Critical Role to Use D&D 2024 Rules For Campaign Four, Expands to Three Tables and Thirteen Players

Critical Role will continue to use Dungeons & Dragons as the play system for its upcoming campaign, with the cast expanding to three distinct tables consisting of a total of 13 players. Today, Critical Role announced new details about its new campaign, which is set to air on October 4th. The new campaign will feature the full founding cast members as players, alongside several new players. In total, the cast includes Laura Bailey, Luis Carazo, Robbie Daymond, Aabria Iyengar, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Matthew Mercer, Whitney Moore, Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Alexander Ward, and Travis Willingham, with the previously announced Brennan Lee Mulligan serving as GM.

The campaign itself will be run as a "West Marches" style of campaign, with three separate groups of players exploring the world. The groups are divided into gameplay styles, with a combat-focused Soldiers group, a lore/exploration-focused Seekers group, and a intrigue-focused Schemers group. All three groups will explore the world of Araman, created by Mulligan for the campaign.

Perhaps most importantly, Critical Role will not be switching to Daggerheart for the fourth campaign. Instead, they'll be opting for the new 2024 ruleset of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. Daggerheart will be represented at Critical Role via the Age of Umbra and "other" Actual Play series, as well as partnerships with other Actual Play troupes.

 

[Umbran]

Which is why I strongly dislike publicly-held companies.

That is terribly far off the topic of this thread, which is supposed to be about CR and the game it is using.

 

[mamba]

Which is why I strongly dislike publicly-held companies.

not sure private companies past a certain size are any better…

 

[kermit4karate]

not sure private companies past a certain size are any better…

Ha! Good point. It's certainly debatable.

 

[Micah Sweet]

That is terribly far off the topic of this thread, which is supposed to be about CR and the game it is using.

Fair enough, but you did bring up an issue with public shareholders.

 

[Micah Sweet]

not sure private companies past a certain size are any better…

Maybe, but the problems are different, and at least the private ones have a better chance to focus on making the best product they want to make, without having to worry about a bunch of public shareholders that just want "number go up" all the time.

But as @Umbran says, that not the topic here. DP is I think still private.

 

[Umbran]

Fair enough, but you did bring up an issue with public shareholders.

Yep.
And I am also the one realizing that we are going to far, and ought to pull back.

 

[Reynard]

Who said it has to continue growing at its current rate? 1%/year of 10 million is still 100,000 new players/year.

Even if it's just baaaaarely growing, it'll continue to outpace everything else.

I realize that that annoys a great many people here, but it is what it is. D&D is a cultural phenom that still controls massive global mindshare in the TTRPG world.

It isn't bonkers to think that it would carry on for a while, at least. I don't expect it is a runaway train, but it has some momentum.

Plus, it is a hypothetical, as we know that WotC is doing new products.

I think if D&D was left only to fan support, it would start contracting immediately. I don't think it would disappear entirely but it would slough off huge numbers of players until only the most dedicated remained. I think it is important to remember that the vast majority of D&D's new players are casual players. Without the force of WotC constantly reminding everyone it exists, most of those players would find something else to do with their time.

And that isn't even to mention the other companies that would pounce on the opportunity.

But it is a very silly hypothetical. Even if D&D was no longer published, Hasbro would very likely continue to monetize the brand in other areas. That is the most likely outcome, eventually, I think.

 

[Scribe]

I think if D&D was left only to fan support, it would start contracting immediately

"I don't play dead games."

Is how that would go.

 

[kermit4karate]

I think if D&D was left only to fan support, it would start contracting immediately.

I don't even know if that's true, but perhaps. We'll never know.

The same could probably be said of most existing games. If left only to fan support, would they keep growing? Maybe, if we're saying that going from 100 customers to 200 customers/year on word of mouth counts.

 

[Jaeger]

Perhaps most importantly, Critical Role will not be switching to Daggerheart for the fourth campaign. Instead, they'll be opting for the new 2024 ruleset of Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.

In the end, it was really as simple as the opening line of every one of their 400 or so main campaign episodes. That's what CR is.

Yup.

CR is just acknowledging the reality of their situation.

D&D is still The King in RPG land, with the biggest network effect. Period.

CR viewers have been steadily down from their pandemic peak. Going DaggerHeart will not move the needle. Any 'new players' CR has brought into the hobby are already here, and playing 5e. All CR are doing with DH is moving 5e players disgruntled with WotC antics to DH. That's it.

Yeah lots of their fanbase doesn't even play, but lots of them do, and lots of those are still D&D fans as well.

You gotta dance with the one that brung ya...