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

[Mort]

And I personally enjoy playing odd things, mostly because I've already played everything under the sun.

I used to have a "1 Unique Race" per group rule so the party weren't a collection of complete outsiders. Now I don't even care. The choice comes with IC consequences because NPCs will react as expected, and I trust my players to do a good job with the roleplay, so bring your freaky circus to town.

Yes, narrative consequences are a thing.

As my group (2 Dragonborn, 1 Tabaxi, a halfling and a dwarf) found out trying to bluff their way into a Scarlett Brotherhood (think human supremacist ninja Nazis) enclave.

 

[Charlaquin]

There are definitely places where roleplaying half angel/half dragons/half gods with eyes of 2+ different colors, smirking, you can never understand the darkness of their back story... exist. In large numbers.

To be honest, I don’t see that as an inherently bad thing. Like, would I personally want to play an angel/dragon hybrid with heterochromia? No, that’s trying to do too much, and ends up being less effective because it’s too unfocused. But what’s it to me if someone else plays a character with a concept that’s too busy for my tastes? Let people have their fun, it doesn’t hurt anyone.

I'm assuming the phrase "OC community" is referring to something like this?

That’s part of it. It comes from the Cultures of Play model of gaming styles, and refers to a style of play wherein a big part of the purpose of play is to allow players to showcase their character concepts. I’ve also seen it referred to as “performative roleplaying.” The thing is, these labels are generally applied by people who dislike the style they’re describing. Even the name, “OC” (short for Original Character) is intentionally demeaning, meant to be evocative of teens and preteens (particularly teen and preteen girls) sharing art and fanfiction featuring their original (usually implied self-insert) characters on sites like DeviantArt, AO3, and Tumblr.

This is why I don’t find it to be a useful label. It’s not a real style of gameplay, it’s an accusation of playing D&D wrong. Particularly, playing it in a way that the person throwing the accusation thinks is immature, frivolous, and effeminate.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Well, there’s no way Thimble isn’t homebrewed since she’s Tiny sized. Tyranny is explicitly a demon, not a tiefling. Cattigan has some sort of weird weapon and we’ve seen him cast a spell that’s at least 3rd party if not homebrewed. And Halandil is starting out with a magic weapon which is at least implied to be very powerful. And we know Chris Perkins and Jeremy Crawford are on the team specifically to help with integrating homebrew into the 2024 rules.

I am incredibly fond of them using custom elements. D&D at its best inspires tables to do that, and since CR is one of the biggest D&D things around, it's great that they're into that.

I detest the OC-style of play.

This is like 15 nerdy middle-aged theater kids, everyone's here to be the most interesting character in the room (but skilled enough to tone it down and let their friends shine, too). I definitely don't expect a close cleaving to defined archetypes.

 

[Charlaquin]

I am incredibly fond of them using custom elements. D&D at its best inspires tables to do that, and since CR is one of the biggest D&D things around, it's great that they're into that.

Agreed! I think it’s great to have a positive model of a group where the players and DM work together to design what they need to realize what the players are interested in playing.

This is like 15 nerdy middle-aged theater kids, everyone's here to be the most interesting character in the room (but skilled enough to tone it down and let their friends shine, too). I definitely don't expect a close cleaving to defined archetypes.

Their experience as performers and the graciousness that comes with it is a salient point. These are professional actors, who know that the production is best when everyone is dedicating their efforts towards helping each other shine rather than just focusing on their own performance.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Okay, I have never watched Critical Role or any livestreamed game before. Reading through the comments has whet my appetite. I'm going to give this episode a shot...

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Okay, I have never watched Critical Role or any livestreamed game before. Reading through the comments has whet my appetite. I'm going to give this episode a shot...

5 hours!!!! I might have to break this up into smaller chunks. Too much of a good thing, etc.

 

[I'm A Banana]

This being my first campaign, my main strategy for the long timelines is to do it in about half-hour chunks, or to do it podcast-style where I'm listening while doing other things (which is pretty effective).

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

This being my first campaign, my main strategy for the long timelines is to do it in about half-hour chunks, or to do it podcast-style where I'm listening while doing other things (which is pretty effective).

I'm part way through the first round of a combat. Going to pause there... real life calls. So far, I'm digging it. A bit more theatrical than I remember my D&D games being in the exposition phases, but I'm appreciating the differences! I also like how attacks, hits and misses are well-described by the players and GM and woven into the scene. We used to do this too and I find it adds a lot to the combat aspect of the game. Draws you into the action and the world.

 

[Charlaquin]

5 hours!!!! I might have to break this up into smaller chunks. Too much of a good thing, etc.

Yeah, episodes are usually somewhere between 3 and 5 hours long, though they’ve trended longer as the show has gone on. 3 hour episodes were more common in campaign 1, now they tend to be around 4 to 4.5 on average.

One of my work friends watches up to the break when they first stream live each Thursday and then watches the second half when the vod comes out on Monday, which seems like a more manageable way to keep up. Like watching two feature-length movies a week that way.

 

[JConstantine]

Maybe, but I don’t think it’s that. He’s constantly doing the thing where he just says his character’s internal thoughts out loud, and I actually hate that.

I've mentioned elsewhere about disliking that approach myself. I'm not interested in an internal monologue; if your character is angry, for example, describe to me how they clench their fists, face flushed, and shout at the top their lungs in barely controlled rage. Show, don't tell.

I mentioned before, but his awkward and slightly confused reactions to everything Murray does are extremely endearing. His bond with Teor and Cattigan, though straightforward, comes through in subtle nuances of his performance.

This is what I meant - those mannerisms come out with the other characters he's played, which make them seem like Luis' to me. So I find Luis himself kinda endearing. I don't know if you've seen it, or are even interested in V:TM, but based on what you've said here, you might enjoy how he interacts with Aabria in Private Nightmares.