Critical Role is Awesome

This post is going to be about the web series "Critical Role" and how awesome I think it is. That's basically it but more specifically, it is going to be about how remarkable I think Critical Role is for being so awesome.

For those who don't know, Critical Role is a bunch of voice-actors playing Dungeons and Dragons, 5th edition. It is a live-streaming web series, which means it is nothing more than that. There is no Deep Immersion Gaming interface, there are no post-production effects, nor is there even any script writing (other than what Matt Mercer has done as any game master would do). It is literally nothing more than watching other people play a game. Yet it is really exciting.

It is rare that I come across a show or a book that makes me this excited. I recall watching a hot-blooded super robot anime (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann) that occasionally did the trick, but Critical Role is an every episode thing. The one I watched several nights ago (episode 7 of season 1: Throne Room) was so thrilling I couldn't fall asleep for over an hour. What is so fun about this? There are several reasons, and the first of which is Matt Mercer.

He is an absolutely fantastic dungeon master. Someone else made a Youtube video about this, and I agree with all of their points (I'm gonna link to it here). Personally, as an author, I admire his skill with location description and characterization of NPCs. You can see him shift in and out of character seamlessly and he makes all of them distinct, which is major for the life of the story. If this were a radio show, you would be hard pressed to guess that Clarota and Lady Kima had the same actor. As for descriptions, there is a fine mix of function and flavor, which is something that I struggle with in my own work.

The second reason is the players themselves. Being voice-actors, they are obviously skilled at talking and acting in character. This adds to the realness of the world and immersion for the viewer. Equally important, if not more importantly, they are fans of this game and enjoy playing. When they successfully execute a plan, I want to cheer with them. The stealth sequences are tense. These are not look-cool-and-sneaky sequences; they are if-they-spot-us-we-are-going-to-die sequences. In particular, Sam Riegel (Scanlan the genome bard) makes catchy parodies of songs and the others either laugh at him or join in. Their fun is infectious.

The third reason I think this show is fun and exciting is its script-less nature. These things are broadcast live and decided by die rolls. In the Kraighammer arc, Matt says "these games have consequences" when the party fails miserably at persuading a potentially helpful character. Like the player characters in any other tabletop game, it's possible for them to go totally off the rails if they want.

There are other reasons, but I'm going to stop there. Matt Mercer the skilled and talent dungeon master, the players who are clearly having fun, and the script-less nature of the story; just three reasons why Critical Role is awesome.
A fourth reason could be how helpful it can be to authors.


By the way, Critical Role regularly promotes this charity, 826LA. It is about fostering the writing skills of skills and teenagers in Los Angeles. This includes creative writing, like the kind that goes into D&D campaigns, and also into writing fantasy novels like my Journey to Chaos series. I like supporting that kind of thing.

Brian Wilkerson is a freelance book reviewer, writing advice blogger and independent novelist. He studied at the University of Minnesota and came away with bachelor degrees in English Literature and History (Classical Mediterranean Period concentration).