Critical Role Critical Role Campaign 4 Episode 4 is a High-Octane Rollercoaster

[OB1]

This is my greatest problem with CR in general, especially the original cast. They tend to discuss so much and often with quite repetitive arguments. It reminds me of some of my players at one of my tables. But my table is not a live show meant to be consumend and enjoyed by viewers, so its not that dramatic. But as a viewer of CR its annoying. This was one of the main reasons I lost interest in C2 and C3 (C1 didn't have that problem if I recall correctly).

I hoped Brennan would intervene - he does, but not as strong as I had hoped.

The first half of C2 didn't have that problem either. It started when they began moving away from a lot of WotC IP, which resulted in Matt having to do a lot more work to prep games, which resulted in fewer encounters per session, which resulted in the players needing to fill up the space with long stretches of improv.

Really hoping that with a large team behind him, Brennan will be able to up the pace with more encounters per session. The first episode pace was fantastic, but it feels like it's been getting slower and slower ever since. It did seem like once we were back with just the Soldiers, the pace picked up a bit (3 encounters in the last 90 minutes), but I'm worried that the Scheemers will be very, very slow, and not sure where the Seekers will land.

 

[Clint_L]

This is my greatest problem with CR in general, especially the original cast. They tend to discuss so much and often with quite repetitive arguments. It reminds me of some of my players at one of my tables. But my table is not a live show meant to be consumend and enjoyed by viewers, so its not that dramatic. But as a viewer of CR its annoying. This was one of the main reasons I lost interest in C2 and C3 (C1 didn't have that problem if I recall correctly).

I hoped Brennan would intervene - he does, but not as strong as I had hoped.

I think the basic shift that happened, starting with the final arc of Campaign 2, was the shift from themes being driven by the players to themes being driven by the DM.

Until that point, Mercer’s stories had focused on fairly simple plot points, and his attention was given to his amazingly immersive world-building. Themes - what the stories meant - was coming from how the players interacted and played their characters.

In a basic narrative sense, Mercer focused on supplying “wants” - objectives for the party. The players used those to explore “needs,” by developing each character’s internal conflict. So the story feels cooperative - the DM is the world, but the players give it meaning. For me, this is the ideal.

Although we saw the shift to a different approach happening in C2, C3 really embodies the new approach, in which story AND theme are being driven by the DM, who is becoming more like a playwright. I think that’s why there is so much more discussion between players of what it all means: they are trying to figure out where the story is SUPPOSED to go.

Think of how many times C3 spiralled back to the same conversations. The plot became about the DM’s epic story, rather than the character’s journeys in it. And I think, being actual professional actors, the players have adapted automatically to that new dynamic, where they are trying to, essentially, interpret a script.

 

[Mort]

I think the basic shift that happened, starting with the final arc of Campaign 2, was the shift from themes being driven by the players to themes being driven by the DM.

Until that point, Mercer’s stories had focused on fairly simple plot points, and his attention was given to his amazingly immersive world-building. Themes - what the stories meant - was coming from how the players interacted and played their characters.

In a basic narrative sense, Mercer focused on supplying “wants” - objectives for the party. The players used those to explore “needs,” by developing each character’s internal conflict. So the story feels cooperative - the DM is the world, but the players give it meaning. For me, this is the ideal.

Although we saw the shift to a different approach happening in C2, C3 really embodies the new approach, in which story AND theme are being driven by the DM, who is becoming more like a playwright. I think that’s why there is so much more discussion between players of what it all means: they are trying to figure out where the story is SUPPOSED to go.

Think of how many times C3 spiralled back to the same conversations. The plot became about the DM’s epic story, rather than the character’s journeys in it. And I think, being actual professional actors, the players have adapted automatically to that new dynamic, where they are trying to, essentially, interpret a script.

Very insightful, thanks!

Seems particularly true for the first several episodes of campaign 4 because the DM was VERY focused on getting all the characters where HE wanted/needed them to be as opposed to any input from the players/PCs.

We'll see how it shapes up going forward, but the DM seems to have a very specific agenda (could be wrong but certainly seems so) so might not let up much.

 

[OB1]

I think the basic shift that happened, starting with the final arc of Campaign 2, was the shift from themes being driven by the players to themes being driven by the DM.

Until that point, Mercer’s stories had focused on fairly simple plot points, and his attention was given to his amazingly immersive world-building. Themes - what the stories meant - was coming from how the players interacted and played their characters.

In a basic narrative sense, Mercer focused on supplying “wants” - objectives for the party. The players used those to explore “needs,” by developing each character’s internal conflict. So the story feels cooperative - the DM is the world, but the players give it meaning. For me, this is the ideal.

Although we saw the shift to a different approach happening in C2, C3 really embodies the new approach, in which story AND theme are being driven by the DM, who is becoming more like a playwright. I think that’s why there is so much more discussion between players of what it all means: they are trying to figure out where the story is SUPPOSED to go.

Think of how many times C3 spiralled back to the same conversations. The plot became about the DM’s epic story, rather than the character’s journeys in it. And I think, being actual professional actors, the players have adapted automatically to that new dynamic, where they are trying to, essentially, interpret a script.

This makes a ton of sense, and I think explains what went on better than my theory about the move away from D&D IP. And what's really interesting here is that it comes at about the same time that they had the kickstarter and realized that they were going to be producing scripted shows.

Because what CR has feels like to me since then is being in a writer's room when they are 'breaking the script' (I was a writers assistant and script coordinator for TV shows a few decades ago). That is once the general direction of the season has been decided on, and the writers all get together in a room and work out the story beats of the individual episodes as a group. Once that's done, the writer for each episode takes what was done collaboratively and turns it into a final, polished script that get's shot.

So in this analolgy, Mercer (or now BLeeM) is the show runner and decides on the general direction and themes of the season. Next, the PCs get together, and following the path that the show runner put down, fleshes out the action, sometimes using dice to make decisions about the story. Finally, they will take the live play episodes to use as the basis for the writers of the animated series to created polished scripts for the episodes of LoVM and M9.

 

[TiQuinn]

Some interesting notes from the Cooldown episode:

Brennan noted that he was having a lot of fun with the groups’s observations of what was happening out on the King’s Highway: not because those events were meant to impact the Soldiers’ table, but because they potentially could impact the other tables, and the Soldiers were simply getting a glimpse into what seems like an unrelated event.

Ditto the gnome’s daughters. Maybe the soldiers will meet them someday. Maybe another group will meet them!

 

[Retros_x]

I think the basic shift that happened, starting with the final arc of Campaign 2, was the shift from themes being driven by the players to themes being driven by the DM.

That might be it or a part of it, but I see this behaviour mostly in the original crew. The new players feel much more "plot-pushing" and do much less circles although Brennan does the similar DM-driven campaign style. Brennan does also this DM-driven style in his "house show" Dimension 20, and there most players also do not do this "lets rehash the same discussion point for the nth time". It almost feels sometimes like the OG players are stalling for time, although I know that this can't be the intention behind it.