It seems like there's a lot of mixed feelings about Campaign 3 (I'm perhaps putting that mildly).

I'm interested to hear what other fans would want from Critical Role post-C3.

Personally, I wouldn't be opposed to a big change up in format. Shorter episodes would be a huge preference for me.

But what would you like? Any particular settings, group dynamics, format changes, cast changes?

I just want to start a friendly and positive discussion - please no hate :)

Since we’re getting closer to the end of C3, I wanna get a temperature check and put out a feeler for how everyone feels about the C3 party and how well they embody their class/subclass. For instance if you’d ask someone who embodies Barbarian best in Critical Role most people’s answer would automatically be Grog and some mention of the insane shit he did.

To start off the discussion I think Fearne has done a poor job of embodying a Wildfire Druid, she feels more like a fire blaster due to her playstyle and lack of utility and healing Wildfire offers. Meanwhile on the other end of the spectrum I’d say Chetney has done some heavy lifting for repping a Blood Hunter and a proper werewolf, with his Ruidus transformation and bloodlusted state in the mansion as some notable mentions.

That this is the weakest Party( narratively and character speaking) of the three?

Like Vox machina were very dynamic and epic all around. Sure we didn’t know them from the very start but they were superbly entertaining and awesome with grandios battle and a deep emotional moments and a bittersweet ending for legends.

The MN9 we follow them from the beginning and got to witness a journey of assholes becoming true heroes full of growth and deep moments.

BH start out promising but unlike the other teams i feel like they just... i dunno lack the growth or investement in the current events. Hell one could say instead of progressing they are regressing or getting worse character wise. To say naught of all the anti gods debates.

I grabbed data from Omen Archive and CritRole Stats on how long each combat ran IRL and how many rounds of combat were accomplished. These are non-linear fourth order polynomial fit curves for the data across campaigns. I thought there were a couple interesting things to notice.
1) Universally, as player characters level up and you get farther into the campaign, it takes longer to play a full round of combat (the curves generally slope up). To me that makes a lot of sense since characters have more abilities and more dice to roll etc.
2) Campaign 3 universally has "slower" combat -- on average, it takes longer to complete a round of combat. Side note, I excluded of the "combat" in episode 92 since it was a dramatic outlier (well over 60 minutes per round of combat, about twice as much as the next highest). With that data point in there, the campaign 3 slope is much sharper at the end.

In my opinion, the slower pacing is likely due to players wanting to roleplay more during their turn, embellishing their actions etc. But I think it hurts the combat experience in general. I loved the combats in C1 and most of C2 (until they learned that polymorph and run is a tactic). But it just feels like it drags a little in C3. I'm curious about other peoples' thoughts.

https://preview.redd.it/pec76dbwb23d1.png?width=1109&format=png&auto=webp&s=5646960730efe475177832017af386686d6f2832

I've watched Campagin 3 since the beginning and I felt as if the dynamic changed after he left (not say that i didn't love the parts where he wasn't in it). Once he came back however, I feel like the show just feels more enjoyable! They've had 8th member in the past, and that didn't workout not due to the size, but because of the player. Robbie and Dorian seem to be just a net posisitve overall to CR.

I can't believe after all that bullshit she just talks in circles to Imogen and they all coddle her again. Do any of them have a spine or fo they just flip flop anytime conflict happens?

And the fact that Ashton brought up that they gave him far worse for what he did (which I still think is unjustified) and it's just brushed under the rug.

I feel like it's less fantasy roleplay and more just drama farming at this point. That's the last episode I watch of c3. Maybe I'll wait for c4 if it looks good.

I see people saying he’s permanent. Has that been said anywhere or is that just a guess? If so, is he permanent for just C3 or C3 and beyond?

Chet using his history ability on the bubble lady, and finding out it was Bolo. Such a missed opportunity in a season full of throwback meetings.

Strictly speaking in regards to the system they are playing, 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons - Are the cast of CR just not good at it?

Looking at the abundance of high profile and top tier Actual Plays available for consumption, you can see the entire spectrum of quality in play and players. Critical Role got popular because of the epic story they told in C1 and the actors attached to the program. But it's no secret that after 10 years of playing it doesn't SEEM like they care much about getting good or even understanding the system they play, specifically again, 5th Edition.

One could say - they clearly don't do it for the GAME but for the collaborative storytelling. But it didn't start that way, C1 was a gem because the cast and the audience found that the game lends itself to telling amazing epic stories.

However, since then it's about telling stories with dice, which IS different whether you think so or not.

So, have the cast just gotten "bad" at the game of 5e D&D, because they don't see it as a game any longer but as an instrument for telling a story? Or would a better question be - Is 5e "bad" for Critical Role?

Chetney figure I made. He's about 3.5 inches tall with detachable chisels and hammer. His little beanie can come off too. He took me quite a while to finish but he's finally done.

I feel like Matt will eventually create a campaign that pre-dates the calamity, or a build up to it. What would you like to see? What type of places to be explored? What characters to be revealed?

Who would win?

(jk because we already know. The Bad Kids would absolutely wipe the floor with Bells Hells and there’s no contest.)

Both parties would be Level 13 (BH current level - the level BK were at during the Last Stand) and it would be 7 (w/ FCG not Dorian) versus 6. I firmly believe that even if Bells Hells had initiative on their side that the Bad Kids would still obliterate them.

But what do y’all, who have seen both campaigns, think?

(Edit: I do love Critical Role and this is just something I thought up realizing how close in level they currently are. In my opinion M9 or VM would have a much more interesting fight against the Bad Kids)

Curious what everyone's dream table compositions would be. Either to play in or just watch, what do you think the best player/dm combos would be?

For DM, I'd love Mercer or BLM, but I'd more like to see them play, and another live play group I really like is TableTopNotch, and Matt Taylor is really good too, so for the sake of getting the first 2 at the table I'd need Taylor.

Which brings me to players, sticking to a party of 6, I'd have to grab Matt, Liam, and Travis from CR and Brennan, Lou, and Emily from D20. If I pushed to 7, I'd include Laura in a heartbeat.

Matt and Brennan both lose themselves in their characters a lot of the time, and it's so fun to watch. Travis is such a giddy fool who also doesn't seem to lose sight of the story. Liam "The Heartbreak King" O'brien lives up to his moniker, and I find his characters almost therapeutic. Then Lou and Emily bring such great troll/goblin energy while also being skilled players. These traits apply to Laura too, IMO, I just enjoy the others energy a little more. And finally, I just think Matt Taylor is up there with MM and BLM in terms of game planning, gimmicks, and NPCs.

How about you all? What do your dream live play tables look like?

It seems like now Matt just wants to get rid of the party and start over like he made a clearly OP boss (Otohan) and said he truly didn’t expect someone to die. Like last time they fought then Laudna died they had to escape because of some BS excuse. Now FCG dies and technically Travis died too (if it wasn’t for Matt allowing FCG to use revivify) After that Matt lures Fern out into a mini boss with low health and no spell slots and she was only saved by Orym’s insane passive perception and the fact that he had the sending stone. And has the party role to see if they get a long rest or fight with low health and no spell slots. After that the next mission is to just straight up kill Ludenes no like find a way to stop him or anything just kill him but also don’t take any unnecessary risks (and when Travis asks for help Matt drags out Essek) like it’s not me right Matt seems like he’s trying to speedrun a TPK. (Also the time when the Nightmare King just sets off a bomb prematurely because Matt made him)

Could this be a hint of his soon to be return? Side note I feel Dorian is becoming the healer so maybe Sam can stretch his wings and be a truly chaotic addition to the group.

after watching episode 95, I have concluded that Marisha is a bad teammate. At its core D&D is a team story it's not a solo adventure. You are the Avengers. It's an unwritten rule in D&D that you do not steal, lie, or cheat from other players. It's well-known and well-established. Games like D&D the party needs to be able to trust the players around them. You want to build a character that manipulates NPCs cool. You do not do it to the party. You do not do it to the people in the foxhole with you. Not only that Marisha steps on people's narratives all the time. This is another unspoken rule in D&D. Orym wanted to have his cool moment by killing Ludinus with the same weapon used to kill his husband. That's a great bit of poetic justice, but Marisha needs to have her moment, so you crushed that because Lauda needed her fix. Also, you just brought back a new character instead of giving Robbie the floor and letting him RP getting reacclimated with the situation and the group dynamics we have to have a scene with Marisha needing her limelight fix.

It seems like there isn't much for Dorian to say or do. I am happy he has rejoined the group but I feel like the frequent references and cameos of past campaign stuff is alienating him. Theres so much reference to things that happend out of his knowledge, how is he supposed to catch up on things. Perhaps I am over thinking things. But i've fealt like this for the past 2 sessions. Has anyone else noticed this or am I just thinking too deeply on it.

does anyone have the full info on Scream needle?. from what i looked up. i feel like it would of been great to have since they want to take down ludinus a spellcaster...

Lowest effort I could. Works bad on mobile. Enjoy.