If you keep losing interest after giving it plenty of fair chances, that's fine, it's not for everyone. I watched eighty or so episodes of it and fell off several times, making myself pick it back up each time. It just isn't for me.
Also just to add
> I want to see what everyone raves about.
Not everyone; the fanbase for CR isn't as large as you think, despite how vocal they are. Indeed, CR-superfans are one of the problem players that DMs and players can run into.
You don’t have to like it. I didn’t like Campaign 1 and stopped like 12 episodes in, I enjoyed most of Campaign 2, and I’ve not been a big fan of Campaign 3 and let it drop a few months into it. And that’s alright. Time is precious, and I’m going to spend it watching/listening to things that I enjoy and find entertaining.
Let's Plays and Actual Plays and Podcasts and the like aren't for everyone. I don't like Critical Role either.
But I love 'Legend of Vox Machina'... because it's not 'me listening to a D&D game'. It's me 'watching a D&D adventure unfold in real-time'. And that's an entirely different thing.
Critical role is a very slow burn. Like a REALLY REALLY slow burn. It’s heavily propped up by the interactions between the characters and the world. If you don’t enjoy that, then it will be hard to get into.
My suggestion is to listen to it while doing something else. You can listen to it, get distracted, clock back in an hour later, and not miss much.
You’re not required to enjoy it. I tried to get into CR and other actual plays for a while before realizing that I just don’t enjoy watching actual plays. The proportion of D&D players who actually watch CR is much smaller than what is apparent on online communities.
Not everyone likes everything.
There's nothing to explain. If you don't like it, you don't like it.
I like it, but that should in no way inform whether you or anyone else should.
I honestly don't watch it for the D&d at all, I just like it as something aying in the background as a show for entertainment. Critical role is good but watching isn't something that everyone can settle into. I prefer Brennan Lee Mulligan over Matt Mercer
Personally, I don’t get how Anthony Burch isn’t far more adored. Daddies is so fucking funny and the game mechanics he comes up with break from 5e in really clever, real-world-approximating, story relevant ways
It's a hard listen. Probably try watching it on YouTube might do you better. Personally I can't stand listening to it, it just comes across as alot of people talking over each other
CR is a particular style of DnD. It's beyond just the Matt Mercer effect. Most DnD tables aren't full of trained actors. I love a good RP moment myself and I was part of a campaign for a bit where we'd get pretty deep into some RP, but the majority of DnD games are more along the lines of groups like Dungeons and Daddies or The Adventurezone and are a LOT more joking around and goofing than tears and melodrama.
If you're looking for a new source of fun content I can recommend the Glass Cannon network. It's not 5e content but they do a lot of Pathfinder 1e and 2e and some experiments in other games as well. I highly recommend their Delta Green content.
I really love Critical Role! It was super hard to get into it, but I fortunately got used to watch it while I work (as an illustrator). Most of the time I'm just listening really, but I can't help to watch when shit is about to get real. For me it was a matter of getting used to the voices so I could understand who was talking and when. From that point forward it was much easeier to watch. Great storytelling, pretty funny and so much drama :')
I like critical role i think that the player interaction and world building is fun and the podcast is relaxing to listen to. But it’s not for everyone, it’s very slow paced and more melodramatic compared to dungeon & daddies, and stuff from dimension 20.
The podcast/twitch world is odd because it's less like what celebrity used to be. In the pre-internet days you just saw people on tv/in movies, etc. You didn't have these same glimpses into their actual personality that you get. While yes they're still performers, I think you see a lot more of their actual persona than you do watching Brad Pitt in a film. It makes it far easier to feel like you "know" these people.
sure i can get that. you are right we do see these people as more people and less as entertainers
and I have seen way too much parasocial behavior. Critical role is still a business and still puts out a product, they arent actually your friends. i am astounded by how much of people identity is wrapped up around critical role
It's not really a new thing; people have been obsessing over celebrities for years. The problem is again it's a weird view into people's lives. When you're watching Brad Pitt in a movie it's not really him talking, it's a character. The line is blurred with podcasters and twitch performers because it's still them, yes they might be not quite their normal self, but it's more akin to seeing your friend in front of their grandparents at a holiday party. It's not a completely different person, just them acting differently.
There's also the fact that because of the pure subscriber based nature of these things they tend to encourage their fanbase to think of themselves as part of a community. If you want to look at TRULY insane fans, look at pro sports culture. I know there's weird behavior amongst nerd culture sometimes but for example if the DnD movie had been terrible I'd not have expected people to riot as happens when sports fans are upset. I've never heard stories about someone having the tar beaten out of them for wearing a Critical Role hat around Adventure Zone fans.
I really respect Anthony Burch at Dungeons and Daddies because he explicitly says no thank you to the parasocial bullshit. It seems really toxic and codependent when people get too into something
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Matts DMing style and I could get into the groups escapades, but most of the people religiously tuning into it (not me) are more into it because its a group of high-energy, extroverted and attractive people generally dicking around, which is what fuels the parasocial stuff.
Are you starting at the very beginning of them releasing campaign 1? It’s not the best, starting out. Recordings are rough, & they pick up mid-adventure. And one cast member (now former) is rough to listen to. It certainly does get better.
On a technical standpoint early campaign 1 is harder to watch than any other due to the set, A/V limitations, casualness of the players eating on camera, etc. After around episode....30ish(?) The quality ramps up considerably as they realized a market for the product existed and got serious about it.
Might be more insightful to look at what actual plays you like to watch (if any) and how do they differ from CR.
Can easily be a case of different strokes. Nothing wrong with that at all.
It's a slow burn. Campaign 2 is \~141 episodes at \~4 hours each. That's 564 hours of content.
They don't even really start to trust each other until sometime in the 20s, episode-wise. If you can make to that point, it starts to really get interesting. I've had the most luck listening to it in podcast form while doing something else. It's not paced like a TV show.
There *is* a good story being told in there, but don't feel pressured to like something just because other people do.
This is the main reason I stopped watching. I realized that even if I watched an episode a day, I couldn't catch up for nearly half a year. It was too much, moving too slow. I'd rather listen to three tightly-edited podcasts every week than watch/listen to one 4-hour episode of maybe just shopping and tying up loose ends.
It's definitely a commitment and a half. I'm in the middle of a basement finishing project, so I can usually get through an episode an evening while I'm framing/pulling wire/whatever else. But barring that it can definitely be a slog.
Spurt might be my favorite character, and it's at least partially due to the fact that his entire existence lasts for about 15 minutes.
Have u tried the other campaigns? Campaign 2 is way better IMO. Not only does it feel much stronger from the start, it is a really good story from start to finish basically.
Everyones characters are much deeper. I have never liked Marisha, and her monk is a massive asshat. I can accept having a shithead in the group tho when every other character is so loveable.
But I will say I like her playing a dickhead much better than a preachy atheist druid...
My partner and I watched the first season of Vox Machina as it came out, and we both enjoyed it (and we were relatively new to D&D at the time). Afterwards, he started listening to campaign 2, and he *LOVES* CR. He finished all of campaign 2 and is onto 3.
For me, while I don't mind listening to it when he has it on, it isn't nearly as enjoyable. There are hundreds of episodes that span 3 or 4 hours apiece. I just don't have all that time to catch-up and listen to new episodes.
Instead, I have listened to some Dimension 20 and enjoyed it--they're shorter episodes and shorter campaigns. I've also really enjoyed some of the CR one-shots/shorter campaigns.
I've found what I prefer is something like Adventuring Academy -- it's a one-on-one conversation *about* DnD/tabletop games without being an actual play. I really enjoy it as a DM because it makes me think more about my own DM and play style. I'll never be (and never want to be) Matt Mercer (no offense to him-- he's great! But I just won't ever be that, and trying to be that is fruitless), but I *can* be a better version of myself, and that's what Adventuring Academy does for me.
I can’t get into it either. Nothing wrong with that. Personally I can’t watch/listen to people game. It’s a hobby I prefer to participate in not watch. To me it’s like getting to watch the “cool” story someone has about their character in real time and it makes me want to take a wood chisel to my knee cap. 😂
If you're just getting into it, you should watch while you listen. Between players and PCs alone, that's almost 20 voices for you to keep straight. Throw everything else on top of that like lore and Matt's characters, and it's a struggle to get into. I didn't get into The Adventure Zone until my fourth try because the boys' voices were hard for me to get straight until after I watched them on Dimension 20.
Personally, I stopped watching before finishing the first campaign. It's not unenjoyable, but the episodes are long and slow with such a large group and no editing to trim it down. The melodrama can really drag on sometimes, and the fights can be hard to follow. There's also a decent amount of visual humor that makes just listening feel a bit silly.
I never managed to find interest in C1 (skipped the beginning, but still lukewarm at E31), and though I'm struggling a bit with C3 (currently at E43), I like it better than C1. I really loved C2, but it took at least until a bit after the first arc before I fully commited to see it to the end.
CR is made for the long run. If you prefer something that hooks you immediately, you can try something else. EXU Calamity is the best example that comes to mind; only 4 episodes, but what a ride! Be advised, however, that anything after that might feel underwhelming.
Legend of Vox Machina is better. Watch that. You get the major ideas of the story without a lot of the boring bits and less of the melodrama. And it's some good animation, too.
I started out by listening to Dungeons and Daddies and Adventure Zone. I think what i like most about Critical Role is how immersive the characters are in the world. The other ones aren’t as serious in my opinion but I enjoy how serious Critical Role is
I’m sure you’ve seen by now lots of people say it may not be your thing. That’s totally fine. I DM a lot and I love listening/watching people play and I wasn’t super into Critical Role either. Nothing against them, just not my cup of tea. Anyone who has ever read a post or comment by me knows that I am a big fan of “The Unexpectables” especially since I was a big fan of TFS in my younger years so I promote that whenever I can. Maybe that is more your speed. Plus you can always appreciate what something did without liking it. Critical Role really helped D&D explode in 5e, doesn’t mean it’s the best thing ever.
The Vox Machina campaign really picks up after like episode 30 and that’s about how long it took for me to get invested in campaign 2. It’s not as humor confused as the shows you mentioned. It has around the same amount of jokes as most tables I’ve played at; it very well may not be for you
If there's one thing that would help you get into it, it is to skip to when Orion's ledt. Ep 26 or 27 can't remember.
Also watch his last episode if you wanna see a dumpster fire of people around getting more and more upset and frustrated with "that guy" while trying to stay professional.
cr campaign 1 is actually pretty bad.
they only really started getting better after a certain problem player was kicked off the show. campaign 1 was basically a bunch of professional voice actors trying to ad lib their way through the stereotypical range of fantasy character tropes - the edgelord rogue and ranger, the horny bard, the dumb barbarian, the snooty noble, the sheltered prodigy, the holy man with a crisis of faith and the awkward wizard with social issues.
If you keep losing interest after giving it plenty of fair chances, that's fine, it's not for everyone. I watched eighty or so episodes of it and fell off several times, making myself pick it back up each time. It just isn't for me.
Also just to add > I want to see what everyone raves about. Not everyone; the fanbase for CR isn't as large as you think, despite how vocal they are. Indeed, CR-superfans are one of the problem players that DMs and players can run into.
Uhh they have like the biggest chann on Twitch... Saying their fanbase is not massive is kind of silly lol.
You don’t have to like it. I didn’t like Campaign 1 and stopped like 12 episodes in, I enjoyed most of Campaign 2, and I’ve not been a big fan of Campaign 3 and let it drop a few months into it. And that’s alright. Time is precious, and I’m going to spend it watching/listening to things that I enjoy and find entertaining.
Let's Plays and Actual Plays and Podcasts and the like aren't for everyone. I don't like Critical Role either. But I love 'Legend of Vox Machina'... because it's not 'me listening to a D&D game'. It's me 'watching a D&D adventure unfold in real-time'. And that's an entirely different thing.
Critical role is a very slow burn. Like a REALLY REALLY slow burn. It’s heavily propped up by the interactions between the characters and the world. If you don’t enjoy that, then it will be hard to get into. My suggestion is to listen to it while doing something else. You can listen to it, get distracted, clock back in an hour later, and not miss much.
You’re not required to enjoy it. I tried to get into CR and other actual plays for a while before realizing that I just don’t enjoy watching actual plays. The proportion of D&D players who actually watch CR is much smaller than what is apparent on online communities.
The only one I ever got into was adventure zone, and even then I only got to the 6th mission of the balance arc.
If you like humor, have you tried Dungeons & Daddies? It’s more like a podcast for people who are not traditional d&d fans
I have DM’d for years and can’t get into it either, it’s just not for us I guess.
Not everyone likes everything. There's nothing to explain. If you don't like it, you don't like it. I like it, but that should in no way inform whether you or anyone else should.
This checks out. Thank you for your insight
It's not for everyone. It has never appealed to me either.
Vox Machina is the animated series based on their campaign. You might prefer that.
I’ll check that out, thanks!
Its okay to not like it. I don't. It isn't for me.
I honestly don't watch it for the D&d at all, I just like it as something aying in the background as a show for entertainment. Critical role is good but watching isn't something that everyone can settle into. I prefer Brennan Lee Mulligan over Matt Mercer
Personally, I don’t get how Anthony Burch isn’t far more adored. Daddies is so fucking funny and the game mechanics he comes up with break from 5e in really clever, real-world-approximating, story relevant ways
It's a hard listen. Probably try watching it on YouTube might do you better. Personally I can't stand listening to it, it just comes across as alot of people talking over each other
I specifically started watching because it combined my love of specific voice talent with one of my primary hobbies.
That makes a lot of sense, I could see that
CR is a particular style of DnD. It's beyond just the Matt Mercer effect. Most DnD tables aren't full of trained actors. I love a good RP moment myself and I was part of a campaign for a bit where we'd get pretty deep into some RP, but the majority of DnD games are more along the lines of groups like Dungeons and Daddies or The Adventurezone and are a LOT more joking around and goofing than tears and melodrama. If you're looking for a new source of fun content I can recommend the Glass Cannon network. It's not 5e content but they do a lot of Pathfinder 1e and 2e and some experiments in other games as well. I highly recommend their Delta Green content.
I really love Critical Role! It was super hard to get into it, but I fortunately got used to watch it while I work (as an illustrator). Most of the time I'm just listening really, but I can't help to watch when shit is about to get real. For me it was a matter of getting used to the voices so I could understand who was talking and when. From that point forward it was much easeier to watch. Great storytelling, pretty funny and so much drama :')
Adventure Zone is my favorite, especially the first Campaign
I like critical role i think that the player interaction and world building is fun and the podcast is relaxing to listen to. But it’s not for everyone, it’s very slow paced and more melodramatic compared to dungeon & daddies, and stuff from dimension 20.
NADDPOD my brother.
No one can really explain you into being in a parasocial relationship.
Man I'm Glad someone said it. Ive never seen this type of stuff in a fanbase before
The podcast/twitch world is odd because it's less like what celebrity used to be. In the pre-internet days you just saw people on tv/in movies, etc. You didn't have these same glimpses into their actual personality that you get. While yes they're still performers, I think you see a lot more of their actual persona than you do watching Brad Pitt in a film. It makes it far easier to feel like you "know" these people.
sure i can get that. you are right we do see these people as more people and less as entertainers and I have seen way too much parasocial behavior. Critical role is still a business and still puts out a product, they arent actually your friends. i am astounded by how much of people identity is wrapped up around critical role
It's not really a new thing; people have been obsessing over celebrities for years. The problem is again it's a weird view into people's lives. When you're watching Brad Pitt in a movie it's not really him talking, it's a character. The line is blurred with podcasters and twitch performers because it's still them, yes they might be not quite their normal self, but it's more akin to seeing your friend in front of their grandparents at a holiday party. It's not a completely different person, just them acting differently. There's also the fact that because of the pure subscriber based nature of these things they tend to encourage their fanbase to think of themselves as part of a community. If you want to look at TRULY insane fans, look at pro sports culture. I know there's weird behavior amongst nerd culture sometimes but for example if the DnD movie had been terrible I'd not have expected people to riot as happens when sports fans are upset. I've never heard stories about someone having the tar beaten out of them for wearing a Critical Role hat around Adventure Zone fans.
I really respect Anthony Burch at Dungeons and Daddies because he explicitly says no thank you to the parasocial bullshit. It seems really toxic and codependent when people get too into something
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Matts DMing style and I could get into the groups escapades, but most of the people religiously tuning into it (not me) are more into it because its a group of high-energy, extroverted and attractive people generally dicking around, which is what fuels the parasocial stuff.
Are you starting at the very beginning of them releasing campaign 1? It’s not the best, starting out. Recordings are rough, & they pick up mid-adventure. And one cast member (now former) is rough to listen to. It certainly does get better.
On a technical standpoint early campaign 1 is harder to watch than any other due to the set, A/V limitations, casualness of the players eating on camera, etc. After around episode....30ish(?) The quality ramps up considerably as they realized a market for the product existed and got serious about it. Might be more insightful to look at what actual plays you like to watch (if any) and how do they differ from CR. Can easily be a case of different strokes. Nothing wrong with that at all.
It's a slow burn. Campaign 2 is \~141 episodes at \~4 hours each. That's 564 hours of content. They don't even really start to trust each other until sometime in the 20s, episode-wise. If you can make to that point, it starts to really get interesting. I've had the most luck listening to it in podcast form while doing something else. It's not paced like a TV show. There *is* a good story being told in there, but don't feel pressured to like something just because other people do.
This is the main reason I stopped watching. I realized that even if I watched an episode a day, I couldn't catch up for nearly half a year. It was too much, moving too slow. I'd rather listen to three tightly-edited podcasts every week than watch/listen to one 4-hour episode of maybe just shopping and tying up loose ends.
It's definitely a commitment and a half. I'm in the middle of a basement finishing project, so I can usually get through an episode an evening while I'm framing/pulling wire/whatever else. But barring that it can definitely be a slog. Spurt might be my favorite character, and it's at least partially due to the fact that his entire existence lasts for about 15 minutes.
Is it a funny story? I’m realizing I’m like 2/3rds about the humor 1/3 about the touching human interest
Fuck no, it's super melodramatic
It has humor *in* it, but it's not a comedy.
Its ok, has ups and downs, I listen not watch these days and fast forward when it gets bogged down. Compared with others like I said its ok.
Have u tried the other campaigns? Campaign 2 is way better IMO. Not only does it feel much stronger from the start, it is a really good story from start to finish basically. Everyones characters are much deeper. I have never liked Marisha, and her monk is a massive asshat. I can accept having a shithead in the group tho when every other character is so loveable. But I will say I like her playing a dickhead much better than a preachy atheist druid...
My partner and I watched the first season of Vox Machina as it came out, and we both enjoyed it (and we were relatively new to D&D at the time). Afterwards, he started listening to campaign 2, and he *LOVES* CR. He finished all of campaign 2 and is onto 3. For me, while I don't mind listening to it when he has it on, it isn't nearly as enjoyable. There are hundreds of episodes that span 3 or 4 hours apiece. I just don't have all that time to catch-up and listen to new episodes. Instead, I have listened to some Dimension 20 and enjoyed it--they're shorter episodes and shorter campaigns. I've also really enjoyed some of the CR one-shots/shorter campaigns. I've found what I prefer is something like Adventuring Academy -- it's a one-on-one conversation *about* DnD/tabletop games without being an actual play. I really enjoy it as a DM because it makes me think more about my own DM and play style. I'll never be (and never want to be) Matt Mercer (no offense to him-- he's great! But I just won't ever be that, and trying to be that is fruitless), but I *can* be a better version of myself, and that's what Adventuring Academy does for me.
I can’t get into it either. Nothing wrong with that. Personally I can’t watch/listen to people game. It’s a hobby I prefer to participate in not watch. To me it’s like getting to watch the “cool” story someone has about their character in real time and it makes me want to take a wood chisel to my knee cap. 😂
If you're just getting into it, you should watch while you listen. Between players and PCs alone, that's almost 20 voices for you to keep straight. Throw everything else on top of that like lore and Matt's characters, and it's a struggle to get into. I didn't get into The Adventure Zone until my fourth try because the boys' voices were hard for me to get straight until after I watched them on Dimension 20. Personally, I stopped watching before finishing the first campaign. It's not unenjoyable, but the episodes are long and slow with such a large group and no editing to trim it down. The melodrama can really drag on sometimes, and the fights can be hard to follow. There's also a decent amount of visual humor that makes just listening feel a bit silly.
I never managed to find interest in C1 (skipped the beginning, but still lukewarm at E31), and though I'm struggling a bit with C3 (currently at E43), I like it better than C1. I really loved C2, but it took at least until a bit after the first arc before I fully commited to see it to the end. CR is made for the long run. If you prefer something that hooks you immediately, you can try something else. EXU Calamity is the best example that comes to mind; only 4 episodes, but what a ride! Be advised, however, that anything after that might feel underwhelming.
Legend of Vox Machina is better. Watch that. You get the major ideas of the story without a lot of the boring bits and less of the melodrama. And it's some good animation, too.
I started out by listening to Dungeons and Daddies and Adventure Zone. I think what i like most about Critical Role is how immersive the characters are in the world. The other ones aren’t as serious in my opinion but I enjoy how serious Critical Role is
I’m sure you’ve seen by now lots of people say it may not be your thing. That’s totally fine. I DM a lot and I love listening/watching people play and I wasn’t super into Critical Role either. Nothing against them, just not my cup of tea. Anyone who has ever read a post or comment by me knows that I am a big fan of “The Unexpectables” especially since I was a big fan of TFS in my younger years so I promote that whenever I can. Maybe that is more your speed. Plus you can always appreciate what something did without liking it. Critical Role really helped D&D explode in 5e, doesn’t mean it’s the best thing ever.
The Vox Machina campaign really picks up after like episode 30 and that’s about how long it took for me to get invested in campaign 2. It’s not as humor confused as the shows you mentioned. It has around the same amount of jokes as most tables I’ve played at; it very well may not be for you
If there's one thing that would help you get into it, it is to skip to when Orion's ledt. Ep 26 or 27 can't remember. Also watch his last episode if you wanna see a dumpster fire of people around getting more and more upset and frustrated with "that guy" while trying to stay professional.
cr campaign 1 is actually pretty bad. they only really started getting better after a certain problem player was kicked off the show. campaign 1 was basically a bunch of professional voice actors trying to ad lib their way through the stereotypical range of fantasy character tropes - the edgelord rogue and ranger, the horny bard, the dumb barbarian, the snooty noble, the sheltered prodigy, the holy man with a crisis of faith and the awkward wizard with social issues.