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Why Critical Role is so successful...
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<blockquote data-quote="robus" data-source="post: 8064823" data-attributes="member: 6801558"><p>Yeah it;‘s a click baity thread title but you know... <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>Anyway, I recently watched this <a href="https://youtu.be/LtuNEujFiCY" target="_blank">YouTube video</a> that makes the interesting, and entirely reasonable, claim that the exploration pillar is really the foundation of the game and the other two pillars (combat & social interaction) play supporting roles, and after watching the latest episode of Critical Role it got me thinking... Yes, Matt Mercer is a fantastic DM & voice actor; yes, the PC players imbue their characters with interesting motivations and role play. But I think the root of their success is Matt’s talent for dangling so many enticing invitations to exploration in front of his players and, as a side effect, their audience.</p><p></p><p>All three pillars obviously play their parts in the Critical Role campaigns, but I think (after watching campaign 1 and campaign 2) the exploration pillar is primary. There are just so many opportunities for the PCs to engage with the world and their backstories.</p><p></p><p>And given that and the original video (which is well done and the guy making them should really have a bunch more subscribers, so please check it out - I‘m thinking of him as the unholy love child of the AngryGM and Matt Colville, in other words insightful content delivered in a hyperactive mode, but without the misanthropy of the AngryGM or the high-speed-hirsuteness of Colville) it made me think. We really don’t need additional rules for exploration, we need more inspiration (not the mechanic, but actual, real inspiration). This is why the back of the DMs guide lists a library of reading to enhance a DMs ability to create interesting worlds. Rules or generators can’t do that, only a DMs mind, seeded with a fount of ideas.</p><p></p><p>And this also lead me to thinking about the age old argument regarding railroads vs sandboxes. These are, of course, the extreme delimiters of the exploration pillar. At one end, the DM brooks no deviation, in other words, exploration, from the path they have prescribed, and at the other, the DM offers little in the way of direction and lets the players chance their way to adventure. The most rewarding path, as evidenced by Critical Role’s success, is to offer a few intriguing paths to adventure and always make sure, once a path of exploration is resolved, an enticing new mystery lies ahead. How many episodes end with Matt dangling some new mystery in front of the players? In my opinion, easily the majority and that is why the players (and the audience) keeps coming back for more.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="robus, post: 8064823, member: 6801558"] Yeah it;‘s a click baity thread title but you know... :) Anyway, I recently watched this [URL='https://youtu.be/LtuNEujFiCY']YouTube video[/URL] that makes the interesting, and entirely reasonable, claim that the exploration pillar is really the foundation of the game and the other two pillars (combat & social interaction) play supporting roles, and after watching the latest episode of Critical Role it got me thinking... Yes, Matt Mercer is a fantastic DM & voice actor; yes, the PC players imbue their characters with interesting motivations and role play. But I think the root of their success is Matt’s talent for dangling so many enticing invitations to exploration in front of his players and, as a side effect, their audience. All three pillars obviously play their parts in the Critical Role campaigns, but I think (after watching campaign 1 and campaign 2) the exploration pillar is primary. There are just so many opportunities for the PCs to engage with the world and their backstories. And given that and the original video (which is well done and the guy making them should really have a bunch more subscribers, so please check it out - I‘m thinking of him as the unholy love child of the AngryGM and Matt Colville, in other words insightful content delivered in a hyperactive mode, but without the misanthropy of the AngryGM or the high-speed-hirsuteness of Colville) it made me think. We really don’t need additional rules for exploration, we need more inspiration (not the mechanic, but actual, real inspiration). This is why the back of the DMs guide lists a library of reading to enhance a DMs ability to create interesting worlds. Rules or generators can’t do that, only a DMs mind, seeded with a fount of ideas. And this also lead me to thinking about the age old argument regarding railroads vs sandboxes. These are, of course, the extreme delimiters of the exploration pillar. At one end, the DM brooks no deviation, in other words, exploration, from the path they have prescribed, and at the other, the DM offers little in the way of direction and lets the players chance their way to adventure. The most rewarding path, as evidenced by Critical Role’s success, is to offer a few intriguing paths to adventure and always make sure, once a path of exploration is resolved, an enticing new mystery lies ahead. How many episodes end with Matt dangling some new mystery in front of the players? In my opinion, easily the majority and that is why the players (and the audience) keeps coming back for more. [/QUOTE]
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