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.

 

[Clint_L]

I think more casual or occasional watchers may be tuning in for D&D itself but the people watching week after week…a show that runs regularly for 3 to 3.5 hours or more - I doubt they’re focused on the game system primarily.

Raises hand. I greatly prefer their D&D games, but it is hard to discern how much of that is because of the system and how much is because the more CR becomes SERIOUS BUSINESS, the less fun it is to watch/listen. Age of Umbra is a slog; I’ve made it to the final episode but am glad it’s slmost over.

 

[Parmandur]

I would be pretty sad if they stopped using D&D personally.

 

[Burnside]

I think Mulligan as the GM plus no mention of Daggerheart in the announcement means it's likely that they're staying with D&D for campaign 4. If it's Daggerheart, there's no benefit to not saying so and hyping it.

The announcement was all about new stuff, so if it's still D&D, that's not new, they don't own it, and there's no reason to make a big deal out of the fact that they're staying with it.

I can also see the reasoning that if the GM and player lineup and the setting are already changing, maybe don't also change the system yet.

I do not expect that campaign 4 will be as long as previous campaigns. I think it'll be about one year.

I would then expect campaign 5 to see both the return of Mercer as GM and the return of Exandria BUT using Daggerheart.

I also think all the 2026 live touring shows with the original players will use Daggerheart, as the ones in August and October of this year are.

 

[thatOneLinuxDM]

I also think all the 2026 live touring shows with the original players will use Daggerheart, as the ones in August and October of this year are.

This specifically will be very disappointing if true.

 

[Burnside]

This specifically will be very disappointing if true.

Tbh of all my predictions, this is actually the one I’m most confident about.

 

[overgeeked]

Matt posted this on Instagram.

Man… what a damn night. What a damn GenCon! (Mind the groggy morning after pic)

I cannot express how excited I am for Campaign 4, y’all. Getting to meaningfully PLAY at the table as a PC alongside all my friends is something I’ve been wanting to do for some time, but to hand the reins to someone I so deeply love and respect as @brennanleemulligan is an honor. I know this is a shake up for some, but if you’ve ever trusted me, trust that what we’ve been cooking for this next story with him and the players is something truly special, unique, and very befitting the vibe and scope you’ve come to enjoy with us these past 10 years. Lots of details and reveals over the weeks to come, and excited to unveil the newer faces that join the OG cast to bring this new world to life.

I’m still gonna be running games, don’t you worry! Exandria continues through our live shows, our animated series, many other stories (including your own), and whenever else the inspiration strikes to step back into my world that I’ll be building and playing in until the end of my days. We also got more Age of Umbra to come, and other fun things I’ll be running, so I ain’t hanging up my GM screen any time soon.

All in all, love you all, and so, SO excited for this next chapter. I hope you come along with us. <3

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

He is a horrible GM. He is boring mono toned not creative and gets lost in his own campaigns

Yes, the big issue with Brennan Lee Mulligan is that his campaigns aren't creative enough.

 

[darjr]

Yes, the big issue with Brennan Lee Mulligan is that his campaigns aren't creative enough.

Funny. I actually had someone say this to me and I asked what they'd like to see and his list had a lot of Brennans stuff in it!

I didn't have the heart to tell them, just that I hope Brennan pulls a win.

Edit: and to be fair, I only knew because of this news and I went looking.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'm agnostic on that, but convincing people that CR is still CR without Mercer behind the screen in the 'main' campaign will be a pretty big adjustment that some might struggle with.

I was under the impression that the fans generally loved the Exandria Unlimited stuff Brennan had run in the past.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Funny. I actually had someone say this to me and I asked what they'd like to see and his list had a lot of Brennans stuff in it!

I didn't have the heart to tell them, just that I hope Brennan pulls a win.

Edit: and to be fair, I only knew because of this news and I went looking.

Brennan is probably the second best-known DM out there, but as with D&D and other RPGs, the drop-off from Mercer to Brennan is still pretty huge.