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.

 

[Imaro]

My point was that they're not alone in their feelings, as you implied IMO. Was that not clear?

I implied he could only speak for himself.. and certainly not for everyone. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Candela Obscura had two things going against it: (1) it's not faux-medieval fantasy genre which dominates this market

I dunno. The supernatural investigation genre has a lot of games set in the Victorian and Elizabethan eras and in their American counterparts. People love that sort of setting.

But Candela Obscura said "you know, instead of doing that actually during the Victorian era or even the fictional Victorian era, we're just going to make up a world that looks like it but isn't."

So you can't battle Jack the Ripper, can't investigate Spring Heel Jack, can't encounter Sherlock Holmes, can't meet H.P. Lovecraft, etc.

It was a weird "let's take this delicious cake you like, scrape off the frosting you love and replace it with something random instead and ask you to pretend that's just as good" move.

 

[mamba]

Edit: I just have a feeling... contrary to what many youtubers are trying to project....they are nowhere near enough for CR to risk their main show on

not sure it takes a feeling for that, the CR announcement should he enough

 

[Reynard]

Welcome to the internet where hyperbole is often addressed in the hopes of a more reasonable discussion... often to no avail.

I implied he could only speak for himself.. and certainly not for everyone. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

Fair enough.

Now do you actually think D&D 2024 is better designed than previous or alternative versions. Do you think they are better designers than Spenser Stark? because the way they presented it originally, Perkins and Crawford were brought into do the development and management side so Starke could focus on design.

 

[Clint_L]

Candela didn't review very well and I presume hasn't set the sales charts on fire. Daggerheart has fared much better.

True, and it's also a niche game within a niche segment of the TTRPG space. Going for a chunk of (essentially) Call of Cthulhu's turf is a lot different from trying to grab a little chunk of D&D vast terrain.

 

[Imaro]

Fair enough.

Now do you actually think D&D 2024 is better designed than previous or alternative versions. Do you think they are better designers than Spenser Stark? because the way they presented it originally, Perkins and Crawford were brought into do the development and management side so Starke could focus on design.

Where did CR or DP state that... I remember online speculation around their hire being for that but the first official statement was Gen Con and it was announced they would be doing design work.

 

[Reynard]

Where did CR or DP state that... I remember online speculation around their hire being for that but the first official statement was Gen Con and it was announced they would be doing design work.

"At Darrington Press, they’ll work in similar roles: Perkins, is now creative director of Darrington Press, while Crawford will serve as game director."

from here: Top D&D designers join Critical Role after quitting Wizards of the Coast

 

[Chaltab]

I challenge anyone to look at the 2024 MM compared to the ToV or A5E ones and make the case that the 2024 monsters are better designed.

I mean... in some cases?

All of them have better design than 5E14 monsters but in different ways. TOTV and A5E both make monsters more interesting and complex. 5E24 Monsters are generally stronger and easier to run. Both types have their place in encounter design.

 

[Aldarc]

I dunno. The supernatural investigation genre has a lot of games set in the Victorian and Elizabethan eras and in their American counterparts. People love that sort of setting.

But Candela Obscura said "you know, instead of doing that actually during the Victorian era or even the fictional Victorian era, we're just going to make up a world that looks like it but isn't."

So you can't battle Jack the Ripper, can't investigate Spring Heel Jack, can't encounter Sherlock Holmes, can't meet H.P. Lovecraft, etc.

It was a weird "let's take this delicious cake you like, scrape off the frosting you love and replace it with something random instead and ask you to pretend that's just as good" move.

Sure, but I don't think that choice is that unusual or ill-conceived. Robert E. Howard created Hyboria because he didn't want to deal with real history. I could see that Critical Role, which wants to be sensitive to real world issues, might want to avoid actual Victorian history.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Sure, but I don't think that choice is that unusual or ill-conceived. Robert E. Howard created Hyboria because he didn't want to deal with real history. I could see that Critical Role, which wants to be sensitive to real world issues, might want to avoid actual Victorian history.

Oh, I understand the probably well-intentioned motivations for it. I just think it ends up hurting the final product. I think it's likely that most of the people who like the vibe will go with the better established Cthulhu by Gaslight or Victorian Mage instead.