Brennan Lee Mulligan to GM Critical Role Campaign 4

Critical Role's fourth campaign will launch on October 2nd, with Brennan Lee Mulligan behind the GM Screen. Critical Role announced that Mulligan, best known as the DM for Dropout's Dimension 20, will be the Game Master for the entirety of Campaign 4. The announcement was made this evening ahead of tonight's live show in Indianapolis, with Mulligan running a campaign in a brand new world assumably created just for the show. Critical Role stated that more cast announcements and other details about the campaign, such as what game system it will use, will be revealed in the coming months.

Mulligan has worked with Critical Role in the past, with both of his Exandria Unlimited miniseries having received high praise from fans. The news is also a major shakeup as this will be the first time that a full-length Critical Role campaign has not featured Matt Mercer or the world of Exandria. Both Mercer and Exandria are "taking a break" according to a press release, although Mercer is working on a second Age of Umbra miniseries that will assumably be released sometime in 2026.

 

[thatOneLinuxDM]

I might agree...now. But I feel slightly disappointed.

Started watching Critical Role because there was a group of people telling a cool story using DnD, and they were nerds that messed up rules, and did crazy stuff, just like my home table top group.

Later, and culminating in Season 3, even though it was still fun, it wasnt what I was looking for. It felt like it went from 50/50 DnD and RP, to 20/80 DnD and Drama RP.

Now, if they switch to Daggerheart, there will be no DnD.

I still freaking love them as a group, and they are both talented and loopy nerds at the same time, but...I ...just...dont know.

This is very valid too in my opinion, and probably the reason they're dammed if they do, and dammed if they don't.

Equally, they can't just do the same thing from now until they die, that would be tedious and stale.

 

[SkidAce]

This is very valid too in my opinion, and probably the reason they're dammed if they do, and dammed if they don't.

Equally, they can't just do the same thing from now until they die, that would be tedious and stale.

Agreed, and I hope they are very successful in whatever they choose.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

This is a smart move. Fresh blood and all that. I might even give it a listen. (Yeah, I'm still somewhere around episode 60 of season 1.)

 

[Pearcers2411]

If it's not Daggerheart or D&D I would be suprised.

I still hold out hope for a Shadowrun or Cyberpunk campaign.

I would love to see what Critical Role could do with either of those. Maybe even L5R...

 

[Pearcers2411]

If it's not Daggerheart or D&D I would be suprised.

I still hold out hope for a Shadowrun or Cyberpunk campaign.

I agree! Would love to see what they could do with either of those... maybe even some L5R. Like someone else said though probably not going to happen

 

[Mort]

I would love to see what Critical Role could do with either of those. Maybe even L5R...

While I would love to see the Critical Role gang do L5R, their massively chaotic play style would be hilarious in such a setting, I think, if anything, that would be a 1 shot or 2.

 

[TiQuinn]

Considering the complaints during Campaign 3 about the how long the split was, and viewers missing the other half of the main cast, this is somewhat risky. It may be lessened by being that way from the start and Robbie Daymond was a well-received new member, so not guaranteed, but with a change of cast, change of GM, change of setting and potentially change of system, at the very least, it's likely going to feel incredibly different. Certainly not just a bunch of nerdy ass voice actors streaming their home game anymore.

There were a lot of complaints about C3 that also had to do with the original cast not actually doing anything. The pacing became glacial several times because sometimes they would be so indecisive. Mulligan is really good at keeping the flow going. If things slow down, he’ll throw a proverbial bomb in the room. I think having different cast members will also help shake things up.

 

[billd91]

I agree…as the show has progressed from season to season, the D&Disms have dropped away, in part because of what I suspect are IP related reasons. The system has increasingly become more transparent. I have a hard time believing that it’s the D&D that people who are hooked on CR are coming to watch.

I think more people are coming for the D&D than you might think. There are traditional drop-offs in average viewers for 2 situations: 1- when there's a break from the main campaign to play some other segment like Exandria Unlimited, which suggests a lot of people get invested in the regular campaign and aren't as keen on the breaks, and 2- when there's a shift from D&D to something else even with the main cast.

When it comes to live play, in my experience, if I'm not really engaged in the game, I'm just not hooked very well. If I'm interested in learning more about how the system plays or if I'm well-versed in it (and like it), I can watch/listen just fine. But if I'm not, then the system tends to get in the way of my enjoyment of the live play. It wouldn't surprise me if that's something a lot of other people feel as well.

 

[Mallus]

That's a good point. Brennan does have a type.

I was quoting one of his players!

 

[billd91]

There were a lot of complaints about C3 that also had to do with the original cast not actually doing anything. The pacing became glacial several times because sometimes they would be so indecisive. Mulligan is really good at keeping the flow going. If things slow down, he’ll throw a proverbial bomb in the room. I think having different cast members will also help shake things up.

He's good at keeping the flow going, in part, because that's part of the method he's been using for most of the shows he's in. Dimension 20 games are all on a set schedule - x episodes then done. Same with the episode-limited specials he's done for CR. The regular CR campaigns haven't been under the same kind of limitation. But if he does bring some of that same effort in moving the story along, I think Campaign 4 will benefit from it.