Critical Role Critical Role Campaign 3 Discussion (SPOILERS)

[Bolares]

I think people will be appearing as NPCs throughout the campaign. I think it's a good idea for a performance game.

I pro DM live site-specific D&D games with elaborate props, handouts, terrain, etc and we use actors in the roles of major NPCs at those events. Works quite well. And it's a help to the DM when occasionally you want more than one important NPC "on stage" at the same time and don't want to play them all yourself, and don't want to run the NPC ally during combat when you're also running all the enemies.

He was already planning for Colville to play a major NPC in campaign 2, but the players chose another route...

 

[Charlaquin]

Well, I thought Nott was a joke character too at first. I don't think punk rock is a joke character. Taliesin has a punk side and can be pretty nasty when they want so I think he will be on fire...

You sure you aren’t thinking of Ashley’s character?

 

[Charlaquin]

"Southern gothic" is a different thing from "goth". I have an idea of where the character is going; I think what I mean will be clearer in a few episodes.

No, I know what Southern Gothic is, I just don’t see it in Imogen. Maybe you’re right though, we’ll see.

 

[Mort]

I wish they'd at least do it in the middle and not the top of the show. Imagine you're a new viewer and you want to see a D&D adventure, and you're greeted with 2 minutes of Sam's (elaborate but unfortunately not very funny) musical bit and 8 minutes of shilling mostly ugly merch.

Right before the pandemic, I actually saw a woman wearing a Jester backpack walking down the street. Seeing her look of utter shock when a middle aged guy in a suit and tie says "Nice Jester Backpack." was hilarious and priceless.

 

[Bolares]

You sure you aren’t thinking of Ashley’s character?

ABSOLUTELLY NOT! Her character sets everyone else on fire...

 

[Bolares]

Right before the pandemic, I actually saw a woman wearing a Jester backpack walking down the street. Seeing her look of utter shock when a middle aged guy in a suit and tie says "Nice Jester Backpack." was hilarious and priceless.

This is what's great about the industry nowadays. A woman was shocked a middle aged guy new about a D&D character.

 

[Burnside]

I guess I could have dealt with starting with no action if we didn't ALSO have Matt's boxed text Marquette monologue and the 10 minutes of shilling at the top of the show. Or I could have dealt with the shilling if we skipped the monologue and jumped into the adventure with an exciting scene. Or I could have handled the slow start without the monologue and the shilling. The combination of all three was DEADLY and if they weren't already a mega-success I don't think they could get away with a first hour like that one.

 

[Bolares]

I guess I could have dealt with starting with no action if we didn't ALSO have Matt's boxed text Marquette monologue and the 10 minutes of shilling at the top of the show. Or I could have dealt with the shilling if we skipped the monologue and jumped into the adventure with an exciting scene. Or I could have handled the slow start without the monologue and the shilling. The combination of all three was DEADLY and if they weren't already a mega-success I don't think they could get away with a first hour like that one.

Wasn't the start of C2 just like this? A long monologue with (at the time) meaningless organizations and places, followed by a looooong bar scene? the fight in C2 was the last thing to happen. Maybe this felt longer (I felt it too) because we were so eager to find out what everyone was playing, as in C2 they were almost immediatelly all introduced.

 

[Burnside]

Wasn't the start of C2 just like this? A long monologue with (at the time) meaningless organizations and places, followed by a looooong bar scene? the fight in C2 was the last thing to happen. Maybe this felt longer (I felt it too) because we were so eager to find out what everyone was playing, as in C2 they were almost immediatelly all introduced.

Yup. Although the really disastrous episode of C2 is episode 2 i.e. "we're barking up the wrong tree for 4 hours with this circus mystery".

 

[Mort]

This is what's great about the industry nowadays. A woman was shocked a middle aged guy new about a D&D character.

It may have been the suit. I remember the days before D&D beyond, I'd throw a PHB in my briefcase and prep for a session on my way too or from work (on the train). Well, more often then not, I'd be wearing a suit. People don't give a guy in a suit a second glance. People STARE at a guy in a suit with a PHB.