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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Chaosmancer" data-source="post: 7983170" data-attributes="member: 6801228">I caught up!I can see that, but I wonder still why this particular subject always seems to start negatively. People rarely open a topic like this to talk about how "The Mercer Effect" inspired them to create a new campaign and they are loving every minute of it. Or how the "Mercer Effect" showed them that DnD is a game that is inclusive to everyone and that cool people play it. It is always "how do we deal with players wanting to be actors like Sam Reigel" or "How do we deal with DMs feeling inadequate next to Mercer"That's why I brought up other famous people in their respective fields, not neccesarily the best, just famous. Would you expect people to go to a basketball game and complain about the unrealistic expectations set by Shaq or Jordan? Why do we associate Mercer with problem players while rarely talking about the positive aspects within the community. I don't know if the video is still up, but I remember in Season 1, back when they still had time to read letters, they would constantly get mail from people about how CR helped them through a rough time in their lives, or helped inspire them to create, to the point where I remember they had a video, I think it was almost an hour, that was just full of dedications people gave for the positive impact CR and/or DnD had on their lives. That is just as much the "Mercer Effect" as people coming to the table and expected houserules that you don't use.It is late and I'm not sure I'm fully understanding your point. Could you elaborate?I disagree with a catch. I think there is an effect Matt Mercer and CR has had on the Dungeons and Dragons community. I do not believe it is being accurately portrayed very often in these discussions, but if DnD lasts another hundred years and gets a comprehensive history, Mercer gets a full chapter in that history. But I do agree, I think the anecdotes do seem to be blown a little out of proportion.I can see that, but I want to clarify my point. I was trying to come up with "famous" people in their fields, not neccesarily the best. And, by default of how the world works, people famous within a field tend to be very good within that field. But, look at John Wayne. Was he a good actor? I assume so, but I'm also positive film critics could name a half a dozen actors who were better than him. But Wayne was incredibly famous and affected the Culture. I think also, that if we step back and think about it, the new players that come from Critical Role are 100% right. Mercer is the Best DM they have ever seen. He is also probably the only DM they have ever seen. In fact, thinking about it, most people will likely have had only around a dozen DMs, some people far far less than that. And those new players will have never seen your (speaking to the invisible "you" over that way) DMing style. But I also think it is fair to say that while you might not like Mercer's style, he is an excellent GM. I won't say the greatest or the best, but I think even his worst critics will admit he gets a solid B as a GM. And he is visible. When I first picked up DnD books around the age of twelve, that didn't exist for me. I was in college before I ever played a single game, and I refused to run until I had played, because I had no idea what to do. I had no idea what DMing "looked" like. But now, there is a highly visible, competent DM. And if you don't like him, there are about another dozen you could refer to, but people who don't have someone to ask "hey, what is DnD" might still stumble across Critical Role and see what it is that we all love. And, I think that is worth getting a few players who insist on things being a certain way.</blockquote>

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