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.

 

[Afroconan]

does WotC pay them or is that just baseless speculation?

I think what it might be missing is the same level of interest in the viewers, not sure if CR knows that or is just not willing to risk it

I think, at worst, It can be speculated that D&D Beyond wouldn't sponsor them as before if they went with Daggerheart (and who could blame them if it were the case).

Then the guys ran the numbers and decided to stick to D&D, and then Crawford and Perkins convinced them to move to 2024 rules as Matt and Brenan said in the Fireside Chat.

And that would be fine I guess? It would be disingenuous to paint that as "WotC extorting them into taking their deal" or "bribing them into dropping their own game" for WotC's benefit...

 

[Henadic Theologian]

does WotC pay them or is that just baseless speculation?

I think what it might be missing is the same level of interest in the viewers, not sure if CR knows that or is just not willing to risk it

Well we know in previous seasons of CR WotC did in fact sponsor them & advertise. I think that stopped with season 3, but circumstances have changed with 5.24e and Daggerheart so it seems they are doing so again.

Plus of course WotC published two hard covers for Exandria, and D&D Beyond offers those and their self published Tal Dorei book.

So yes WotC has of history of paying CR money.

 

[Afroconan]

Well we know in previous seasons of CR WotC did in fact sponsor them & advertise. I think that stopped with season 3, but circumstances have changed with 5.24e and Daggerheart so it seems they are doing so again.

Plus of course WotC published two hard covers for Exandria, and D&D Beyond offers those and their self published Tal Dorei book.

So yes WotC has of history of paying CR money.

You're mixing up a lot of things here.

D&D Beyond has been a sponsor for Critical Role since the beginning of Campaign 2 on 2018 and Campaign 3 which began in 2021. WotC acquired D&D Beyond on 2022.

I don't know how those contracts go, but I assume the lump sum of sponsorship money is given at the start of the contract.

So claiming WotC gave them cash through their D&D Beyond sponsorship is a bit dubious.

On the other hand Wildemount, Call of the Netherdeep and Taldorei Reborn being on D&D Beyond are all licensing agreements, that are independent of them going with Daggerheart for Campaign 4. And I doubt that had they gone with Daggerheart, future partnerships would be taken off the table because of that.

 

[AlViking]

Well we know in previous seasons of CR WotC did in fact sponsor them & advertise. I think that stopped with season 3, but circumstances have changed with 5.24e and Daggerheart so it seems they are doing so again.

Plus of course WotC published two hard covers for Exandria, and D&D Beyond offers those and their self published Tal Dorei book.

So yes WotC has of history of paying CR money.

But there's a big difference between paying someone for a setting book and "bribing" them.

The folks behind CR enjoy playing multiple games, D&D is one of them. They're also going to be doing games in DH.

I just think people keep trying to make a big deal out of it to get eyeballs.

 

[Chaltab]

But there's a big difference between paying someone for a setting book and "bribing" them.

The folks behind CR enjoy playing multiple games, D&D is one of them. They're also going to be doing games in DH.

I just think people keep trying to make a big deal out of it to get eyeballs.

Basically this. Ever since the OGL crisis, some channels have gone off the deep end in terms of trying to spin everything D&D related as a big scandal or failure. And yeah, I get being skeptical of corps like Hasbro but there's a fine line between skepticism and clickbait and they've made a running long jump over it.

 

[AlViking]

Basically this. Ever since the OGL crisis, some channels have gone off the deep end in terms of trying to spin everything D&D related as a big scandal or failure. And yeah, I get being skeptical of corps like Hasbro but there's a fine line between skepticism and clickbait and they've made a running long jump over it.

Which is really annoying because if you're just curious about what's going on, the hyperbole is so extreme that it's hard to know what to believe. I've blocked several now but for a while at least once a week it was big letter "YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHAT THEY DID THIS TIME!!!" with flames or a facepalm.

Ah well, people are just doing what they can to get eyeballs and once they start down the hype road it's hard to change course.

 

[mamba]

Championship goalpost shifting here.

nah, they did not shift at all, but maybe you misunderstood my point

Coding for Java or web browser you're still dependent on an interface to implement your code in.

agreed, that is why I called it platform independent

Theoretically you could write your own OS but unless you're Linus Torvald, it probably isn't happening.

no one says it has to be a one person job, much like most apps aren't one developer either. Heck, many commercial TTRPG products aren't either

It also doesn't change anything. Companies frequently create products that supplement some other company's products. They've decided to hitch their wagon to someone else's products and there's nothing wrong with that business model.

never said there was, I said there is no real difference between doing so as a designer of TTRPGs / supplements or as a developer

If third parties have decided to create supplements, that's their decision. The comparison of WOTC to MS has no basis.

I was not comparing WotC to MS, my point was

the developer has much the same choice ahead of them as the 3pp TTRPG creative.

 

[definiteFreakyFishGuy]

Folks are trying too hard to justify something that simply annoys them.

Aren't you kind of doing the same thing? Brennan talked about why they chose DND for the main C4 campaign, but you are trying so hard to make this whole thing about money.