A Guide To 'Critical Role'
Image Source: CBC Radio
Dungeons & Dragons has had a resurgence in recent years. With this resurgence has come a slew of actual play shows. One of these shows is Critical Role, where every Thursday, a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors sit around and play Dungeons & Dragons. Critical Role is definitely special and an outlier when it comes to these actual-play shows, considering they just hit their 10th anniversary.
Critical Role started as a home game between friends. They were convinced by Felicia Day, of Geek & Sundry, to start streaming their current game. That is why when we first meet Vox Machina, they have already been established, and are in the middle of an arc. The group consists of a group of “nerdy ass voice actors” such as Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, Talisien Jaffe, Sam Reigel, Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, Ashley Johnson, and Matthew Mercer, who serves as the game's Dungeon Master, or DM.
RELATED:
Image Source: Popverse
Their stories took place in the world of Exandria. A vast world with many different regions, people, monsters, and adventures to be had. Their 3 major campaigns and mini side campaigns have all taken place within Exandria and have each explored a different part of the world. The mini campaigns have explored different major events that have taken place as well.
They have three full campaigns, with each one consisting of 100+ episodes. It’s a lot of content to watch, and it seems overwhelming for a first-time viewer. The good news is that their fourth campaign is on the horizon, and it takes place in a whole new world, with new characters and an expanded cast. The fourth campaign will not only feature the original cast, but also Aabria Iyengar, Robbie Daymond, Alex Ward, Luis Carazo, Whitney Moore, and will be DM’ed by Brennan Lee Mulligan. However, if you really do want to take the time to watch the previous campaigns, which, I think, everyone should, as they are amazing, The Legend Of Vox Machina is another good place to start. It’s their animated series on Amazon Prime, which tells the story of their first campaign.
Image Source: Comics Gaming Magazine
Not only do they have their three (long) main campaigns, but they also have many smaller campaigns that run for about 3 to 4 episodes, and are under the title of Exandria Unlimited. These expand on the lore of Exandria, with new characters, but some of the same players. It gives fans a more in-depth look at various events that have occurred within Exandria. They also have a ton of side content, such as the newest podcast, Weird Kids, which is a Beacon Exclusive. They have books and comics that expand on the characters’ stories and the world itself.
It’s amazing to see how far they have come as a show and now as a company. Not only do they have three full campaigns under their belt, but they also have a ton of side content. Most recently, they developed their own system, Daggerheart, and we got to see it used in their 8-episode series, Age of Umbra. Daggerheart is a 2d12 system, instead of the d20 system used in D&D. They also utilize ‘hope’ and ‘fear’ dice, which also impact their dice rolls. It’s published by their own publishing company, Darrington Press, which has also published various board games they have created. It’s an interesting system, and I am excited to see it in more content in the future.
Critical Role was literally lightning in a bottle. It’s something that clicked with so many people, and they’re still going strong 10 years later. Not only is their fourth campaign on the horizon, but so is their next animated series, The Mighty Nein. They also have a bunch of live shows, in various parts of the world, scheduled for next year, where fans can see them play live! There’s a lot to look forward to with this group, and it’s never been a better time to become a fan!
READ NEXT:
Latest News
Featured
