Tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons are more popular than ever, appealing to those who dream of becoming whatever kinds of characters they want to be in a vast fantasy world where they can be heroes alongside their friends. This rise in popularity has been aided by shows like Critical Role, which allow audiences to enjoy the highest quality D&D play.
Combining the fantastical worlds and adventures D&D offers with the expert performances of veteran voice actors, Critical Role turns the game and all of its mechanics into a journey fans can tune into and experience alongside the cast. It allows anyone to enjoy D&D regardless of whether they have the means to play themselves, and with the series more popular than ever, newcomers may be wondering where to start.
What Is Critical Role?
Critical Role is described on its website as a "multi-platform entertainment sensation," where acclaimed voice actors gather to play a campaign of Dungeons & Dragons, voicing their characters live on-stream. The campaign is run by Dungeon Master Mathew Mercer, who is famous for roles like McCree from Overwatch, Chrom from Fire Emblem, Jotaro Kujo from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure and Levi Ackerman from Attack on Titan.
With the combined efforts of Mercer and players, the team has created some of the most fully realized Dungeons & Dragons stories possible, elevating it from a simple game to a genuine fantasy adventure story. These adventures are set in Mercer's world of Exandria, a place where rag-tag groups of adventurers of various races and backgrounds band together on many quests and adventures, leading to action, drama, tragedy, heartbreak, mystery and thrills.
The first campaign follows the band of adventurers known collectively as Vox Machina, who eventually become famous as protectors of the kingdom of Tal'Dorei, renowned as dragon-slayers and sealing a malevolent deity away in another plane of existence. The second and recently-completed campaign follows a group that would eventually be known as the Mighty Nein. While their deeds were similar in scope to Vox Machina's, they were not nearly as renowned in the public eye.
Where Can I Watch or Read Critical Role Online?
Though it is currently in between campaigns, Critical Role usually airs on Thursdays at 7PM Pacific time on both Twitch and YouTube. The franchise itself is hosted by nerd culture company Geek & Sundry, which releases archived playlists of Critical Role episodes on its own YouTube channel. Alongside the Twitch livestreams and YouTube archives, the series is also available in podcast form on its website, as well as Spotify, iTunes and Google Play. The primary livestream is available for free on Twitch and YouTube after some time, but the show's creators kindly ask for support via a Twitch subscription, which is $4.99 a month, to get access to VODs.
Additionally, Critical Role's campaigns have been made into artbooks and comics, which can be purchased from its online store. The Chronicles of Exandria artbook series compiles various fan works into a direct adaptation of Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein's adventures into easily-digestible volumes. Dark Horse Comics has also published a prequel graphic novel series, Vox Machina Origins, co-written with the cast members themselves. Finally, following a successful Kickstarter campaign, the Legend of Vox Machina animated series is in the works and will be available to stream on Amazon Prime.