Session 8: My Initial Thoughts on CR Campaign 4

I've talked about it in a previous post but I am one of those GMs that really "caught the bug" from watching Critical Role. It really is a great place to learn not only how far you can push this hobby but also how to improve on your own skills as a GM. Do I think that they're the "be all end all" of Dungeons and Dragons references? Hardly. I do get frustrated by the lengths of their episodes often and they really have moved away from showing how inexpensive this hobby can be. But I also understand that it is a business - especially at this point -and I really feel like Campaign 4 is the first campaign where they've come in full force with that fact.

Gone are the days where they were using bottle cap tops for status effects. Gone are the days of hand drawn maps where the players realize that Matt did in fact draw a map for every building just incase they chose to go inside. Now, they have beautiful sets and just as beautiful maps, figures, and the like. It is a true production, which I do enjoy.

I think I really felt love for the first Campaign with Vox Machina mostly because it was a great example of how great a story can be even if you've never played before. Almost no one at that table had really played D&D or at least a significant campaign. They were all still working through their own ideas of what it meant to play the game and having Matt as such a strong DM meant that they could try anything with very little push back but a huge amount of narrative support.

Campaign 2 for some reason did not catch me. I wasn't interested in dedicating the same amount of time as I did with Campaign 1. My wife is a major fan and listened to every single episode. I'm excited for the animated series, though. The perfect way for me to get a quick download on it! From my understanding, Campaign 2 was a really great way of showing how the players had improved on their roleplaying skills. Additionally, Matt was in full swing of Exandria and the inspiration for the world was clearly flowing freely.

Finally, Campaign 3 I planned to watch along side every one else, though I was never able to make the live streams (I live on the east coast and can barely stay up past 9pm). Generally, I really like the first two-thirds of Campaign 3. I thought the characters were great. I enjoy their dynamics together. I really liked the city that Matt had built. But then...well, then they left the city and instead of going somewhere new in Exandria, they just went back to places they'd already been. (I know there's the whole "moon part" but that still wasn't very much.) It was also little frustrating for just how many special guests they had. I listened to most of Campaign 3 via Spotify and a lot of their special guests made a lot of dead air. I also think it got pretty inorganically dramatic at times. When Matt admitted he was getting a bit burnt out, I really felt like I could see it at the end of Campaign 3. He was trying to wrap things up so he could get out.

But! What this whole post is actually about is Campaign 4! Man, are they trying some new, fun things with Campaign 4.

So far, my wife and I have been watching through Campaign 4 together on a weekly basis. Generally, I really like where it's starting. I really enjoy that they immediately pulled everyone together over something so simple as a city's hero's funeral. Everyone has really made some awesome characters that I'm excited to see how they expand. Admittedly, Ashley Johnson is my favorite person - I find her humor the best - and I tend to like her characters the most. Vaelus and Tyranny are my top favorites (did you know Whitney Moore was the love interest in the original Birdemic? Get that bag, girl.)

I have also really enjoyed Brennan being the DM. Matt is really good as a DM, he's very detail focused and really clocks away to make sure he creates a setting and a scene that his players can exist in. Brennan on the other hand, I think really does a great job by being the "People's DM" in that he's far more what I think most people's DM's are like. He'll set up a scene but leans on the players to build it out and create the settings. He leans on the players to know how their characters work and how their characters wants to play. His education in improv is obviously a great boon and means he truly can "yes and" his way out of every situation but he also has clear boundaries. If the players cross it, if the mechanics don't allow for it, then it doesn't happen.

Much of Campaign 3 I think showed that Matt really had one particular story he wanted to tell. He wanted to tell a story of the death of the Gods but in a particular way. Particular story telling can result in players feeling constricted and that a dice roll doesn't truly change how something works. I think back to when Sam killed off FCG - obviously the external reasons made it impactful - and how it was clear that even Matt almost didn't know what to do about it because it was so beyond how he wanted to tell the story.

Brennan, on the other hand, has created a world that turns and the players truly are just people within it. People die, governments change, days continue. I feel much more from Brennan's DMing that they truly are starting small. A group of people that are very down on their luck and just trying to find a way to make sense of it all. Will it expand into something more? I hope so. Having the three different tables, too, I think gives listeners fresh stories and ideas.

Here comes the "theories" section so possible spoilers ahead. I'm throwing out all of my crazy thoughts that I can think of cause who really knows!

• Julien and Vaelus will be the first romance

• Julien's gauntlet is what gives him the strength to do what he can. He is just a normal guy that found it at the right time. The gauntlet is a relic of an old god and that is the shadow that follows him.

• Vaelus will find that her Goddess isn't dead.

• By Occtis having the Nightingale stone in his chest, he is keeping a god from returning. The same god that his family is working with and intended to us Occtis as a vessel for.

• Tyranny is going to bring tyranny to the city. I think she is going to serve her name very literally and will be doing everything to rend up the world more because it's in her nature than something she actually wants to do.

• Teor is going to risk his life for Wicander and likely get himself killed.

• Kattigan I think is a deadbeat dad who had the worst thing happen to him where he lost a child or his own sibling because of it. I think his wolf contains the soul of that person that was lost.

• Bolaire I think is evil or at the very least has had a body that was evil. It feels like there's something more going on with him as a mask than he's letting on.

• Azune I think is going to become some sort of "chosen one" in all of this. He acts very naively righteous and is in the sort of position where that would benefit him.

• Thaisha I'm just waiting for her to find her son dead while out in the world and then becoming a corrupted druid. Honestly, would be pretty cool.

• Murray gives me very "up from my bootstraps" kind of being. I think she's going to really gain some confidence in her standing within the city and will become a major leader in the revolution.

• Thimble I think is going to find herself having to decide between returning with her people or staying with the "big people" to help save the world. Right now, I'm not very convinced that the death of her friend is enough to make her stay.

• Wicander I think is the embodiment of believing so hard in something that it becomes reality. I think he will inadvertently either bring back an old god or his prayers and dedication will bring the godly being into creation.

• Halandil I haven't gotten much of a read on. He's my least favorite character and really just reads as a dad trying to live the type of life he wants to live. I'm not quite sure what he's going to do.

Anyway, I'm excited to see more of Campaign 4 unfold especially now that all of the groups have split up. I hope Brennan is really able to keep a feeling of "small acts can move mountains" as they adventure around!

What do you all think of Campaign 4? Do you have any crazy theories? Do you even like Critical Role?

Looking forward to your sentiments.

See you next session.

Julia