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.

 

[AlViking]

The general "public" sees the brand D&D and TTRPGs as basic the same thing, let's be honest. Critical Role has probably been one of the best advertisers of the existence of other games in the history of the hobby, as well as being one of the best showcases of D&D specifically.

It's interesting to me that people always say that D&D 5e succeeded because of CR. But every other game has the same opportunity to do live streams. Admittedly the CR cast is amazingly talented, but there are a lot of talented and charismatic people out there.

CR along with other factors helped of course, but it's not like there's any limit to what games can be used for a stream. If other games CR did shows for had been popular I'm sure we would see more of them.

 

[mamba]

Windows dominance is different for multiple reasons. First, the operating system supports a whole ecosystem of software. MS also bought other companies and engaged in anticompetetive practices.

the first one is not really a difference, just look at which systems 3rd party products are for

 

[mamba]

It would take some time though for one of them to ramp up to WoTC's level.

it took D&D 45 years to ramp up to WotC levels

 

[kermit4karate]

D&D's massive dominance has clear negative impacts on other games. People who like other games often wish D&D was not so dominant for legitimate reasons.

Fair enough, but the same could be said about the top businesses in most industries.

New upstart smartphone makers can either curse Apple, slander iPhone owners, hope for them all to fail/burn in hell, or they can put their all instead into trying to objectively identify (that usually means ask, not assume) problems users have with Apple's products and propose ways to solve them.

 

[Reynard]

Fair enough, but the same could be said about the top businesses in most industries.

New upstart smartphone makers can either curse Apple, slander iPhone owners, hope for them all to fail/burn in hell, or they can put their all instead into trying to objectively identify (that usually means ask, not assume) problems users have with Apple's products and propose ways to solve them.

And still never sell more than a tiny fraction of what Apple sells, based on nothing to do with quality.

Look,I like 5E but it has overstayed its welcome and the nee version is considerably worse than not only 2014, but A5E and ToV both. Yet official D&D will always be on top and fans will always say it is the best version. Watchagonado?

 

[AlViking]

the first one is not really a difference, just look at which systems 3rd party products are for

Software has to be designed with the operating system in mind. For games it's their choice.

 

[mamba]

Software has to be designed with the operating system in mind. For games it's their choice.

not sure I follow, adventures, bestiaries, etc. are also designed with the system in mind, and which system to choose is the developer’s choice

 

[AlViking]

And still never sell more than a tiny fraction of what Apple sells, based on nothing to do with quality.

Look,I like 5E but it has overstayed its welcome and the nee version is considerably worse than not only 2014, but A5E and ToV both. Yet official D&D will always be on top and fans wil(l always say it is the best version. Watchagonado?

So because you don't personally care for the game it's "overstayed it's welcome" is your justification for the harm it's doing? That's kind of what the expression sour grapes means. If the only negative impact of D&D's popularity is that you want something else, it's not the fault of the game.

 

[Aldarc]

It's interesting to me that people always say that D&D 5e succeeded because of CR. But every other game has the same opportunity to do live streams. Admittedly the CR cast is amazingly talented, but there are a lot of talented and charismatic people out there.

CR along with other factors helped of course, but it's not like there's any limit to what games can be used for a stream. If other games CR did shows for had been popular I'm sure we would see more of them.

This is certainly a take.

 

[kermit4karate]

And still never sell more than a tiny fraction of what Apple sells, based on nothing to do with quality.

Look,I like 5E but it has overstayed its welcome and the nee version is considerably worse than not only 2014, but A5E and ToV both. Yet official D&D will always be on top and fans will always say it is the best version. Watchagonado?

Maybe so... I still love it in its entirety, not any one edition in its entirety but altogether. I believe that every other system I've ever seen or played had mechanical faults of its own too. I've never encountered an unquestionably better RPG system myself.

D&D also created the industry, blazed the trail, even continues to build the market. Game stores pay their rent based on interest in D&D (and Magic, of course). One could argue that the entire TTRPG market would be hurt by D&D's disappearance.

Agreed. Whatchagonado?