was part of & the Empire of the land he was traveling in had a mutual understanding to the point where, if the Draconians were to send their "entire fleet/army" without prior permission it honestly would've been seen as an Invasion. It would be the equivalent of if child of a US Diplomat was in England, found a threat & called in the entire US Military, the massive fallout that would occur if the US Military were to have done that. Without actually going through the proper channels, would cause the US Diplomat to no longer be a Diplomat, would cause problems with the high command of the US Military, and would strain the relationship between the US & the UK. Granted, the Briarwoods were a very real threat, they weren't that massive a threat to warrant the calling of an entire Kingdom's Military Forces to essentially invade the country of an Ally, without first getting permission & going through the appropriate channels.
All involved in CR are very charismatic and brings their own flavor to the table. Like you guys said on a very high level too which makes it extremely entertaining. By watching their campaigns I got the spark/flair back for D&D back again from not playing for +15y.
I have learned A LOT from CR. Over the past 4 or 5 years, Ive only played sparsely- due to my groups never sticking together. The first two campaigns I played never made it past 6 or 7 sessions- which is sad. Because of that, I never got a good grasp of the game. I had about a year and a half gap between my last group and my current one, and in that time i watched CR. I got such a great grasp of the rules from watching that I went into my current campaign totally confident in my knowledge of the rules AND how to be a better player.
Awesome to hear that you guys had the opportunity to meet matt and see their space. don't kid yourselves though you guys were around before them they should be looking up to you and I'm sure matt looked at your channel before you saw CR. I'm not taking anything away from critical role. They're awesome! I watch every single episode and love them but, I watched you guys first because you were first. Don't sell your legend short!!
Right now my successful game definition is tell a good story, let my 5 year old roll some dice, practice math, and play with a dragonborn paper doll. If I keep my wife from getting bored, so much the better.
Watching d&d streams are not real entertaining for me but gives me an idea how others play/dm. I started watching CR after watching a clip of Sam's character shooting seagulls, funny. Back in the day d&d for me was about exploring dungeons, killing monsters, getting treasure, improving your character's survivability, (mechanics) and building a keep/castle. After watching CR I find myself talking in character more and developing my character's character. Those other old goals are still in place at my table but it's more story driven with complicated plots. Adds flavor to the game and i cant wait to find out what's going to happen next session. D&D streams may not be real entertaining but they've taught me a lot. Thanks Mercer, Perkins, Dave and Ted Nerdarchy👍
I have to admit. I have never finished watching Episode 1 of Season 1 of Critical Role. However, I am familiar with Matt Mercer as a DM because Force Grey is more my style. I absolutely love the Force Grey series and I think the main thing that I have learned from DM Matt Mercer is his descriptive combat scenes. Observing and adapting descriptive combat to my games has been one of my most treasured improvements as a Dungeon Master. Thank you Matt!
Wally D.M. Season 1 episode 1 is hard to sit through... it’s starts partly through a campaign they’ve already been playing, there’s no real backstory and they’re clearly still trying to figure out how to stream. I highly suggest watching Season 2 Episode 1 and try again lol
Critical Role is great in my opinion because they are always keeping the story moving. They have a decent pace (only listened to season 2). Our group struggles with having so many opportunities that we get 1 million side quests done before we get to the story task. I think Critical role handles the balance well.
I also binge listen to CR as well, I use it for inspiration since I am just converting to 5E. I work overnight so I download episodes and put them on my phone and listen while at work.
I understand why you say that as Mercer says that himself but CR is not actually rules light. Matt and the CR players put a lot of effort discussing and looking up rules which you could see at the beginning of Season 2. In addition, he uses some optional and home brew rules rules that are quite a bit more complex than vanilla 5e; flanking, critical failures, skill challenges and Mercer's fairly harsh rules on resurrection. I think Mercer puts the "rules light" disclaimer on the game just to try to emphasis that role playing is the #1 priority and to persuade the audience not to get caught up in rules debates during the game (not that it works). High drama I 100% agree with you.
@@michaelduke9057 yeah 100% agree with you they actually follow most rules even getting rid of most of their Homebrew rules for campaign to campaign one was a little sketch on a couple rules because it was a continuation of their Pathfinder games so some things have to change
I think the game is also good at showing dos and don'ts as a player in an entertaining manner. Case in point: as a general rule (especially as a spellcaster), know what your PC can do prior to your turn. Marisha had a problem juggling all the Druid abilities. She is so much easier to watch when she's playing a mechanically simpler class.
@DJ KO that's only when she's RPing her character as the typical annoying feminist, but she has her moments where she does that less. I think marriage has been good for her.
Well, sort of. I have a monk who doesn't read up on how to monk. You don't have to read the whole damn book like I did, but read your class. Know your abilities and spells. Multicolored post its, tattoo it on your hands, whatever. Learn your stuff.
Yeah, but sometimes the fails are entertaining. i work in a clean room with a 12 hr shift making IVs for the patients, having CR podcasts give me at least a few hours of something entertaining in the background. Actually got me back to interested in D&D after i spent way too long in a group with a That Guy.
Learned from W. Wheaton's streamed games that professional actors make more watchable D&D sessions. If it's on television and makes money its probably not 'real' in the sense of free form games that happen in RL. Mad love for you guys and I loved the opener to the topic. Hit the nail on the head.
I wish more people understood that Critical Roll is a produced show with actors playing the roles of D&D players. Like so many reality shows most of it is pre-planned and coached. The point of the show is to entertain, not share the game they're playing. Which is fine, but I think it gives their audience an incorrect impression of the game.
@@orobouros616 you just made that up. Mercer himself says otherwise, so stop spreading bullshit. Also if that was the truth why would they hide it? Whatever helps you sleep at night
When it comes to D&D streams, you have to find the ones that engage you, and those are different for everybody. Sometimes it's because you like the players, sometimes you like the characters, sometimes you like the setting or the PC interaction style... but there has to be something about it that hooks you on a personal level. Critical Role is easy to like for most viewers, but most of them are more niche. Don't force yourself to try to like a particular stream; keep looking until you find the ones that work for you.
Let any gamer among us who never got a rule wrong cast the first dislike. The best part of CR is that they get rules wrong all the time and they just go with it like the rest of us. We aren’t demigods like Chris Perkins (who also gets rules wrong from time to time in his shows and he works for the freaking company).
I learned that voice actors are legends, I watched an episode of critical role one night as I had nothing else to watch. I had never played D&D, but within 5 minutes these people made me want to play and made me want to find out more about the game and made me want to consume more videos about D&D. I love your channel as much as theirs (your comments section is a lot friendlier though lol), despite your obvious bias against Warlocks (but I won't hold that against you lol) Keep making great videos and I will keep coming back to watch them. I have learnt from you guys, Critical Role, The Dungeon Dudes etc etc etc, that although optimising characters can give you the best shot at survival sometimes it is better to go for the "Oh shit!" factor and make it interesting. Like using mass suggestion to convince people to willingly follow you through dimension door, 200ft straight up in the air and then casting feather fall on yourself as they plummet to the ground! Or a combination of Eldritch Blast+Agonising Blast+Repelling Blast, to damage an enemy whilst pushing him back through lava and finishing the pesky bugger off by hurling him through hell (he didn't see the funny side initially lol) My biggest problem in our current game is I have become the face accidentally and everyone looks to me to lead every conversation, when I know they have ideas. However taking a Dwarven Barbarian and a Rogue to the theatre was never going to end well, drink was consumed and pockets were picked, but hey that's D&D.
Well thank you for hanging out with us in Ted's basement. We don't actually dislike warlocks. We do find them a bit mechanically weaker or boring. To us mechanics and fun aren't the same to us. We might rag on something mechanically in a video, but than play it because it's fun. Nerdarchist Dave
Im a total 'Crit baby' I'm a TT wargamer always knew of DnD. But never knew anybody who played. Discovering CR was mind blowing. Ive tried to play on roll20 but very difficult to find a regular group. So Im now DM my own campain. Id rather be a PC but that looks like it will not happen for me.
I actually found out about Matt Mercer from Overwatch and then realized he played DND. I never played DND because I was largely intimidated that I wouldn't fit it in or understand the mechanics and slow down the party or campaign, but the community has been welcoming. I feel like it can be overwhelming for new comers because there are many elitists out there that don't like that there are new players who don't remind them of what they're used to. People who play DND don't have to look, talk, or act a certain way and that's okay. We should all be excited that DND is getting exposure to the masses. This means more people with creative minds and more content to get sucked into. I love hack and slash RPG video games and Diablo was one of the main reasons why I became interested in DND because it's essentially a digital version of it and that was the first gateway into DND. I'm now happy to report that my wife and I started to play DND together with her coworkers and college friends, we've been playing for about 6 months now and I now consider everybody in the party my friends.
My current live table has been running around five years. Three out of the current six of us have been there the whole time. Not too shabby. We have rotated as GM/DM, but I haven't run in a few years. In that time we've only managed to run through one full campaign, and several start-ups that fizzle out mid-way or sooner. Our current run looks like it might make it, but only time will tell. I've been on Roll*20 since 2013 both as player and GM/DM. I tend to get a year's worth of consistent play out of the groups before they lose the plot and fizzle out. We have completed a module or two (if we still call them that), but a persistent lvl 1 to lvl ? has eluded me for the most part due to player flakiness. As to streaming in general and CR in specific...I tried to watch, but I'd rather be planning or playing than watching the stream. I can appreciate it, and if others are into it, then have fun. I think if I were stuck with no one to play with that I might be more inclined to watch, but since I am lucky to have people to play with, I'd rather be playing...or watching Nerdarchy.
I just started watching CR, and I'm learning so much. Going to be DMing for the first time in a few weeks, so I'm studying up! Thanks for the vid ya nerds!
@15:24, the Roll 20 Campaign I'm involved in, we're playing we were fighting through Xanathar's Thieves Guild and had just come face to face with Nilhiloor(the Mindflayer). Before we could attack Xanathar showed up! The Ranger grabs her Clerical Scroll "Word of Recall" that we found in Lasandar's(Blue Dragon) Horde, she reads it and only her and the Tiefling Warlock are effected. The two Dwarves were out of range of the spell and have NO idea what happened to them. We killed Nilhiloor, scared off (temporarily,I think the DM took pity on us) Xanathar. However NOBODY knows where the Ranger and Tiefling wound up. Session ended there. :)
In my old job Tuesdays were always my favorite day of the week because I knew I'd generally have a new crit roll on youtube to listen to. Always made the day go by faster. I'm having a hard time getting into the new campaign sadly hopefully I get the itch to get back into it. Started focusing more on higher rolls recently.
For those who are having issues watching the Critical Role episodes due to length, I turn up the playback speed to 1.5x or 2x to blast through it quicker. Start slower, like 1.25x and go faster as you feel comfortable that you aren't missing anything.
Just watch the critical recaps for campagin 2 or the fast method is just watch the newest episode the way matt mecer explains the previous episode you can get the whole picture.
Player-player conversation is where it's at, it lets you tell your backstory, develop relationships, and gives you an in character reason to know what other characters can do
I treat most streamed RPG games as an audio drama. You should watch LA by Night, the Vampire game that G&S has on Fridays, it is such a great show with a great cast! I was in one group for 19 years, we basically just played 2E AD&D, but it was such a great group but had many players rotate through.
I'll share something I learned to specifically do (rather than incidentally) from critical role and that is to play to an audience. Because despite not having one like they do, my players are an audience and so I want them to be entertained even when they're not doing stuff themselves. Anyway I'll continue to enjoy my connection, even if it's one-way with you guys, stay nerdy.
the opening skit fits very well how I see CriticalRoll's quality of roleplay. My first impression is that what makes Matt seems like the godlike GM he is, is the quality of his players. I remember finding it weird how long a time passes between every time he says anything.
I think the best example of a DM owning his mistake was a friend was DM for some other friends and he was supposed to give each player like 3,000 gold or something. He misread his notes and gave each player 30,000 with out even thinking about it. After the party spent most of it making what was effectively tanks out of heavy wagons frames with magic missile turrets and shit on them, he finally realized his error. But after they walked through a few encounters that were supposed to be a moderate challenge he started upping the battles to counter the tanks.
I have an hour+ commute to work everyday and I listen to the show as a podcast. It it nice to see the show to see the maps or what a guest looks like but you don't need to see it to enjoy the show. It beats listening to the radio and in the car I am a captive audience member. I am current on season 2 and on episode 37 of season 1.
I've watched almost every episode of Campaign 1 and a couple of campaign 2. I had only played D&D a couple of times prior to watching CR, but once I did, I decided I wanted to DM. Now I've spent many of dollars trying get a good game going and to emulate Matt's style. Currently my group is all new players, and we're running the Lost Mines of Phandelver. We turned what was to be 5 or 6 sessions into just short of 16 or so thusfar. I don't claim to be as good as Matt is obviously, but if I want to be the best, I have to emulate the best. I even started using "How do you want to do this?" My players love that, but I'm working on backing away from that quote and coming up with my own.
My tuppence: Stumbling upon CR opened up me finding and enjoying lots of varied streaming content. They were my gateway back into a game i thought i would never play again. Their collective decision to try to bring a very private game among some acting friends, into the public domain, was a huge risk for them and they didn't want to ruin the aesthetic and atmosphere they had created for themselves. If the community had not reacted as positively, we may not have even gotten past the first arc of the VM saga, they would have gone back home and continued to play regardless. As the community has grown and they endeavored to do great work on behalf of others, their popularity was bound to grow at a commensurate rate. Once companies were approaching them for sponsorship, it was only natural to expand the show, to have better sets and presentation. Considering they went from hand drawn maps to the point where they have 3D maps, multiple tiers, additional lights and effects; it shows they are committed to bringing you as deeply into the world as they possibly can. Not everyone can be Matt, have the tiles and pieces for epic battles, or have a perfect playing group established for years. You get out of the game, what you put into it. Sow seeds and let them flourish. Build friendships and hang out with unique people. I am lucky enough to be part of 2 games, both with wildly different players and styles, and those differences make the experience worthwhile. I am also privileged to be part of a cast of characters for a stream game coming in a few weeks from a relatively new channel called Have a Go Heroes. Without CR, i wouldnt have these opportunities and made some wonderful friends in the process. To steal a line from a certain theme song..... "It's all about the game, and how you play it"
And people forget it almost did destroy the group. They had a goofy wizard Tiberius in the begining that started out as my favourite and in fact Percy was my least fave he hardly spoke for the first 10 episodes ! But the actor playing Tibs had a semi mental breakdown and it very uncomfortable to watch. You could see the tension in the group.
I watch CR and you guys because its a great resource, I've gotten to look into classes and aspects that are helping me run things a bit smoother. I get to see concepts for characters that feed the creative side as well and its a lot of fun.
for the most part, I agree with dave's opinion on watching, but you guys are doing GREAT work on Kharos stones. It the first game i've every really wanted to watch out of all of the games i've starts and got one or two episodes in on.
Personally I am not a CR watcher, however I am a fan of Maze Arcarna. I just prefer Rudy and Satine in their GM styles. As for what they have taught me..... 1. I am now a much more story driven player/GM than I used to be. My characters now think more for themselves and less "ok so the group need to accomplish X so I need to do Y". While I still get stuff done it feels so much better. 2. Don't sweat the rules mid moment. There is nothing worse than getting that game flow going with people paying attention, and haveing to stop to look up a minor rule. There goes the cinematic feel and in the long run will it matter to the story. Make something up that seems fair and to work and carry on. Stay in the moment! As long as your players understand you do this AND that you play FAIR with it, it makes for a better game.
Great take aways. We love Ruty and Satine. One of the highlights of doing Nerdarchy is having met and become friends with the two of them. Nerdarchist Dave
The 115 episodes, plus 48+, doesn't even include the number of one-off and multi-part non-main-campaign episodes they had. It's even more than that. ;)
In my 15 years or so of gaming I've Properly completed one campaign. Ever. I've had 2 campaigns end, but thats because it was an evil party that turned on each other. or rather one evil character that messed it up for them (The game was loosely based on the Dishonored games)
There are pros and cons to everything. I personally LOVE CR, they got me back into wanting to play D&D and even convinced me to give 5e a shot. Though that being said, the chemistry, the setup, the entire show puts the game on this grand pedestal, something you WISH you could partake in and the con, that I personally have found, is compared to other DM's/groups, I do find myself sometimes left wanting. It's not their fault that they make the game look so good, I've just been spoiled now I guess lol.
I've heard a lot of people remark that the most unrealistic expectation people take from the "Matt Mercer Effect" is that of a consistent game where people aren't absent and it goes to the end. This is not an unrealistic expectation. It's a direct result of the third tip said here. I always leave on a cliffhanger of some sort and it consistently ensures that my PCs remain thinking about it through to the next week. They often message me through the week just to talk about it and go over how their character is feeling, because they need to know what's gonna happen next. Knowing what's gonna happen next every leg of the journey is what kills a story.
Hey Dave I heard you guys might be playing a mutants and mastermind game on the channel soon. I’d love to watch that. Heard about the game a bunch but never seen it.
Not that it is automatically a bad thing, but Matt and his players all play to the camera in a way that most gamers never would. Which is all of the intra-character stuff is all about. It is interesting looking at how my 25 year old son and his friends approach playing D&D vs my old guard group that started in the mod 1980s. Critical Roll definitely influences the younger generation. Only one of my group had ever even heard of the show.
Critical role reaffirmed my belief that dungeons and dragons can be much more than "attack, damage, loot". I've finally... FINALLY found a group that appreciates role play and drama and I think my ability to DM for them successfully came from watching critical role and mcdm
Love what CR does. Love it. But it is surely a catch 22 deal. It brings a lot of attention and with it a lot of fan expectation at the table level for themselves that will never materialize. So it isn't so much growing a hobby, as just making it aware and accepted a hobby by the generalized public. The few fans that do get disappointed at a regular table are few because I'm willing to bet they will always have more spectators that will always be just that and never materialize to actual players. It is a show catering to two completely different demographics and it works. It's transcended beyond any of the other labels. It's neither this or that. They brought their fans from their jobs just as much which is why they work and others fail, and cosplayers, gamers, anime fans, etc. DnD would never be enough standalone and they were already more than that when they began. More power to them. They are lightening in a bottle. If it brings more content then so be it, TTRPGers just sit back and enjoy the watchers and let the fruits of the exposure in content books come forth to your own tables. There is enough room for everyone. CR is not so much DnD as it is a community of all these parts. Nobody else has that going for them. Oh and another Great Vid Gentlemen!
I really appreciate critical role, its full of such wonderful human beings that bring more light into the world on a near weekly basis, but wow, the fanbase from what ive seen is extremely homophobic and toxic, say one thing, not even bad, nuetral about the people at the table and its death slurs in your inbox for days! steer clear of the subreddit is my advice
Yeah it's really sad. The cast doesn't want to acknowledge it but so much of the fan base is toxic. Your favorite character is the one they don't like? All hell breaks loose. Point out the sexist and homophobic remarks they make when they slam someone and your just a sjw who needs to shut up. It's really really sad and has been that way since day one
I've been a fan for awhile now, not caught up yet by a long shot, but I always read the comments and other things people say. I agree that yes, there's certainly the issue with some people non-stop ranting about various characters (or their actors), which I agree gets annoying, even if some of their points are valid. This is sprobably the thing that pisses me off the most about the fanbase. However, I have never experienced any of the supposedly homophobic, sexist or otherwise controversial or mean statements that you seem to point out. On the contrary, the fanbase seems to be extremely supportive of wherever the players decide to take their character, and I've yet to read a single statement that complains about Vax being too bisexual or that Grog or Scanlan are misogynists or anything like that. If anything, from what I've seen, the fans thoroughly enjoy it when the characters play loosey goosey with their sexualities and have fun, which I find heartwarming, and os exactly how we should enjoy the show.
I've been a fan of the show for years, and I dont recall anyone ever having a problem with Gilmore being a flamboyant homosexual or Vax being bisexual. The only time it is annoying is when being gay IS their personality. Marisha had this problem in the beginning of the campaign when she couldn't stop doing that "look at me, I'm gay!" shit that was really annoying. Since she started to act like a normal person in campaign, I've enjoyed her character much more.
I have noticed it as well, especially with their second campaign, but i dont think its CR fanbase thats really homophobic (they would be gone for a long time now - after Gilmore) i think its a part od d&d fanbase that is that way.
It was a huge time commitment that I just didn't enjoy. Ted is an avid fan. I'm a fan of what they do for the hobby and them as fellow gamers. Loved when Matt did GM Tips. Nerdarchist Dave
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People tend to forget that Matt and the crew played DnD before they started streaming and they stated many times that this is their style of play. Campaign 1 was already 2 years long, I guess, when Geek & Sundry called them to do Critical Role. The show skyrocketed and now stands on its own. If DnD is so popular nowadays it is, in part, due to their work in sharing their game experience. At least some respect they deserve. Most haters criticisms come from not knowing this or some kind of envy. In one episode of Dragon Talk Perkins said they had interest in working with Mercer as an adventure councilor, either to DnD adventures (SKT, by that time) and Acquisitions Incorporated. People should stop complaining about them and enjoy all the investment the game is receiving, which is due to its popularity, which, I reinforce, grew like this because of CR.
You don't have like what or how they do it to appreciate the good they are doing for the hobby. Let people like what they like. So I totally agree with you.
Nerdarchist Dave
It got me back into the game and my group have been playing for over a year and it also aided me in finding this great channel witch gave me confidence to run are homebrew games
Matt did work with wizards to make the latest book dungeon of the mad mage
A more forgotten fact was that the group played Pathfinder before streaming which is why Percy was a gunslinger. They swapped over to D&D for its efficiency.
@@ryanrhino2318 yep! He even got an appearance in the book Tales of Yawning Portal.
I've been playing D&D for forty years, as have half the folks I play with. What I learned from CR and its community is that the hobby is in really good hands. And that kindness, imagination and fun are at least as important as rules and dice.
Maybe more important. People should matter more than games. Just my two copper pieces worth.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@Nerdarchy oh most definitely! We do a lot of looking after each other! There's quite a bit of "my back's gone again, can you move my mini..." But such a joy.
been with my d&d group for 24 years guess im lucky. what is sad is the gate keepers being so toxic to new players who came to D&D from CR. weather you like CR or not it is a positive for the community.
24 years... Do you guys keep the same characters or keep switching it up?
@@davidconley3734 we play different games we currently are playing d&d 5e started at 3 going to go past 20 to epic lvls.
I first heard of Mercer when he the Red Nose day event. A 1 on 1 sesh with Stephen Colbert. I had barely thought of DnD or other RPGs in years. Since then I have discovered Matt Colville, Seth Skorkowski, Dungeon Craft, Nerdarchy and others. I learned that I don't enjoy watching as much as playing but I still appreciate all the hard work done by CR and others to bring RPG's into the spotlight.
I had been playing on and off with the same group for a long time and things were getting stale we just created the characters and moved thou the adventure. CR and the other streams reminded me there where other ways to play and got me reenvigorated trying other groups trying to up my role playing in my old groups as well.
The #1 thing I learned from Critical Role, that all of them do well but I find Travis does particularly well, is to be generous with the limelight and allow the other characters to insert themselves in your moments. It's given me far more satisfaction to have moments where my character happens to be the focus of the moment be a shared experience.
Learning to share the limelight is such an important skill.
Nerdarchist Dave
Could not agree more as a player that is my number one take away. I think the experience that the players have as stage actors helps. Travis is the most gracious but watch Taliesin really closely he is incredibly supportive of the other players.
There's a lot of bile in this comment section towards CR and I don't get it. It's really sad, seeing as they were such an inspiration to so many people. No, CR isn't perfect, the characters aren't perfect, and that's not a flaw, that's a strength. If everything was perfect, it would be boring. They're actors, they're only human, their characters are fallible, and that is great. It makes for far more of an interesting story and playstyle and that's the point.
Success breeds contempt. :(
I don't really get it either. I'm generally impressed with how civil our comments and community is.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@shallendor that is very true, and pitiful.
@@Nerdarchy Yes I agree, I really enjoy browsing the comment section on your channel since it's overwhelmingly positive and constructive and full of people sharing their own fun experiences with this game. The one part about the CR fandom that I severely dislike is the people who don't separate the characters from the actors and blame one for the actions of the other, implying that when faced with difficult and on the fly decisions, they themselves wouldn't screw up regularily or maybe pull a move that's ooc. Similar accusations I see hurled at Matt, when he doesn't DM the way some people think he should, which is just sad. They may be professional actors, but as I said, they're human after all. I'm not about to start this fight here, I'm simply stating how I've experienced what is in my opinion the worst side of the fandom. I'm not talking about all the people who give good and constructive criticism, I'm talking about the few same people that you find on every CR related video who are always yammering their same old tirades, and some of them sadly made it here. The rest of the fandom and the show I find fantastic, so I think it's best we don't let it get to us. You make great videos, and there will always be bitter people somewhere.
@@magiv4205 I would argue the people you're taking about aren't part of the fandom.
I think this was a good video but I get the impression some of those commenting never made it past your opening joke. One major thing I think many viewers overlook about Critical Role is how much their game has changed since it started streaming. What was explained in the very first show was that they changed from Pathfinder to 5E for the stream, so many of them didn't know the 5E rules well and there was going to be confusion and mistakes. Another thing to be noted is that in the beginning they didn't have fancy maps, just chart paper with maps hand drawn by Matt Mercer. Two reasons that this changed are that Matt was given a number of items over the first few months of the game that started with coloured mats and a few trees/rocks and ultimately the modular plastic bases/walls for the current map builds they use today. The second reason is that being a streamed game they felt a more visual element would assist in viewers enjoyment of the game.One of the biggest critiques of Matt Mercer is how much control he has over the game, which makes no sense to me as he is the GM and in total control. Even with that he most famous line is asking a player "How do you want to do this?" where he gives them a chance to define how they defeat a strong foe or boss. His elaborate descriptions of said events after the fact are brought about by the groups acceptance that Matt has a great way with words and is more descriptive and creative in that regard.The biggest thing I have learned about D&D from Critical Role is that while anyone can play, just as anyone can play any game be it a sport, a board game or a video game, there are always going to be those who are great and those that are just average. And it is perfectly fine to be either! Just as long as you are having fun, and everyone at your table is enjoying themselves, being a perfect player or a mediocre player doesn't matter. This is a game and nobody can tell you that YOUR FUN IS WRONG!
well certainly people can tell you your fun is wrong, they would just be mistaken to do so.
semantics aside though i disagree with your assessment that much has changed when it comes to their mastery (or lack thereof) of the rules, they have gotten a little better (well some of them have) but some people still have no idea what any of their abilities do (only slightly hyperbolic), most of the rules they should know by now simply due to repetition, other than that though i can't argue with what you said.
I like to end sessions or take breaks at the start of combat (before initiative) or immediately after before the party loots. For me the biggest thing I learned from CR, and Mercer specifically, is how to deal with a mistake. I had a similar issue with the spell Animate Dead cast by a wizard, I miss-read the casting time as 1 round. When the player caught my mistake after combat, I told her it was because there was Shadowfell seeping through in the area ... this made me have to change the campaign a bit because I had to add notes on this spot, as it was now a landmark. I never take away from my players when I miss-interpret the rules.
Sometimes mistakes can make for cool and fun experiences at the table such as your new land mark.
Keep in mind the monsters don't always have to play by the same rules as the player characters. Also the DM shouldn't feel obligated to explain those differences. They can come out in the game eventually or never. Sometimes the players just don't have the answers. If they bring it up just responded cryptically with something like "yea isn't that odd."
Nerdarchist Dave
Use the Danse Macabre spell from xanathar's next time you want to have a necromancer just animate an army of undead in one action. :)
I have to mention the most important thing I learned from Matt Mercer and his conversations about Critical Role is that your game dose not have to be like his to still be good.
That is an important take away.
Nerdarchist Dave
4th thing I learned from CR, as a DM always use the improv rule of “yes and” or “no but” with your dming and role play, and encourage your players to do this as well!
Bidet......the reason i started playing D&D...is CR
@DJ KO wow, what's your problem? Every reply here is just toxic vile directed at CR.
DJ KO, why even watch a video about CR when you are just going to hate?
@DJ KO grow up
Another thing that CR taught me is that when I'm the DM, ALWAYS have Plans B, C, D, E.....Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, etc because the Players will always surprise you & could circumvent a Battle you had planned. Case in point, the Mighty Nien were heading back to port & were being followed by another ship, & once that ship had gotten within 300 feet, Taliesin's character used Control Water [Flood] & Matt upped the "25% chance to capsize to 30% chance to capsize" & he had Tal roll a percentile, in which he rolled so well that even if Matt kept it at the 25% the Ship had still capsized. [iirc Tal rolled 15]. Completely negating the entire Ship-to-Ship Battle that Matt had ready.
I've learned more from CR as a DM than as a player. One of the biggest things I've learned is flexibility, allow players to do the things they want and adjust the rules on the fly to accommodate such decisions. I started watching CR pretty close to the beginning and went back and binged to catch up. As a player it was entertaining (for the first time, I usually can't stand watching others play). But then I started DMing for my kids, which was extremely frustrating the first night when they wanted to do some wildly radical stuff. I watched a few episodes of CR before the next session and completely changed my approach, with Matt's phrase, "you may certainly try". I find we all enjoy the game more when it's flexible and the rules are more of a guideline.
What I learned from Cr. "Cliff diving kills"
Even if you are basically a god.
@@Simian-bz7zo and don't have enough dice to roll for damage
Not all the time or we wouldn't have professional cliff divers.
Nerdarchist Dave
@Zack Johnson - I still love Matt saying that there wasn't enough dice to roll to calculate the damage she sustained lol
________K=====\
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K = Keyleth
====== = Keyleth getting a Running Jump
** = I know that she WS into a Goldfish, but I think that she also used gust of wind or something to push her further away from the cliff's edge as her initial decent would've had her crashing into the Cliff
X = Keyleth died in Goldfish form, but the amount of damage not only went over the HP of a Goldfish but was essentially over 9,000x her own HP
The thing I take away from Critical Role is their table manners. All of them shut up and listen when the Dm is setting a scene. All of them take notes and work hard to remember which Npc or plot threads they encounter. They will shut up when other players need time to role play a scene amoung each other and also with Matt's npcs. All of these subtle skills probably gained from their acting are really useful and make the game collectively more fun for the players and the DM.
Committing to a regular game session for an indefinite period is truly one of the unsung achivements of any long-running campaign. I'm going okay ATM with fortnightly sessions (5e), but many of my players are in another campaign (2e) that's lucky to meet up once every six weeks. If you want to have your players follow an actual story, fortnightly is the _extreme limit_ of frequency. We've just come up on a time window where it's going to be almost a month before out next game and I _know_ that's going to be a problem. Luckily I have two players who are _aggressive_ note-takers, which does make things like this easier (shoutout to Rachael and Sarah), but I'm going to have to get everyone back up to speed next session.
I mean, they just killed Exethanter in the Amber Temple. And they still haven't worked out what the deal is with that statue. They currently think it's just a trap. I need [redacted] to hit them with higher-level spells, that's what needs to happen.
Regarding Critical Role.
If I had to pick my three things that I think are awesome about that livestream, they would be this:
*1. Play at a table.*
There is no substitute for actually sitting around a table with friends. You can read their body language. You can look them in the eye. They can bring you food. Online may be a necessary evil in a world where the friends of youth spread out over the globe, but it's not optimal.
*2. The campaign needs to be **_able_** to be taken seriously.*
Not that everyone should be sitting around po-faced. There's going to be jokes.* Just don't let your campaign _be_ a joke. Laughter is the thing that comes easiest at the table; drama and investment are the things a DM needs to work at. The campaign and the game world should not be _inherently_ funny in anything other than an outright comedy campaign: the players will make their own jokes. Frequently. Trust me on this.
*3. Enable your players to take chances.*
The truly awesome moments in any TTRPG come when a player metaphorically takes a dive off a high board into a glass of water. It might be an insane strategy** or a cringeworthy in-character monologue. Allow for the fact that this is all improvised and go with it. Doesn't mean you need to let it work but, "You can certainly try."
* Unless you lobotomize your players. Which is bad. Don't lobotomize your players. Their families and loved ones start asking questions _almost immediately._ Don't ask how I know.
** As per #2, watch this for abuse. Players saying, "It's crazy, but it _just might_ work." is awesome. Players saying, "It's crazy, so the the DM will _make_ it work." is not.
This is an amazing comment. Might steal some of it to give as a tip to my DM.
great comment!
an excellent example of your note for #2 playing out in Critical Role would be Fluffer Nutter
I have binged watched Crit Role over three months, from first episode to 2/48 as of this posting. Fantastic series....
Two more things I like: They play from the character view point and not the player view point, meaning, how would my character respond in this situation? And..failing dice rolls can be more fun than succeeding. I started way back in high school (1982) and any failed dice roll generally meant your character was dead, that gets old pretty quick, so we were always meta gaming and trying to be perfect.
That is what every player should strive to do.
Nerdarchist Dave
That's the biggest thing, back then, you HAD to Meta Game to stay alive & was generally accepted because you HAD to otherwise your Character could die. Now, not so much, and at times, that's good that you shouldn't have to MG but play it from the perspective of your Character. Which is part of what Orion (1st Campaign) got a ton of flack over was he would be MGing when the chances were higher that his Character wouldn't have actually have known it, though he had gotten more flack over Min-Max/Cheating.
My tipping point with him & his character was actually towards the end of his time on the show, when he kept threatening to bring in the military of his people. It wasn't so much that it would've negated the ton of work Matt did to put into the story & everything, but his character legitimately didn't have that authority [which was why I was happy that Matt "in-character" as the Father of Orion's character told him NO]. Not to mention, realistically, the Empire that he was part of & the Empire of the land he was traveling in had a mutual understanding to the point where, if the Draconians were to send their "entire fleet/army" without prior permission it honestly would've been seen as an Invasion.
It would be the equivalent of if child of a US Diplomat was in England, found a threat & called in the entire US Military, the massive fallout that would occur if the US Military were to have done that. Without actually going through the proper channels, would cause the US Diplomat to no longer be a Diplomat, would cause problems with the high command of the US Military, and would strain the relationship between the US & the UK.
Granted, the Briarwoods were a very real threat, they weren't that massive a threat to warrant the calling of an entire Kingdom's Military Forces to essentially invade the country of an Ally, without first getting permission & going through the appropriate channels.
Yeah, actual ROLE playing.
That's my number one tip for my players, play and invest in your character. It's a stretch for some but the pay off is great sessions.
All involved in CR are very charismatic and brings their own flavor to the table. Like you guys said on a very high level too which makes it extremely entertaining. By watching their campaigns I got the spark/flair back for D&D back again from not playing for +15y.
Welcome back to the hobby. We missed you.
Nerdarchist Dave
I have learned A LOT from CR. Over the past 4 or 5 years, Ive only played sparsely- due to my groups never sticking together. The first two campaigns I played never made it past 6 or 7 sessions- which is sad. Because of that, I never got a good grasp of the game. I had about a year and a half gap between my last group and my current one, and in that time i watched CR. I got such a great grasp of the rules from watching that I went into my current campaign totally confident in my knowledge of the rules AND how to be a better player.
I learned to have a plan...and a back up plan...and a tertiary plan as well as another one in case the first few won't work out.
I've loved D&D since 1991. And I'm glad more people love it now.
Awesome to hear that you guys had the opportunity to meet matt and see their space. don't kid yourselves though you guys were around before them they should be looking up to you and I'm sure matt looked at your channel before you saw CR. I'm not taking anything away from critical role. They're awesome! I watch every single episode and love them but, I watched you guys first because you were first.
Don't sell your legend short!!
Thanks for the kind words much appreciated. Fortunately there plenty of room for all us.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@Nerdarchy oh yeah, for sure, plenty of room! definitely in my TH-cam playlist
Just had to say thanks to Nord games for sponsoring this. I backed their Kickstarter because of this video, so sponsorship works!!!
Woo hoo! Thanks we appreciate that. It's a great looking product that we are proud to take on as a sponsor.
Nerdarchist Dave
Right now my successful game definition is tell a good story, let my 5 year old roll some dice, practice math, and play with a dragonborn paper doll. If I keep my wife from getting bored, so much the better.
13:30 I can't agree more. Amazing to be able to sit back and just watch the players roleplay for ten + minutes
I am very new to playing D&D and I learned how to dive farther into my character development.
Critical Role is honestly the epitome of what an RPG is, a collaborative story-telling game
Watching d&d streams are not real entertaining for me but gives me an idea how others play/dm. I started watching CR after watching a clip of Sam's character shooting seagulls, funny. Back in the day d&d for me was about exploring dungeons, killing monsters, getting treasure, improving your character's survivability, (mechanics) and building a keep/castle. After watching CR I find myself talking in character more and developing my character's character. Those other old goals are still in place at my table but it's more story driven with complicated plots. Adds flavor to the game and i cant wait to find out what's going to happen next session.
D&D streams may not be real entertaining but they've taught me a lot. Thanks Mercer, Perkins, Dave and Ted Nerdarchy👍
You are very welcome. Great to hear how CR has helped to evolve your game.
Nerdarchist Dave
I have to admit. I have never finished watching Episode 1 of Season 1 of Critical Role. However, I am familiar with Matt Mercer as a DM because Force Grey is more my style. I absolutely love the Force Grey series and I think the main thing that I have learned from DM Matt Mercer is his descriptive combat scenes. Observing and adapting descriptive combat to my games has been one of my most treasured improvements as a Dungeon Master. Thank you Matt!
Wally D.M. Season 1 episode 1 is hard to sit through... it’s starts partly through a campaign they’ve already been playing, there’s no real backstory and they’re clearly still trying to figure out how to stream. I highly suggest watching Season 2 Episode 1 and try again lol
@@joeythemoose lol... thank you for the recommendation. :)
Critical Role is great in my opinion because they are always keeping the story moving. They have a decent pace (only listened to season 2). Our group struggles with having so many opportunities that we get 1 million side quests done before we get to the story task. I think Critical role handles the balance well.
I also binge listen to CR as well, I use it for inspiration since I am just converting to 5E. I work overnight so I download episodes and put them on my phone and listen while at work.
CR is very light in rules and big on drama.
I understand why you say that as Mercer says that himself but CR is not actually rules light. Matt and the CR players put a lot of effort discussing and looking up rules which you could see at the beginning of Season 2. In addition, he uses some optional and home brew rules rules that are quite a bit more complex than vanilla 5e; flanking, critical failures, skill challenges and Mercer's fairly harsh rules on resurrection.
I think Mercer puts the "rules light" disclaimer on the game just to try to emphasis that role playing is the #1 priority and to persuade the audience not to get caught up in rules debates during the game (not that it works). High drama I 100% agree with you.
@@michaelduke9057 yeah 100% agree with you they actually follow most rules even getting rid of most of their Homebrew rules for campaign to campaign one was a little sketch on a couple rules because it was a continuation of their Pathfinder games so some things have to change
I think the game is also good at showing dos and don'ts as a player in an entertaining manner.
Case in point: as a general rule (especially as a spellcaster), know what your PC can do prior to your turn. Marisha had a problem juggling all the Druid abilities. She is so much easier to watch when she's playing a mechanically simpler class.
@DJ KO rocks fall your character dies loser
@DJ KO that's only when she's RPing her character as the typical annoying feminist, but she has her moments where she does that less. I think marriage has been good for her.
Well, sort of. I have a monk who doesn't read up on how to monk.
You don't have to read the whole damn book like I did, but read your class. Know your abilities and spells. Multicolored post its, tattoo it on your hands, whatever. Learn your stuff.
@@RJeremyHoward you gonna tattoo all 100+ druid spells on you, or remember them all?
Yeah, but sometimes the fails are entertaining. i work in a clean room with a 12 hr shift making IVs for the patients, having CR podcasts give me at least a few hours of something entertaining in the background. Actually got me back to interested in D&D after i spent way too long in a group with a That Guy.
Learned from W. Wheaton's streamed games that professional actors make more watchable D&D sessions. If it's on television and makes money its probably not 'real' in the sense of free form games that happen in RL. Mad love for you guys and I loved the opener to the topic. Hit the nail on the head.
I wish more people understood that Critical Roll is a produced show with actors playing the roles of D&D players. Like so many reality shows most of it is pre-planned and coached. The point of the show is to entertain, not share the game they're playing. Which is fine, but I think it gives their audience an incorrect impression of the game.
@@orobouros616 you just made that up. Mercer himself says otherwise, so stop spreading bullshit. Also if that was the truth why would they hide it? Whatever helps you sleep at night
When it comes to D&D streams, you have to find the ones that engage you, and those are different for everybody. Sometimes it's because you like the players, sometimes you like the characters, sometimes you like the setting or the PC interaction style... but there has to be something about it that hooks you on a personal level. Critical Role is easy to like for most viewers, but most of them are more niche. Don't force yourself to try to like a particular stream; keep looking until you find the ones that work for you.
Very true. CR does nothing for me. I don't care for their style nor the characters, but I have found Highrollers to be pretty engrossing for me.
Let any gamer among us who never got a rule wrong cast the first dislike.
The best part of CR is that they get rules wrong all the time and they just go with it like the rest of us. We aren’t demigods like Chris Perkins (who also gets rules wrong from time to time in his shows and he works for the freaking company).
I learned that voice actors are legends, I watched an episode of critical role one night as I had nothing else to watch. I had never played D&D, but within 5 minutes these people made me want to play and made me want to find out more about the game and made me want to consume more videos about D&D. I love your channel as much as theirs (your comments section is a lot friendlier though lol), despite your obvious bias against Warlocks (but I won't hold that against you lol)
Keep making great videos and I will keep coming back to watch them. I have learnt from you guys, Critical Role, The Dungeon Dudes etc etc etc, that although optimising characters can give you the best shot at survival sometimes it is better to go for the "Oh shit!" factor and make it interesting. Like using mass suggestion to convince people to willingly follow you through dimension door, 200ft straight up in the air and then casting feather fall on yourself as they plummet to the ground! Or a combination of Eldritch Blast+Agonising Blast+Repelling Blast, to damage an enemy whilst pushing him back through lava and finishing the pesky bugger off by hurling him through hell (he didn't see the funny side initially lol)
My biggest problem in our current game is I have become the face accidentally and everyone looks to me to lead every conversation, when I know they have ideas. However taking a Dwarven Barbarian and a Rogue to the theatre was never going to end well, drink was consumed and pockets were picked, but hey that's D&D.
Well thank you for hanging out with us in Ted's basement. We don't actually dislike warlocks. We do find them a bit mechanically weaker or boring. To us mechanics and fun aren't the same to us. We might rag on something mechanically in a video, but than play it because it's fun.
Nerdarchist Dave
Im a total 'Crit baby' I'm a TT wargamer always knew of DnD. But never knew anybody who played. Discovering CR was mind blowing. Ive tried to play on roll20 but very difficult to find a regular group. So Im now DM my own campain. Id rather be a PC but that looks like it will not happen for me.
I actually found out about Matt Mercer from Overwatch and then realized he played DND. I never played DND because I was largely intimidated that I wouldn't fit it in or understand the mechanics and slow down the party or campaign, but the community has been welcoming. I feel like it can be overwhelming for new comers because there are many elitists out there that don't like that there are new players who don't remind them of what they're used to.
People who play DND don't have to look, talk, or act a certain way and that's okay. We should all be excited that DND is getting exposure to the masses. This means more people with creative minds and more content to get sucked into.
I love hack and slash RPG video games and Diablo was one of the main reasons why I became interested in DND because it's essentially a digital version of it and that was the first gateway into DND.
I'm now happy to report that my wife and I started to play DND together with her coworkers and college friends, we've been playing for about 6 months now and I now consider everybody in the party my friends.
I'm watching CR season 1 right now, and I just about lost my shit when they had the voice actress for the Major from ghost in the shell.
Mary is amazing.
My current live table has been running around five years. Three out of the current six of us have been there the whole time. Not too shabby. We have rotated as GM/DM, but I haven't run in a few years. In that time we've only managed to run through one full campaign, and several start-ups that fizzle out mid-way or sooner. Our current run looks like it might make it, but only time will tell.
I've been on Roll*20 since 2013 both as player and GM/DM. I tend to get a year's worth of consistent play out of the groups before they lose the plot and fizzle out. We have completed a module or two (if we still call them that), but a persistent lvl 1 to lvl ? has eluded me for the most part due to player flakiness.
As to streaming in general and CR in specific...I tried to watch, but I'd rather be planning or playing than watching the stream. I can appreciate it, and if others are into it, then have fun. I think if I were stuck with no one to play with that I might be more inclined to watch, but since I am lucky to have people to play with, I'd rather be playing...or watching Nerdarchy.
Thanks weighing in. We also greatly appreciate us being one of the preferred ways of spending your time.
Nerdarchist Dave
I also enjoy Court of swords with adam koebel as the dm on itmejp's channel as well as crit role
I like watching you guys, Matthew Colville and CR :D DND is fun!
I have learned much from Critical Role and fantastic channels like this. I'm so thankful.
Thank you for the kind words.
Nerdarchist Dave
I just started watching CR, and I'm learning so much. Going to be DMing for the first time in a few weeks, so I'm studying up!
Thanks for the vid ya nerds!
Congrats on DMing.
Nerdarchist Dave
@15:24, the Roll 20 Campaign I'm involved in, we're playing we were fighting through Xanathar's Thieves Guild and had just come face to face with Nilhiloor(the Mindflayer). Before we could attack Xanathar showed up!
The Ranger grabs her Clerical Scroll "Word of Recall" that we found in Lasandar's(Blue Dragon) Horde, she reads it and only her and the Tiefling Warlock are effected. The two Dwarves were out of range of the spell and have NO idea what happened to them. We killed Nilhiloor, scared off (temporarily,I think the DM took pity on us) Xanathar. However NOBODY knows where the Ranger and Tiefling wound up.
Session ended there.
:)
Man you guys are just all positive vibes and good shit. You fucking rock.
6am shift has its perks. For example, I'm here early
Same
Good morning : )
Nerdarchist Dave
@DJ KO I care. Why are you so angry? You need a hug bro?
Nerdarchist Dave
@@canadian__ninja good morning to you as well.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@Nerdarchy dj has always been that way. I remember him always saying edgy stuff in CR comments
Man. I have been playing D&D since the mid 80s. I still get shit wrong. There has been a lot to keep up with in 30+ years
Especially with multiple editions plus other games floating around in one's noggin.
Nerdarchist Dave
Critical Role taught me that Friendship is magic - wait wuh.
In my old job Tuesdays were always my favorite day of the week because I knew I'd generally have a new crit roll on youtube to listen to. Always made the day go by faster. I'm having a hard time getting into the new campaign sadly hopefully I get the itch to get back into it. Started focusing more on higher rolls recently.
As long as you have streams enjoy. Who cares what they.
Nerdarchist Dave
For those who are having issues watching the Critical Role episodes due to length, I turn up the playback speed to 1.5x or 2x to blast through it quicker. Start slower, like 1.25x and go faster as you feel comfortable that you aren't missing anything.
Thanks for the tip. I've heard of others doing the same.
Nerdarchist Dave
I was caught up S1 but like blew me away Im not 50 esp behind and its soul destroying.
Just watch the critical recaps for campagin 2 or the fast method is just watch the newest episode the way matt mecer explains the previous episode you can get the whole picture.
The only rule that matters is the rule of cool. If you're having fun, you're not doing anything wrong. 👍
Player-player conversation is where it's at, it lets you tell your backstory, develop relationships, and gives you an in character reason to know what other characters can do
I agee especially when it comes out organically in the game.
Nerdarchist Dave
I treat most streamed RPG games as an audio drama. You should watch LA by Night, the Vampire game that G&S has on Fridays, it is such a great show with a great cast! I was in one group for 19 years, we basically just played 2E AD&D, but it was such a great group but had many players rotate through.
Dayum, so early. Interesting to hear what the Old Bois of DnD have to say about Mercers games.
I'll share something I learned to specifically do (rather than incidentally) from critical role and that is to play to an audience. Because despite not having one like they do, my players are an audience and so I want them to be entertained even when they're not doing stuff themselves.
Anyway I'll continue to enjoy my connection, even if it's one-way with you guys, stay nerdy.
7:17 for the Top 3...
the opening skit fits very well how I see CriticalRoll's quality of roleplay. My first impression is that what makes Matt seems like the godlike GM he is, is the quality of his players. I remember finding it weird how long a time passes between every time he says anything.
Skip to 7:18 for the main topic of this video
I think the best example of a DM owning his mistake was a friend was DM for some other friends and he was supposed to give each player like 3,000 gold or something. He misread his notes and gave each player 30,000 with out even thinking about it. After the party spent most of it making what was effectively tanks out of heavy wagons frames with magic missile turrets and shit on them, he finally realized his error. But after they walked through a few encounters that were supposed to be a moderate challenge he started upping the battles to counter the tanks.
I have an hour+ commute to work everyday and I listen to the show as a podcast. It it nice to see the show to see the maps or what a guest looks like but you don't need to see it to enjoy the show. It beats listening to the radio and in the car I am a captive audience member. I am current on season 2 and on episode 37 of season 1.
That makes a lot of sense. If I would of started listening to them when I drove for a living I be the same way.
Nerdarchist Dave
I've watched almost every episode of Campaign 1 and a couple of campaign 2. I had only played D&D a couple of times prior to watching CR, but once I did, I decided I wanted to DM. Now I've spent many of dollars trying get a good game going and to emulate Matt's style. Currently my group is all new players, and we're running the Lost Mines of Phandelver. We turned what was to be 5 or 6 sessions into just short of 16 or so thusfar. I don't claim to be as good as Matt is obviously, but if I want to be the best, I have to emulate the best. I even started using "How do you want to do this?" My players love that, but I'm working on backing away from that quote and coming up with my own.
My tuppence:
Stumbling upon CR opened up me finding and enjoying lots of varied streaming content. They were my gateway back into a game i thought i would never play again.
Their collective decision to try to bring a very private game among some acting friends, into the public domain, was a huge risk for them and they didn't want to ruin the aesthetic and atmosphere they had created for themselves. If the community had not reacted as positively, we may not have even gotten past the first arc of the VM saga, they would have gone back home and continued to play regardless.
As the community has grown and they endeavored to do great work on behalf of others, their popularity was bound to grow at a commensurate rate. Once companies were approaching them for sponsorship, it was only natural to expand the show, to have better sets and presentation.
Considering they went from hand drawn maps to the point where they have 3D maps, multiple tiers, additional lights and effects; it shows they are committed to bringing you as deeply into the world as they possibly can.
Not everyone can be Matt, have the tiles and pieces for epic battles, or have a perfect playing group established for years.
You get out of the game, what you put into it. Sow seeds and let them flourish. Build friendships and hang out with unique people.
I am lucky enough to be part of 2 games, both with wildly different players and styles, and those differences make the experience worthwhile.
I am also privileged to be part of a cast of characters for a stream game coming in a few weeks from a relatively new channel called Have a Go Heroes.
Without CR, i wouldnt have these opportunities and made some wonderful friends in the process.
To steal a line from a certain theme song..... "It's all about the game, and how you play it"
Welcome back to the hobby. Good luck with the stream. I hope it's wildly successful.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@Nerdarchy Thanks Dave, means a lot to myself and the folks i'll be playing alongside.
always a fan of the topics you discuss.
And people forget it almost did destroy the group. They had a goofy wizard Tiberius in the begining that started out as my favourite and in fact Percy was my least fave he hardly spoke for the first 10 episodes ! But the actor playing Tibs had a semi mental breakdown and it very uncomfortable to watch. You could see the tension in the group.
Did a GM say 3-4 hour games are too long for him to sit through? His games must suck. My players complain if the game only lasts 5 hours.
TO WATCH. Big difference between watching and playing.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@Nerdarchy as the GM I spend much time watching. But I do take your point.
CR brought me back to DnD and in turn to great channels like this!
Well thank you for the compliment. We are super thankful for all the folks that find dnd from CR.
Nerdarchist Dave
Thank you for being positive about Critical Role.
In general we try to be hobby.
Nerdarchist Dave
I watch CR and you guys because its a great resource, I've gotten to look into classes and aspects that are helping me run things a bit smoother. I get to see concepts for characters that feed the creative side as well and its a lot of fun.
for the most part, I agree with dave's opinion on watching, but you guys are doing GREAT work on Kharos stones. It the first game i've every really wanted to watch out of all of the games i've starts and got one or two episodes in on.
Thanks. I think it helps that they are shorter sessions as well.
Nerdarchist Dave
@@Nerdarchy I think you are right.
I backed the Kickstarter!! Can’t wait
This is one of the useful looking KS to come along in awhile.
Nerdarchist Dave
Personally I am not a CR watcher, however I am a fan of Maze Arcarna. I just prefer Rudy and Satine in their GM styles. As for what they have taught me.....
1. I am now a much more story driven player/GM than I used to be. My characters now think more for themselves and less "ok so the group need to accomplish X so I need to do Y". While I still get stuff done it feels so much better.
2. Don't sweat the rules mid moment. There is nothing worse than getting that game flow going with people paying attention, and haveing to stop to look up a minor rule. There goes the cinematic feel and in the long run will it matter to the story. Make something up that seems fair and to work and carry on. Stay in the moment! As long as your players understand you do this AND that you play FAIR with it, it makes for a better game.
Great take aways. We love Ruty and Satine. One of the highlights of doing Nerdarchy is having met and become friends with the two of them.
Nerdarchist Dave
That's the thing, Mercer may get the most attention but there are so many other great GM's that run streamed games.
#1 anything with mouth has a "toothy maw"
The 115 episodes, plus 48+, doesn't even include the number of one-off and multi-part non-main-campaign episodes they had. It's even more than that. ;)
The stuff you clicked on the vid for starts at 7:16
You're welcome.
You guys have upped your game with the editing and camera shots. Nicely done gentlemen.
Thanks it's ever evolving process.
Nerdarchist Dave
Been playing dnd qith the same group of friends for 12 years now, its pretty amazing, we try to play every week!
New production kicks ass
Thank you. We keep trying to improve.
Nerdarchist Dave
In my 15 years or so of gaming I've Properly completed one campaign. Ever. I've had 2 campaigns end, but thats because it was an evil party that turned on each other. or rather one evil character that messed it up for them (The game was loosely based on the Dishonored games)
Critical role gave me the rule of cool. Nerdarchy gave me the tools to make cool homebrew easy love you guys
Happy to be of service.
Nerdarchist Dave
thanks guys, I agree. love you two nerds.
Thank you you are to kind.
Nerdarchist Dave
@Nerdarchy Loved your video. Keep up the good work. 👍👍👍
Thanks. Glad you enjoyed it.
Nerdarchist Dave
I feel like yall deserve. More veiwers
Thank you we appreciate that sentiment.
Nerdarchist Dave
So how do you want to do this nerdarchy?
There are pros and cons to everything. I personally LOVE CR, they got me back into wanting to play D&D and even convinced me to give 5e a shot. Though that being said, the chemistry, the setup, the entire show puts the game on this grand pedestal, something you WISH you could partake in and the con, that I personally have found, is compared to other DM's/groups, I do find myself sometimes left wanting. It's not their fault that they make the game look so good, I've just been spoiled now I guess lol.
My group is on year 7, 2 campaigns completed and working on 2 more rn
I've heard a lot of people remark that the most unrealistic expectation people take from the "Matt Mercer Effect" is that of a consistent game where people aren't absent and it goes to the end.
This is not an unrealistic expectation. It's a direct result of the third tip said here. I always leave on a cliffhanger of some sort and it consistently ensures that my PCs remain thinking about it through to the next week. They often message me through the week just to talk about it and go over how their character is feeling, because they need to know what's gonna happen next. Knowing what's gonna happen next every leg of the journey is what kills a story.
CR is to Final Fantasy as Scarlet Sisterhood is to Dragon Quest. Being charming without being overbearing is key.
Say it with me, Ted:
"Mangyjello."
Hey Dave I heard you guys might be playing a mutants and mastermind game on the channel soon. I’d love to watch that. Heard about the game a bunch but never seen it.
Here is a game Ted ran-
th-cam.com/video/5VZO5Br99L8/w-d-xo.html
just awesome
Not that it is automatically a bad thing, but Matt and his players all play to the camera in a way that most gamers never would. Which is all of the intra-character stuff is all about. It is interesting looking at how my 25 year old son and his friends approach playing D&D vs my old guard group that started in the mod 1980s. Critical Roll definitely influences the younger generation. Only one of my group had ever even heard of the show.
Critical role reaffirmed my belief that dungeons and dragons can be much more than "attack, damage, loot". I've finally... FINALLY found a group that appreciates role play and drama and I think my ability to DM for them successfully came from watching critical role and mcdm
Love what CR does. Love it. But it is surely a catch 22 deal. It brings a lot of attention and with it a lot of fan expectation at the table level for themselves that will never materialize. So it isn't so much growing a hobby, as just making it aware and accepted a hobby by the generalized public. The few fans that do get disappointed at a regular table are few because I'm willing to bet they will always have more spectators that will always be just that and never materialize to actual players. It is a show catering to two completely different demographics and it works. It's transcended beyond any of the other labels. It's neither this or that. They brought their fans from their jobs just as much which is why they work and others fail, and cosplayers, gamers, anime fans, etc. DnD would never be enough standalone and they were already more than that when they began. More power to them. They are lightening in a bottle. If it brings more content then so be it, TTRPGers just sit back and enjoy the watchers and let the fruits of the exposure in content books come forth to your own tables. There is enough room for everyone. CR is not so much DnD as it is a community of all these parts. Nobody else has that going for them. Oh and another Great Vid Gentlemen!
I really appreciate critical role, its full of such wonderful human beings that bring more light into the world on a near weekly basis, but wow, the fanbase from what ive seen is extremely homophobic and toxic, say one thing, not even bad, nuetral about the people at the table and its death slurs in your inbox for days!
steer clear of the subreddit is my advice
Yeah it's really sad. The cast doesn't want to acknowledge it but so much of the fan base is toxic. Your favorite character is the one they don't like? All hell breaks loose. Point out the sexist and homophobic remarks they make when they slam someone and your just a sjw who needs to shut up. It's really really sad and has been that way since day one
I've been a fan for awhile now, not caught up yet by a long shot, but I always read the comments and other things people say. I agree that yes, there's certainly the issue with some people non-stop ranting about various characters (or their actors), which I agree gets annoying, even if some of their points are valid. This is sprobably the thing that pisses me off the most about the fanbase. However, I have never experienced any of the supposedly homophobic, sexist or otherwise controversial or mean statements that you seem to point out. On the contrary, the fanbase seems to be extremely supportive of wherever the players decide to take their character, and I've yet to read a single statement that complains about Vax being too bisexual or that Grog or Scanlan are misogynists or anything like that. If anything, from what I've seen, the fans thoroughly enjoy it when the characters play loosey goosey with their sexualities and have fun, which I find heartwarming, and os exactly how we should enjoy the show.
I've been a fan of the show for years, and I dont recall anyone ever having a problem with Gilmore being a flamboyant homosexual or Vax being bisexual. The only time it is annoying is when being gay IS their personality.
Marisha had this problem in the beginning of the campaign when she couldn't stop doing that "look at me, I'm gay!" shit that was really annoying.
Since she started to act like a normal person in campaign, I've enjoyed her character much more.
I have noticed it as well, especially with their second campaign, but i dont think its CR fanbase thats really homophobic (they would be gone for a long time now - after Gilmore) i think its a part od d&d fanbase that is that way.
I miss it when you guys would use to review the critical roll episodes. It was interesting to see your point of view on the episodes.
It was a huge time commitment that I just didn't enjoy. Ted is an avid fan. I'm a fan of what they do for the hobby and them as fellow gamers. Loved when Matt did GM Tips.
Nerdarchist Dave
All great points, gents. Well done. =)
I agree. I love CR, but 4 hours is a lot. It’s probably not as bad once you catch up, but i can never catch up.
Not when you play the game it's too short
zack johnson I for sure agree with you!
It is a lot of hours of catching up for sure.
Nerdarchist Dave
Catching up just means you can’t binge on the weekends. Really getting into it then being forced to wait a week to find out what happens kinda sucks.
Joshua Scarlett that’s a good way to look at it, especially with Matt’s tendency to leave us on big cliffhangers.
I love the heavy rp element of the games in critical role