Critical Role Fans Ruin D&D

Matt Mercer is cool guy. CritCrab horror story mad at fans who want critical role in every game. bad. bad. b like crab.
Thanks to u/genericaverage for the epic tales
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Thanks to @Marshalice for the edit!

[@CritCrab]

For some reason people are talking about matt mercer eating my son. I have no idea what they are talking about.

[@CritCrab]

CritCrab on his way to gaslight the audience 🗿🗿🗿

[@soup-flavored-soup6613]

Time for you to eat his child as revenge

[@KeevaTheFirstRival]

@@CritCrab Gaslight, gatekeep, crabboss.

[@vikingvarn4919]

It was horrific watching Matt chow down on Lil' Crit, can't believe he doused him in warm butter

[@JACorvin]

Me and my girlfriend started laughing like crazy when I read that out loud

[@TheSkullivan12]

The best possible comeback to "Why don't you DM like Matt Mercer?" is "Because you don't play as well as Liam O'Brien." Remind them there's two sides to every table.

[@alzedi98]

Exactly, they also sometimes forget that they are playing AND building up insane cooperative storytelling for their audience at the same time.

[@redwallfan123]

@@alzedi98 I agree. I always consider D&D or any pen and paper rpg to be analog. There is alot for everyone to keep track of, and many things go wrong. Like no supplies, bad dm or players, etc. but end of the day, these games are just a group of people having fun in telling a story. Fans shouldn't ask others if any dm or player are like any of the cast of critical role to the minimum standard. They should really just ask "are we having fun?"

[@Bznsin]

Add on a "Wait, no. Forget about Liam, you're not playing as well as Orion." for extra devastation.

[@Drakhesh]

@@Bznsin Apply Lay on Hands to the burned area

[@mirageowl]

exactly

[@SpitfiretheCat16]

"Matt Mercer would have rewarded me!" "Matt Mercer wouldn't have let you sit at his table."

[@raijinwolf2248]

In all fairness, playing their character accurately in spite of the penalty would *maybe* earn a point of inspiration, because they're accepting penalties for the sake of character authenticity. However, flat out rewards? Nah mate.

[@vijayanand6650]

The crazier line, to me, was that Matt Mercer plays rules as written and never homebrews.

[@Mightymajin]

​​@@vijayanand6650 *Looks at Percy, Molly, Fjord, Beau, and everyone in Bell's Hells save for Ferne* yeah.... never

[@Mightymajin]

"Well, Liam O'Brien wouldn't disrespect his DM like that."

[@Nyghtking]

I'm not that great at D&D, but mercer would have let me sit at his table long before he would let them, and I'm pretty sure i've got autism and act like a child from time to time.

[@kabaiel6898]

I think it’s important to recognise that the quality of Matt Mercer’s games and the Critical Role series as a whole is also due to the cooperation of the entire group and them not being absolute fucking psychopaths.

[@MissCaraMint]

Yes it’s all a group effort. Matt is great, but he needs players who put in actual effort to follow his leads. Otherwise it’s just him telling a story to himself.

[@SneakyLittleHobbit]

@@MissCaraMint Might as well just write a book at that point.

[@dawidscheffler7152]

the last story is why, if I DM, it is to friends I have open communication with and not random folks at a game-shop; life's too damn short - I don't care HOW HOT they are 😂

[@FGCLovesYou]

An underappreciated skill, not being an absolute fucking psychopath. But surprisingly helpful, here and elsewhere.

[@anna_in_aotearoa3166]

Like common sense, it seems to be surprisingly uncommon, alas!! 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@yourfavoriteshiba7645]

"Matt Mercer would reward me for acting like that." Me knowing that Matt would not only NOT do that, but also probably punish you even more.

[@abbeybelanger8118]

Also Matt never gave xp from what I remember

[@OzixiThrill]

@@abbeybelanger8118 Matt uses the milestone system and the occasional crafty move did earn a player a small progression reward, but he often made sure that other players could shine as well to keep the party mostly level.

[@Tethanol]

Yeah, let's not forget Tiberius and the Old Lady

[@nosamladna902]

@@Tethanolhonestly, I did. I completely forgot about that. What happened again?

[@Tethanol]

@@nosamladna902The group got confronted by a group of mercenaries in the middle of a city and one of the mercenaries was an elderly woman who didn't actually get to do anything due to counterspell and sleep. what ended up happening is while she tried to run away, Scanlan cast sleep on her, and Tiberius did a telekinesis Glaive spin to shred her sleeping, would be retreating body apart in the middle of the city trying to be cool and assumed there would be no consequences. Some NPC did speak with dead on her later and used it as evidence to frame the whole group and they basically got house arrest.

[@Tytoalba777]

"Matt Mercer would never homebrew anything" *an entire homebrewed world stares blankly*

[@charles-thomasperron252]

The fucking homebrew class that is the Blood Hunter also stares blankly... As well as the Gunslinger...

[@mistahl5350]

@@charles-thomasperron252 I forgot about the 5e gunslinger lol but still very true

[@PeoplePleaser578]

*So much Homebrew he has written multiple books on his world and created countless different character types*

[@Omen_Cheetah]

If you think about it, everything in DnD is homebrew. The core ruleset is just a collection of interpretations and rules that many people accept as RaW which, like all homebrew, is subject to change. At some point, somewhere, someone made this shit up while eating breakfast just like the rest of us.

[@Minodrec]

@@Omen_Cheetah Good. Good. Let the OSR flow threw you.

[@JKevinCarrier]

If we're all tired of hearing Matt Mercer being held up as the be-all and end-all of DMing, imagine how tired HE must be of having his name invoked by the absolute dregs of the D&D playerbase as justification for their psychotic behavior.

[@SleepyMatt-zzz]

I think he's actually made a statement about this.

[@dragonmindttrpgs]

@@SleepyMatt-zzz He has. Kind of an unfortunate situation tbh

[@SkyExplosion]

MAtt Mercer is a great DM but there alot of great dms like Chirs Perkins it's just critical role is famous.

[@realdragon]

People think he's alpha and omega of DMing. I don't watch CR but I watched other shows and just fantastic DMs very little people heard of

[@marvinhubregtse5776]

honestly knowing how Matt has several times mentiond he has massive imposter syndrom and then hearing that his name is linked to toxic dnd players ... poor man seriusly (i also watch CR but i have never assumed dnd was suppose to be exactly like that... (and for the longest time i thought that was obvius and then i looked at rpg horor stories))

[@atraxian5881]

Druid: "we become teensy-tiny spiders and hide in the grass waiting, while the others fight!" DM: after 3 consecutive turns of them hiding "oh, a goblin moves and steps on you, that's 10d12 of crushing damage"

[@Tespri]

being spider helps you to avoid larger beings, however it doesn't remove other small creatures. Spiders are being hunted by birds, ants and snakes.

[@zombiedd_]

@@TespriThis gives me a good idea for a situation like that, thanks LMAO

[@Tespri]

@@zombiedd_ Yep It would be ridiculous to think that in world filled with magic and shapeshifters... that security systems wouldn't be aware of these things. People would use animals and magical means as security.

[@truecross4090]

​@Tespri I was thinking n king the same thing. I would roll on a table and have them roll initiative. After the wtf face looked at me from across the table I would add Bird to the combat encounter. Rofl.

[@thepinegunman]

YES. Also, I was the one thousandth person to like this comment, and got to see it roll over from "999" to "1k!" Very satisfying! Congrats on 1k likes, dude!

[@RegnumMortis]

"Matt Mercer would have rewarded me for that!" The same way he rewarded Tiberius, certainty

[@kitkatdoesthings6242]

Ha! Nice one

[@gotenson2231]

Too bad the party didn't have Travis to tell them no either. After that one scene alone with Tiberius, the druid shenanigans would of gotten a Grog hammer of disapproval

[@nintendoboy3605]

I never watched Critical Role how did he "reward" Tiberius?

[@ladycyndaquil2018]

@nintendoboy3605 short version? By kicking the person who played tiberius out for acting like a "that guy" in and out of game. There's actually some videos discussing what happened if you want to know more details

[@SmolAnarchy]

To be fair, he did reward Keyleth even though Marisha was that player at the table.

[@serdash6548]

"If the hot lesbians aren't in the game no one else will be" I have a feeling, just an inkling, that people weren't there to play D&D

[@arcadiaberger9204]

I was totally stunned to find out that the REAL punchline of the video was that all of the other players were really just there to watch the two stunningly incompetent players make out . . . . [Gobsmacked]

[@goncalocarneiro3043]

I am not sure what that says about the players, or the DM, but either way, it ain't good.

[@vijayanand6650]

Yeah. Did they think they could get in their pants? Wtf. Or just liked the general horniness.

[@genericname8749]

Guess the hub was down where they were at.

[@WarmLusamine]

Cops and law be damned, I would've SMACKED those people for that comment.

[@jaspermaij3753]

"Matt Mercer never homebrews anything!" Matt Mercer, having homebrewed 3 campaigns now and written an entire book on subclass-options: "Am I a joke to you?"

[@AuntLoopy123]

He literarally created ENTIRE CLASSES to play.

[@YourFriendTheComputer]

Never Homebrews anything Percival Fredrickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III: "AM I A JOKE TO YOU?! I AM LITERALLY PATHFINDER 1E'S GUNSLINGER PORTED OVER!" Like, I'm not expecting people to recognize all the homebrewing and houseruling immediately shown in Campaigns 2 and 3, but god bless were they 100% transparent on the Gunslinger in Campaign 1

[@notoriousgoblin83]

@@AuntLoopy123 and they are kinda hit and miss. Blood hunter is my prime example.

[@VGblackelmo]

I guess since he wrote these things in a published books, these are now RAW instead of homebrew in some people's minds :D

[@YourFriendTheComputer]

@@VGblackelmo Which is a take. Sort of....except it's under the same imprint as the rest of 5e's 3rd party content (DM's Guild and Unearthed Arcana). Heck, they're even released their own company (Darrington Press). And all 3rd Party Publishing is is some homebrew with a (usually) better art budget and (usually) selling access to it for profit instead of just handing it out. (No shame in 3rd party but call it what it is)

[@reloadpsi]

"Can't you be like Matt Mercer?" "Okay." (Starts killing PCs) "Alright, now RP your resurrection rituals on par with his players... or else."

[@Urlocalpope]

Ok but “murderous psychopath running around a city looking for a banana bread recipe” is a very funny concept.

[@Kyosumari]

When it's not done by a pickme edgelord who gets OOC upset for IC actions and consequences.

[@WarriorMonk101]

The player can DM their own actions. If they are hiding and don't want to speak it would be difficult for a DM to play with them if they are their human selves conflictual and expecting to be played with.

[@toffepajja]

"Matt Mercer never homebrews anything" *stares in blood hunter*

[@Heiryuu]

*stares in Gunslinger*

[@iridium6714]

**Stares in the whole of Exandria as a setting**

[@Avenus112]

Exacrly. One hundred percent of his stuff is homebrew. His campaign and his world are literally homebrew. He homebrews classes for fun. How could someone be so deluded?

[@NoobestGamerEU]

*Stares in Matt Mercer*

[@ivybennett2274]

Cobalt soul monk

[@JohnDoe-fg4xe]

Wait, you mean not every DM is a well known voice actor with years of voice acting experience and working in the entertainment industry???

[@Michael-bn1oi]

You mean every DM doesn't get paid to prep and run their games??

[@Leo9P]

Imagine that. Surely every player is a professional actor/actress with years of improve training. Not like good players makes DM-ing easier.

[@animeotaku307]

Next you’ll tell me that great DnD groups take years to get familiar enough with each other that they’ll have the group synergy to work off each other.

[@Fixti0n]

Am a stage actor with years of experience, i do like to make a show out of my games, but i do not run my games like Matt Mercer, and i hate to be compared to him. Critical Role works and its so entertaining because not only is Matt Mercer an entertaining GM, but the rest of the cast is also experienced entertainers. The only time i had a game like CR was that one time we had a DnD game at theater school, and only the acting students showed up to that game. You could have Matt Mercer show up and DM your game, but even then, it would be nothing like CR, because YOU dont act like a CR cast member, and you dont have the history with him as a DM. Critical Role isnt Matt Mercer DM a game, its a whole show, done by professionals, for entertaining others, its not like any real genuine DnD game.

[@JohnDoe-fg4xe]

@@Fixti0n Well that is the thing, there is only 1 Matt Mercer. Is he a good DM? Yes, I think he's really good at it, but it doesn't mean every other DM out there sucks. Though I do think people tend to forget that CR is a produced show and the players are all professional actors. At the end of the day though its still all about having fun

[@m_js5709]

The biggest issue in having fun "nerdy-ish" hobbies is that actually meeting people at D&D outings, video game tournaments, convventions, etc. often ends up being a bad idea. You're quickly reminded that the rate of uncultured, poor communication, poorly hygienic, and overall lack of social skills is way higher within these sub cultures. It's a shame.

[@tappy8741]

Hey, I showered this week thank you very much

[@m_js5709]

@@tappy8741 A true King. We need more like you brother!

[@VeganCheeseburger]

Yep. A lot of the STEM fields are the same way, a certain percentage of “brilliant jerks” and socially clueless types

[@Melowt]

True.

[@JamesSmith-np3tn]

That's why i only play with my friend group, our DM bends rules here and there for when some interactions will allow them, but also makes it tough on us if we fuck up. I used to play with some guys in the navy back in Bahrain, though those campaigns were often underwhelming, but fun to get drunk and play.

[@Przemko27Z]

Both "reward your players for playing their characters well" and "make the players' actions count" are good advice, but only really apply when both players and GM take it in good faith and it's applicability is highly dependent on the play style.

[@Noobie2k7]

Yeah those two things only count thoigh if rhe players engage with re content you're giving. Doesn't work if the players go out of their way to be annoying and then still expect the same amount of attention.

[@anonymousfortunes2970]

I wouldn't reward them, they were basically a bunch of cowards, staying out of harms way no matter what. TBH it's not even that they were cowards per-say, but cowards up their own a**es so much, avoid ALL danger and real work, and expect an actual reward.

[@RadCowify]

@@anonymousfortunes2970 Honestly the most egregious part is that by the time he's being punished for his actions he's knee-deep in a single player campaign. The DM and players agreed upon a setting and an expectation beforehand and the character who wants to be "chaotic neutral" is going out of his way to play his own game, independent of the other players at the table. It doesn't matter if the actions are in character if it's ruining the game for the other players. It's a coop game, if you're not making some effort to drive your character to work with your friends at the table, even if that involves inter-party conflict, it's just rude.

[@TheUnseenPath]

@@RadCowify He should punish them for their actions.

[@Bertranddeghaul]

One of my tricks as a storyteller/GM to have the players divide among themselves 1 point of XP (I mainly play d10 whitewolf systems that are quite low in XP point quantity awarded) I call it the "pax" aka player awarded XP, it keeps people on their toes and makes them want to do cool plays and good roleplay. People have to motivate it and it can't be awarded for being lucky with dice. It helps to make people think about their actions and how others did etc.

[@feralchangeling97]

"Matt Mercer ate my son!" sounds like a bumper sticker you'd find in the back of a random bazaar with a connected Chinese-Mexican fusion restaurant.

[@tatersalad76]

The temptation to make that a bumper sticker and hand it to Marisha Ray at a convention

[@nickh3205]

@@tatersalad76 do it

[@dr3dg352]

Great, now I wanna go to my local Japanese-Mexican fusion sushi restaurant. 😆

[@markedforstrike]

I accidentally red it as "Matt Mercer ate my soul" and it sound cool too:)

[@fateisme]

I imagine just one of those Mexican Donaire places with Goku on the wall

[@Shay_Mendez]

"If the 2 hot lesbians aren't here, then I'm gone and everyone else is too" Tell me you didn't want to play in a campaign without telling me you didn't want to play in a campaign.

[@vijayanand6650]

Seems like instead of scheduling sessions they need to be scheduling orgies.

[@TubeTAG]

I mean, at least she was straight forward about it. Better that than a string of no-shows.

[@wesleythomas7125]

Well, sometimes you want to play D&D with sexytimes though...

[@solouno2280]

They were rolling dice under the table all the time

[@shyguy1932]

That twist in the last minute.. wtf? Are we sure this isn't a joke story from OP?

[@alchemical29]

"he never makes stuff up or homebrews anything" *nervous glances from the bloodhunter, graviturgist, chronurgist, echo knight, and gunslinger*

[@Froschemints]

thats what I thaught. The moment the player said it, I was like: "Wait wait wait WAIT, I´m surtain he homebrewed the bloodhunter and echo knight"

[@vassilisdafermos4047]

​@@FroschemintsAND FINE TUNED THE GUNSLINGER SO THAT IT CAN WORK IN 5E!!!

[@eserenson]

What I see rarely mentioned about "DMing like Matt" is that Matt is not only weaving a story for his players,but also THOUSANDS of weekly viewers to entertain. There's a huge difference between table DMing and streaming DMing.

[@luigiboi4244]

If I had a nickel for every "Critical Role" D&D horror story I heard/read...

[@CritCrab]

Last one in a long time, promise. These were just too good to pass up.

[@MarquisLeary34]

It's getting to be about as ubiquitous as "Curse of Strahd" horror story.

[@madamdm9931]

Run a game with a "Matt Mercer" swear jar

[@atsukana1704]

@@MarquisLeary34 “critical role fans ruin my curse of strahd game” coming next 🙃😂

[@stanbunn1329]

I know right!? Player: why can't you be like Matt Mercer? DM: why can't you be a professional voice actor like his players?

[@LillyianPuppy]

Everyone wants someone as talented as Matt Mercer; but nobody wants to work to be as talented as his cast.

[@dragonmindttrpgs]

Ain't that the truth

[@the_gaming_forge9836]

Yep

[@jakewulgar]

I don’t want my dm to be like matt mercer, but i do take inspiration from the cast players when i play.

[@kurtisdeakin]

If I had a dm who put as much work into his game as Matt did, he would get my A game every time. And I do have a dm who works that hard. I am a lucky man lol

[@LillyianPuppy]

@@kurtisdeakin Noice! Make sure they're on your Christmas list!

[@thesaviorofsouls5210]

"We turn into spiders." "A goblin steps on you decimating you both."

[@TheDeluche]

I bet that was their plan all along. Get stepped on so they revert to their normal form causing the enemy to fall back prone. However, if it was my campaign, I'd consider that an instant death taking multipliers of bludgeoning damage that carries over to their normal shape. I don't reward stupid.

[@thesaviorofsouls5210]

@@TheDeluche i doubt they did haha but an instant death is surely deserved

[@cthonmon_4781]

Props to the people who gave cursed citizens days off and rescue from submission, when any other player would have taken advantage and robbed their things. Spectacular DND players, I hope the poster plays with them again. Also, DMs, if any player ever starts a sentence with "And Matt Mercer would", just stop them right there.

[@khalilismail666]

I WOULD HAVE AWARDED EXTRA XP for that roleplay, too. Great ideas

[@gentleseal1778]

I would have told them, "okay go play with Matt Mercer then"

[@DustinBarlow8P]

"We hid in the grass as spiders" DM: Suddenly from behind the spiders a toad appears Roll for Initiative

[@kylekillgannon]

This sounds like a fun little encounter honestly.

[@jamestaylor3805]

You are hiding in the grass as miniscule spiders in the middle of a violent combat engagement. Suddenly a booted foot slams down on you! Roll a dex save... no, never mind, that foot is too big and you're too small to clear distance needed to dodge."

[@Frederic_104]

​@@jamestaylor3805 toad would be way more fun as a dm

[@jamestaylor3805]

@@Frederic_104 why would you assume the fun isn't in watching their faces melt? Throwing toads at them is only giving into their demand for recognition of thier playstyle deserving attention.

[@Frederic_104]

@@jamestaylor3805 I did assume the fun you were looking for was in watching their faces melt. And I think it would be more fun to destroy them with a toad character that swallowed a magic ring or something that I made up on the spot rather than a boot. If miraculously they kill the toad they can get a magic ring. But theres a 95% chance they'll just get damaged by the toad and turn back to be put back into he original fight with the rest of the party. Ezpz.

[@buck2817]

My favorite part about the first story is that in the first critical role campaign, the party is actively punished for a member murdering an old lady, early in the campaign.

[@TheHadMatters]

Don't think this is accurate. Are you talking about the first streamed campaign, or the private ones?

[@buck2817]

@@TheHadMatters the first streamed. When Tiberius cuts the old lady in half and that contributes to Emon putting VM on house arrest

[@timothymcbride8426]

@@TheHadMatters it is correct, happens in the first campaign, episode 26 is when the party kills her and episode 27 is when Matt brings in consequences for those actions.

[@Arthas30000]

EP 25 when fighting the Briarwooods for the first time, Tiberius kills an elderly lady who runs away in fear, assuming she is a threat. In EP 26 (the infamous cow episode) an investigation is launched into Vox Machina's actions causing chaos during the banquet

[@kegmonkey5648]

@@Arthas30000 Why am I completely unsurprised that it was Tiberius?

[@360entertainment2]

Once, just once, and I’m not sure if he’s ever done this, but just once I’d love Matt Mercer to either come into the comments section of these videos or put out a video himself and goes over at least 5 different horror stories where his name was invoked by the problem players and calls them out. Granted Matt is a much nicer guy than that but it would be a heck of a show if that ever happened!

[@afturburn]

the ending of that second story has me thinking its made up. nobody talks like that

[@informitas0117]

Your itty bitty spider senses are correct

[@mrtruth5192]

Yeah it kind of reads like bad fanfiction.

[@stevenb3854]

I'm pretty sure the first story is also made up. I just refuse to believe anyone is so stupid that they: A) Don't understand that torturing an old lady would be considered evil aligned behaviour B) That "Matt Mercer would reward him for playing his character right". When he's playing an evil character in what was described as a heroic Good/Neutral campaign Nobody talks like this lol. It sounds like a very poorly written story by a DM who doesn't like Critical Role

[@JoshtheOverlander]

​@@stevenb3854I personally think you're underestimating how genuinely stupid people are and how incapable some people are of looking at themselves in any way that casts themselves in a negative light. The story could very well be fake, but using the stupidity of the Edgelord isn't good enough proof because there's sadly plenty of people in the world who are actually that stupid and lacking in self awareness and moral understanding

[@Caffeinated-DaVinci]

@@stevenb3854 God I wish you were correct about people not being stupid enough to do those things and not realize how it comes across. I've played in a campaign that had a character who did exactly that, minus the Matt Mercer comments, played by an equally edgy character. Only upside was only one person at the table watched CR and had the decency to be quiet about it. He derailed the campaign with chaotic evil antics any chance he got, while playing a lawful good Human Knight (Fighter). He genuinely couldn't discern good actions from evil, nor lawful from chaotic. He played this "lawful good" Knight character like a Chaotic Evil Barbarian 90% of the time. A notable example being similarly torturing an old women, but because it was for the greater good it was okay. And by "greater good" I mean it was completely unrelated to any main or side quest and happened because he misinterpreted a clue to the main quest's progression while the entire rest of the party was trying to convince him in character and out that it wasn't related, which he refused to believe both in character and out. He tried to kill the entirely good or neutral aligned party multiple times because we tried to stop him from doing evil things. Our best sessions were when he didn't show up, as mean as that is to say.

[@TheHobgoblyn]

A murderous psychopath on a quest to collect a banana-bread recipe actually sounds like a very amusing premise if the person writing it was writing it intentionally satirical.

[@ChristophelusPulps]

I'd happily play that character solely to serve as cautionary tale and demonstration of the curse mechanics to the other players.

[@Green24152]

this gives me strong anime vibes

[@MxMoondoggie]

Funny doesn't mean it will be good for the game. Usually what happens is; while you're off having fun with your "lol so random" character, everyone else is having a miserable experience.

[@rararasputin8608]

"Don't be a worse Matt, be the best you." Thanks, I really needed that.

[@ArtemisDalmasca]

The one player I've had in a group who had the Mercer effect was thankfully nowhere near that caliber... but they still made playing a drag for the whole party. They started with the whole 'I've listened to Crit Roll and would like to try playing' bit, so hubby as the DM helped them with making a character and they joined 2-3 sessions into our Witcher campaign. Hubby is very open, has actually watched some Crit Roll and has learned from Matt (Just to clarify, he doesn't try to be Matt, rather, he took inspiration from him, and took things from his DM style that were useful and integrated them into his own style. He's gotten better for it too, but he's not trying to copy Matt outright, he has his own style.) Player expected the game to be rp heavy, despite us being a newly formed group who was still getting used to each other. A few of the party weren't comfortable going full in character, and preferred to instead state the reactions of their character - which was fine, none of us judged for that. The whole game was done on Disc, so the DM had a text channel for us to write rp stuff through the week. The Crit Roll person would give us thin plot hooks and reasons to interact. I usually humored them to be sure they were included, but the interactions were subpar and didn't really add much to the relationships. Anyway, as the game progressed, my character developed a friendship and eventually feelings for another party member -not the crit roll person. A lot of this happened in the written text, which was open to the whole party, but they decided it wasn't fair of us, or that they were ignored when they tried in the chat. It wasn't that they were getting ignored, but they tried to make themselves important in the couples conversation, even though they could literally set a scene with anyone else in the party. For example, the guy my character had fallen for had been put through torture by humans (he was an Elf). He'd put it behind him mostly, but events of the story were bringing it back and his character was growing angry and wanting revenge for everything he suffered. In the middle of my character having an important moment of trying to talk with him and help him through it, the Crit Roll player decided that she was going to walk directly past them and start screaming in her own characters frustration, to get all eyes on her. Eventually she grew bored with her character, and started complaining to the DM that no one cared about her characters or interacted with her - due to her butting her way in, and also not giving any of us a specific reason to actually care about her character. She was just trying to be sex appeal. If I remember right, she tried to drop Crit Roll examples plenty of times. After way too long, she finally left the group cause she decided she wasn't having fun. She'd made the game unfun for everyone for a while, and had started complaining that it wasn't fair that the lovers were having private conversations away from the campfire and didn't count it as development because the whole party wasn't involved - because yes, the lovers are going to sit at the fire with everyone and loudly proclaim their intentions to start trying to have a baby in front of the whole party. The lovers weren't the only ones she complained about though, she complained that no one in the party rped with her or cared, and that they should be doing more for her like they would be in Crit Roll. The first session we had after she left was the best one we'd had in a while. Even the players who didn't usually do much were getting into it, and it felt like there was actual life in the game again.

[@reginlief1]

Did the lovers manage to have a child?

[@trevanminnig3499]

@@reginlief1asking the important questions out here

[@chappyhall6682]

Honestly these people seem mentally disturbed in some way. Like I still have no idea what they were thinking or expecting, especially the druids. I am so glad that I have the luxury of plying with friends I know and trust and have never had this kind of drama.

[@Michaeljack81sk]

Poor Matt. I can imagine him listening to these two stories and weeping

[@badgamemaster]

That could be a very funny video... "Matt's reaction Matt Mercer horror stories."

[@herewegoagain4033]

@@badgamemaster I don't know if I would do that to him and I doubt anybody at that company would want to either. Like that would make me quit ya know

[@reflection6401]

@@herewegoagain4033 I mean Matt did stream him playing overwatch doing a little trolling(he’s the VA of Mcree/Cassidy)

[@Jakepearl13]

@@reflection6401 hold up Matt Mercer is the voice of Cassidy?

[@reflection6401]

@@Jakepearl13 yea let me run a list of Mercer’s VA(basically Matt is a low paying actor, he’s surprisingly cheap all things considered he just likes playing roles) He was the guy with the mustache in cyberpunk edge-runners that was the getaway driver He’s the main character in super crooks He’s the English actor for Jotaro Kujo He played the Midas NPC in fortnite Kagaya from demon slayer He’s savage from suicide hell to pay A background voice for monster university Leon S Kennedy from resident evil KurtisStryker mortal combat Titan fall(jack cooper Deadshot in injustice 2 Yusuke persona four Maceady from fall out English actor for Levi from AoT Haiji towa from danganronpa And SO SO MUCH MORE

[@rsanders791]

“Matt never home brews anything” Stares at blood hunter

[@davidhodgson1011]

and Gunslinger, and whatever the hell Talesin's sublcass is in C3

[@rsanders791]

@@davidhodgson1011 also the Cobalt Soul monk honestly the list goes on and on

[@tiredjediknight3110]

@@rsanders791 up to an including Exandria itself….

[@ajgunter8932]

and the Elephant-baby monster near the end of Campaign 2...

[@insanearachnid4335]

@@davidhodgson1011 I think it's called fundamental chaos right?

[@rhamnation7236]

The Druid part is making me rethink about eventually playing Druid

[@Noobie2k7]

Well especially rethink it now. They're completely changing the Wildshape feature to use generic stat blocks.

[@Tespri]

Those were just terrible players who were narccisist to boot. Expecting rewards from killing rats and hiding in combat is just bawling. What's worse it the old DM who said "if hot lesbians are not coming". Basically she sexualized them and the other two guys are just simps.

[@Ardaine27]

I have a evil DM, but that is what she told us from the beginning. The story, the twists, the rewards and the NPC's are all so rich. She messes with us but it is so much fun! I love her dearly and she is nowhere near anything like Matt nor would I want her to be. Matt is a great story teller sure, but every DM has their own strength and weaknesses. Respect the DM's that actually try to flesh their world out.

[@anonymousfortunes2970]

Yeah I am a bit of an evil DM myself, and I love poking fun in the group chat like saying "Oh you're all absolutely doomed because I'll summon an unstoppable boss and will make you all changelings! And your love interests will die!" And all that happens is they fight some off chute bandit camp for some gold and prepare food for winter 😂 Just playing the stereotypical cruel sadist DM

[@nocbvideos6458]

I feel like its all an issue of comuication and expecations. If everyone knows what they are in for its fine. If the players hate it it isnt fine. Just like the behaviour described in the video would be fine if the dm allowed chaotic evil aligned player characters it isnt if he specifically stated that he doesnt want that.

[@ankor7625]

​@@nocbvideos6458Personally I think that the biggest problem in the first story is that the player himself didn't think of his actions as "evil"

[@nocbvideos6458]

@@ankor7625 yea he aproached it like a video game where you fool around and exploit the world where you can, when dnd should really be played like an interactive movie.

[@Kaedekuyuki]

"Matt Mercer wouldn't do that" Matt Mercer: "They are right" - Matt Mercer goes wild cruel to the character with SERIOUS consecuences for their accions -

[@aapjew18]

Also, not what he would do. At that point, I'm pretty sure Matt would have a sit down with the players, out of game, and discuss how this is probably not the right match.

[@That0melette]

Sam: I'm a gnome bard who sleeps around a lot Matt: Here's a daughter who hates you from a woman you don't remember and they struggled their whole lives :)

[@kunalpatel2479]

They turn into spiders hiding in the grass, the goblins accidentally step on them in the fray for critical damage

[@robscheer3680]

@@That0melette sam deserved that lol

[@nerd-mask723]

That would be hilarious. The rest of the group fights the BBEG while the 2 druids are shrunken down as spiders and fight a toad. Afterwards they turn back into elves and act like they, did something incredibly hard and amazing while the rest of the group stand next to the evil wizards and his warlock-buddies corpses, badly wounded and stare at them like: "Seriously?"

[@Websurfer1111]

The moment when the two problem players (finally) leave and then the rest of your players say to you with dead eyes that they won't return either, because the hot lesbians just left your game. This has some second hand "I feel dead inside" vibes.

[@final_animal]

If the entire party leaves because of the DM, we're probably not getting the full story of what really happened.

[@moistypancake4076]

Edgelords's set up actually could have been a great story. Imagine one of your party members slowly losing themselves due to his affinity with the main villain. Seems like a wasted opportunity.

[@TheUnseenPath]

Have you met edgelords lately?

[@beatsnbrews]

I didn't really see this as that big a deal either, apart from losing their temper and being a jerk out of the game etc. - why can't characters be dickheads? It's role-playing. It seems pretty boring to me for everyone around the table to have to agree on what constitutes "good" and all play to that. It's the opposite of good character writing.

[@TheWeen344]

​@@beatsnbrewsI think there are a couple reasons: - In this context the DM did say "only good characters" and there was a curse on the land for evil doings. The player was obviously being evil and expected no punishment. - I think generally it is extremely difficult to DM a group of characters when the group has evil and good characters as it leads to many disagreements and overall bad cooperation as they all share VERY different goals/ interests.

[@flogsolijr]

@@beatsnbrewsthe reason most people play that way is that most players aren’t great writers/actors and would have trouble roleplaying that without causing friction, so it’s much easier to have a discussion before the game and decide to be good people

[@tetrismaster9227]

The biggest gripe i have is backstories that make you the badass from the get go. I always try to tell my players in session zero if you want to be this badass how did you get there where did these abilities come from? To often i read backstories where they killed armies single handedly but ingame cant handle 3 goblins on their own. The backstory is supposed to tell me how you went from 0 to hero

[@TheUnseenPath]

Well, it's hard to be a bad ass in DnD because one unlucky roll turns you into a bumbling oaf. The gripe I have is it's always some awkward, unhygenic, man-she babies who like to place themselves or an aspect of themselves in the game without any thought or boundaries. This isn't furry fan fic erotica. Keep your queer bs out of the game, keep your mary sue bs out of the game, keep your edgelord bs out of the game, keep your troll bs out of the game. Make an actual character and participate and stop using the game to live out degeneracy and make others feel uncomfortable. This is a TEAM BUILDING game with ROLEPLAY. I can't stand the people in the video the OP was talking about they ruin everything and should not be catered to for the sake of the game if it ruins everyone's good time. They have no consideration for others and make it about them. You wanna RP that shit? Discord in private. Not in DnD.

[@nosville22]

"Matt Mercer doesn't homebrew anything!" Matt Mercer on first episode: "We're moving from Pathfinder, so we're gonna be working around that"

[@scientificallyaccuratetyra4292]

*laughs in Blood Hunter*

[@Owlinsweatpants]

@@scientificallyaccuratetyra4292giggles in Gunslinger

[@scientificallyaccuratetyra4292]

@@Owlinsweatpants cackles in Echo Knight

[@Nikelaos_Khristianos]

Points at Talesin’s tome of patch-notes for the Gunslinger as the game progressed. 😂

[@Reddotzebra]

I am seriously considering making an edgy backstory for EVERY character from now on, and then play them as perfectly normal. "His parents were killed, he swore revenge on everyone involved and hunted them down to the last man, woman, and child, Punisher style... And then he found religion and is now a Chaotic Good Cleric cheerfully raising puppies and helping old ladies across the street, because he got over it." Yep... My DM is going to kill me.

[@iceweaver9283]

I actually really like characters with edy/dark back stories who are still good people. I am thinking of playing a character like that soon where the idea will be that he stood by the teachings he learned when he was a kid so he is still a kind and good person but basically turns into a monster whenever the reason for his trauma gets involved.

[@poopsymcloopsy]

Edgy backstory=/=edgy character. I think having a character that presents themselves in a kind, or at least not dickish or downright evil way, makes for a way better character. If you've been having your character trauma dump nonstop the entire game then no one will be surprised when your edgy shit comes up later and they'll care less if at all. However if you instead present yourself as an at least rational human being with some social skills then people will be shocked when they discover what's happened to you and will be empathetic since you've endeared yourself over time. you can even make all the masking your character does into a flaw they can work through. Go from someone who hides the pain with a smile, or a stonewall expressionless face, to someone who can trust people enough to show their true edginess and talk it through. Of course, you can make an outright edgy character work. The important part is just making sure they as a character can participate as a part of the group without derailing everything instantly and to make sure you're humble enough to let your super special OC spend only their fair share of time in the spotlight as well as staying tuned in when others have the spotlight.

[@minnie3434]

I do that ALL the time! It's super fun.

[@Michael-bn1oi]

Think you DM would love you for playing a well adjusted person

[@mask938]

I like characters who look scary, but are actually total softies.

[@tyrionsebby1271]

My favorite come back is "be like Laura bailey then". All of the critical role players are top tier role players and are there pretty much every session unless if life gets in the way.

[@radlaw3476]

Wait a moment, Laura Bailey plays Critical Roll with Matt Mercer?! She is still the one and only Lucina voice, such a shame Intsys made her leave.

[@tntristan12]

The more I hear from this story, the more I'm thinking Matt Mercer is not the problem here 😅

[@MunkkyNotTrukk]

DM: "The village is being attacked by hobgoblins, people are getting killed, buildings are on fire, your party are struggling in a vicious battle against the invaders." Druids: *Playing out a barely concealed Zoophilia fantasy* Also, the "Hot Lesbians" line had me laughing for a good five minutes.

[@littlemoth4956]

Druids literally playing Warrior Cats in an alley while villagers scream in the background

[@tomaszskowronski1406]

OK. HOW hot were those 2 lesbians? Cause there's a scale of hot to probability of being batshit crazy, and it be a parallel line. As one great stand up lady said- Hot people do the weirdest shit because noone ever sat them down and been like "I know you're hot, but there are still rules" Her name is Taylor Tomlinson and she is good

[@Fickets]

@@tomaszskowronski1406 look up the Hot-Crazy scale from How I Met Your Mother

[@tomaszskowronski1406]

​@@Fickets i remember that, but that's a different thing. its a chart of how crazy can they be and still be bangable. didn't really age well, like a lot of Barney. what i'm talking about is the corelation of being hot and crazy, that the crazy is because of the hot. why? because people overlook the crazy for hottness reasons. just like the Barney's graph does.

[@acdcljb]

@@tomaszskowronski1406 What are you talking about? It was clear from the beginning that you should NOT emulate what Barney was doing. How could that not age well?

[@ianleguizamon]

"If the hot lesbians aren't in the game no one else will be" I laught so hard HAHAHA I never ever expect that coming

[@TechnoArpan]

That shit was hilarious, unexpected af too

[@y0u_called]

I kinda respect it I can't lie

[@randomguyontheinternet5030]

yeah I thought the rest of the players were pretty cool until that line hit. Hard nope, disrespectful to the lesbians who probably dont want their sexuality fetishized by the rest of the party, disrespectful to the DM who thought they were at least interested in the campaign enough to not hinge your whole reason on being there a ploy to watch two lesbians roleplay making out as they make out at the table, and kinda just a display of the stereotypical trashy DND player (sexist racist muderhobo with a tank top and a mountain dew in his hand)

[@escanormorph1883]

​@@y0u_called i don't play d&d, enjoy watching critical role, and I don't respect it ngl

[@ChrisCuttCHMy]

​@@escanormorph1883 same. Respect? How about grossed out.

[@darthjoe91]

For the first story, didn't Matt have half of his party arrested or at least questioned multiple times for doing evil things?

[@SpaceMissile]

"Don't be a worse Matt, be a better You." Man, that hit hard. not a DM, but that hit me as a guitarist.

[@briangang3977]

Brian gang, rise up and remember that Critical Role is comprised of professional actors! Also not everyone likes Critical Role or their playstyle, and that is perfectly fine!

[@GarkKahn]

And you can like their style watching but not when you're playing it

[@cosmicsymbols4225]

@@GarkKahn So true! I LOVE Critical Role, but I could absolutely not handle a game like that lol

[@CritCrab]

Brian Gang your commitment to the bit is on another level. It's been like 2 years haha

[@rxtsang]

The DM should shoot back with your not X voice actor/actress from CR.

[@briangang3977]

@@CritCrab all in a day's work

[@sweetlittlenothing7696]

Here since the title was "mat mercer ate my son". All lower case. We stan a king.

[@CritCrab]

we do a little bit of trolling. just a little bit.

[@JohnYoo39]

I will endeavor to DM like Matt Mercer, if the player that demands it can RP like a Critical Role cast member complete with acting skillset and willingness to sacrifice their own enjoyment for the good of the whole group.

[@mitchellmiller5064]

Bro, if I had been dming for the couple those spiders would have accidentally been hit by a stray fireball.

[@LiteraryDM]

Player: I'm not evil. I'm chaotic neutral. "Oh this is going to be good." EDIT: What the hell was the ending to story 2?! Shyamalan eat your heart out for that plot twist.

[@davidkoudelka10]

Haven't heard that before!🥴

[@LiteraryDM]

@@davidkoudelka10 it sends shudders down the spine of every DM.

[@workwork7837]

Biggest red flag you can get as a DM that your player is a murderhobo

[@excaliwally7986]

@@workwork7837 idk some murderhobos are cool and can actually be the life of the table, it just depends on the DM style cause not all games are the same

[@Zeromegas]

Every fucking time!!! Be CN is being Anarcrist and not Baby Hitlers

[@saratavington5435]

Ahole: "Matt Mercer would REWARD me!!!!" Actual Matt Mercer: nearly TPK's his whole party

[@ZorotheGallade]

Ahole: "B b but muh cherry picked selection of things that Matt Mercer said that basically amount to the DM being my personal slave"

[@Chronostra]

You forgot to add "nearly TPK his whole party multiple times" there.

[@havcola6983]

I wonder if Matt could do an honest-to-god real TPK, though. My gut feeling is that he always has some contingency to avoid it. In a home game, sure, but like... CR is a business. A full TPK could potentially ruin a campaign and do real-life damage.

[@Nammjahtan]

@@havcola6983 I could actually see him doing a full TPK at the end of a campaign and then the next campaign the group are in the spirit world. Could be interesting. Oh and you could explain the group starting at level 1 again as them having lost all their worldly experience.

[@sk8terboy635]

"Matt Mercer never homebrews anything" *stares at Exandria and every single campaign hes done in it*

[@jonathantrester1912]

I was not expecting that ending to the 2nd story. Hit like a slap in the face lol

[@raijinwolf2248]

The last time I was at a table with a player who demanded the DM "try to add some Matt Mercer elements" I just deadpanned and asked him if he was a player worth that level of commitment.

[@Fadeintodust]

Ahh fuuuuck, that's fire

[@davidhodgson1011]

I'll DM like Matt Mercer when you can RP like Sam Riegel

[@flaminyawn]

@@davidhodgson1011 Make them do ad bits like Sam, too.

[@Chronostra]

@@flaminyawn don't forget the clothes. And mugs and flasks

[@Noobie2k7]

@@davidhodgson1011 Nah, tell them to RP like Liam O'Brian

[@KN9595]

“A murderous psychopath on a quest to get his momma’s banana bread recipe” Ngl, that sounds like a badass plot. I’d watch that movie.

[@ShadowEclipex]

Just needs a better person playing the character.

[@theapproachingstorm2133]

@@ShadowEclipex That's what I was thinking, great idea for a half joke character if played right. Shit I had a monk Dhampir Morbius rip-off that was scared of Vampires who had a british accent.

[@notoriousgoblin83]

@@theapproachingstorm2133 To be fair, if I hear a Yorkshire accent emerge from a beast of the night, I would panic.

[@knightofarnor2552]

The twist at the end is that he realizes that it was so good because of her, not the recipe.

[@TheDreadedAssassin]

I order you to bake me some banana bread!

[@oliverlockhart807]

I still don’t expect to have to prompt my dm to tell me what is in a room when I walk in.

[@pokemasterpat]

I'm 99% sure this story is fake. No way anybody is cringe enough to say "Call me when you learn to DM like Matt Mercer"

[@Warcodered01]

"A murderous psychopath on a quest to ask for a banana bread recipe." not going to lie, that sounds hilarious.

[@scheele1646]

A party of murder hobos being tasked with mundane sidequests sounds like a fun one-shot lol. Maybe they could be fugitives that will get caught if they slip up and do anything especially evil, a lot of hijinks could happen! All that to say, I laughed at that part of the video and agree with you

[@JarthenGreenmeadow]

To be fair he didnt murder the old lady, the wolves did.

[@borger298]

@@JarthenGreenmeadow the gun killed him officer! Not me!

[@summonersriftgarbage4426]

@@borger298 i swear officer, it shot itself!

[@dylanmahaffey8920]

The funny bit is that if any of these people actually played with Matt Mercer they would have a terrible time.

[@Meowthix]

People dont seem to realize that they probably make some decent cash off critical role. I MIGHT not have to pay for pizza once a month and get to keep the last quarter bag of skittles you forgot to take.

[@leaffinite2001]

@Cole King or like, they dont even enjoy being around each other. When we have a bad night we watch tv instead lmao. Tho i guess im lucky to be friebds with my group first

[@Meowthix]

@@leaffinite2001 Yeah mood. I remember a night where a couple people cancelled so we decided to watch that real old anime Ghost Stories. English dub ofc. Shits gold.

[@xDracolich]

@@Meowthix peak comedy. Still can't believe the voice actors got away with just saying whatever they felt like in the moment.

[@Meowthix]

@@xDracolich 'Not because you're a rabbit. But because you're black' Imagine shit like that being dropped nowadays. Twitter would implode.

[@VultureXV]

"I order you to slather yourself in honey and run into a hornet nest while screaming, 'I am the actual queen!'"

[@TheColonelKaijuVT]

I don't have the words to describe how confounded these people make me. They put Matt on a pedestal as this golden god of DMing, but the sheer lack of understanding about how he actually runs his games shows they need to get a crash course on the saga of Tiberius Stormwind

[@felinusfeline5559]

3:40 Can we just agree this party was SO cool to do that. Proper outside-the-box thinking, the kind D&D is all about. Deciding to help the townspeople as "heroic" characters would.

[@iank472]

It's exactly what Inspiration reward is made for!

[@TheCrappyRobot]

My party would rob their shit.... -_-

[@hell3quin864]

@@TheCrappyRobot I'd use them to passive aggressive sabotage my teammates for a laugh.

[@MountainDewIdaho]

My players redeemed nearly every antagonist in the Out of the Abyss module, and trained them how to defend themselves. This also includes rescuing an entire Myconid settlement. Longer story short the game went so far off rails that they ended up getting to level 20 and having an Endgame level confrontation with the demon lords (minus grazzt who caught word and NOPED out) where they not just banished the Demon Lords but outright destroyed most of them soul and all (as in they no longer exist) using a Talisman of Pure Good. The only survivors being Orcus as a god, Juiblex who they beat way earlier at level 10-12 (it’s been a while) and Yeenoghu who got nuked so hard he died before they could use the talisman (they layered 3 prismatic walls over each other then grappled him and dragged him through until they ran out of movement or he died. Oh and before someone asks, the fellowship tried to redeem the demon lords. They have almost succeeded in reforming Grazzt.

[@ledanoir1239]

and then there's the hot lesbian line

[@Gaia_Gaistar]

I had a player that was brand new and didn't know what to do during downtime so when I asked what she was doing during some roleplay downtime she says, Player: "I'm breakdancing in the background." I shot a finger gun and smiled. Works for me. I'm pretty new myself so i'll take it.

[@reginlief1]

…i get there’s not knowing what to say or how to roleplay, but that’s not even trying.

[@Bofrab]

That’s when you have an npc see them breakdancing and challenge them to a breakdance competition, which would result in your party going “damn that guy was awesome” even if they won or lost. If not then I would not be surprised if another player goes “I’ll breakdance with you while we talk.” Edit: I say all this not know what the context of the roleplay downtime was.

[@joshmountain9705]

@@reginlief1 different strokes for different folks. Being new is hard and absurdist fantasy can be a fun genre. if everyone was down with the breakdancing have fun with it

[@Teuwufel]

You're not fun.@@reginlief1

[@tr4ktr4k45]

​@@reginlief1 it is literally trying, some might even say succeeding I mean do you know a lot of fantasy characters who could breakdance? Exactly. It is a simple but pretty funny answer, don't gatekeep roleplaying when it's harmless

[@animedragons9998]

I feel a lot of people forget that Matt Mercer is an Actor and a Voice Actor when he’s shown in the role playing scene, he knows how to perform

[@josephpurdy8390]

A team of writers, a producer, people making props, and players that are professional voice actors all on the pay roll helps.

[@BlertaPupu]

Tbh in my way of DMing THIS is rewarding him for playing the character as the character would act. He recognises what the character does and the world reacts accordingly. It's not unfair because he said in advance that THIS exactly would happen.

[@chuchupow]

"While my friends were out having premarital sex, I was studying the way of critical role" - That guy probably

[@runescryer]

Yeah, Edgelord *never* watched Critical Role. The way Matt Mercer handled Percy's story & development is proof that he doesn't 'reward' evil actions automatically...

[@kaylawoodbury2308]

The thing is they watch Critical Roll... But only see what they want to see. Same reason why Druid 2 thought Mercer played rules as written with no homebrew, it's not true but she believes it is because that's what she wants d&d to be.

[@hadespuppy]

And Pike. Remember when she got a bit bloodthirsty and had to do a whole storyline about getting her divine gifts back because her alignment had changed?

[@kaylawoodbury2308]

@@hadespuppy It all just kind of reminds me of the fan boy outrage at the ending of Attack on Titan. Spoiler free: It was kind of obvious the direction the show was going in (as far as the political message and character development goes) the first season, the ending didn't surprise me in the slightest. Yet precisely because people only saw what they wanted to see, especially in regards to the main character and his friends, they were entirely blinded to where the story was progressing until the very end.

[@LostFoundling]

Percy with the carriage driver and Tiberius with the fleeing, unconscious old lady were absolutely not rewarded. Edgelord just wanted to edgy.

[@KuLaydMahn]

@@hadespuppy Wait... So is the animated show just the Critical Role campaign? Can't remember the title of the show but it was entertaining enough

[@BlackPenzo]

Wow that heel turn at the end of the rest of the party caught me off guard

[@Rotten_Prince]

I do strive to be like Mercer, as in: mindful of my players and their needs and wants, as well as their limits; being creative and allowing creativity from the players, remembering the world might be of my creation, but they inhabit it too, and can bring amazing things to it. And most important, to weave a story where we all laugh and cry, get scared too and have lots of fun.

[@G1NZOU]

That's absolutely the true substance of what Matt Mercer teachers when he's encouraging new DM's and giving tips. It's a real shame some fans just really want the impression of Mercer and want to relive certain favourite parts of Critical Role and moments he rewarded the players rather than diving deeper and understanding WHY he rewarded the players in that moment, and the work it took on his part and the player's part to get to there.

[@blahblahblah15461]

I think marisha ray is the creative director though... There's deffo some months long session zero going on, and maybe some between game scripting going on, for the sake of broadcasts. It can't be looked at like a home game, bottom line. They are making a show.

[@ShadowAraun]

Personally that last part depends on the group. For my group d&d is popcorn, low substance with a sprinkle of something extra, no need to tell heavy emotional stories and even if i did there would be no pay off, not because they are bad players but because as players that is not what they are after.

[@Rotten_Prince]

@@ShadowAraun I am not talking about your players nor their play style

[@G1NZOU]

@@ShadowAraun absolutely this, each game is different and the mark of a good DM is to provide a game that suits what the players want. (In addition to that it's the mark of a good player to recognise what kind of campaign the DM is running and play a character that fits.)

[@Evoker23-lx8mb]

“Matt Mercer never homebrews anything.” *Laughs in blood Hunter, cobalt soul monk, open sea Paladin, tragedy bard, blood wizard, blood cleric, other subclasses he made that I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting AND an entire book*

[@Evoker23-lx8mb]

@oddity1769 knew I forgot one of his subclasses.

[@vbarreiro]

“Matt Mercer would reward me for playing my character, flaws and all” “Suuuure, ask Orion Acaba about that”

[@Nyck-Dee]

Imagine the audacity to disregard the DM's originiality or attempts to try something new because they're "not doing what Matt Mercer does", they hardly give them a chance and refuse to see the other side of the arguement in most situations. I just hope there's players out there like this who realise this sooner then later.

[@cyanide7270]

Worst part about this is that its not even correct. Mercer DOESNT do anything that these three say he does, AT ALL. These stories are just dumbass players talking out their arses.

[@ZorotheGallade]

It's not just that, their argument boils down to "We didn't help in any way but we were REALLY REALLY INTO our pet roleplaying so you SHOULD reward us"

[@Audioworm]

can't believe matt mercer ate critcrab's son

[@Jubilation457]

Like crab rangoon.🦀 🦀 🦀 🦀

[@Promance2300]

Critical Role has been disastrous for D&D. Not for raising standards for DMs, but lowering standards for players.

[@TheKingdiamond69]

“If the hot lesbians arnt here we anrt going to be either” killed me omg so much wrong with it and it makes it so good 10/10

[@Rodez2001]

“Mercer doesn’t homebrew” Matt: *Stares in Exandria*

[@kitkatdoesthings6242]

Haha *stares in Exandria*

[@gotenson2231]

Stares at Bloodhunter and the stream's intro where he STATES that there is homebrew

[@discardedhero5060]

*stares at essek, caleb, nott, and their spells*

[@Enderrock424]

@@gotenson2231is it not literally the first episode where he says something like “this is very lousy goosey hombrewtype game” (i’ve never actually watched critical roll i just took my moms word for it)

[@djn6962]

We need to hold Matt Mercer accountable for the children he eats!

[@Nyghtking]

It sounds like there are several people throwing their children at him to eat.

[@Ultrazeta120]

@@Nyghtking I don't know why but I laughed at how you worded it and the sheer mental image of a very confused Matt mercer just looks at the group of kids in front of him and exclaims "What the hell am I supposed to do with these kids?" is just funny to me XD

[@lobiankk77]

Wasn't prepared for that plot twist at the end 😭😭😭💀💀💀

[@narindraramdial8318]

That last line had me dying bruh "If the hot lesbians aren't in the game, then we aren't coming back." I wondered why the others weren't complaining or something about them not doing anything and the almost dying in game, I feel really bad for the DM here, with how they described their story I would've enjoyed it

[@THarSul]

i feel like what we saw in the second story was an example of a pair of players who were used to being catered to by their previous dm, and so when op comes around, and doesnt kowtow to their whims, they got upset and left the game, and based upon the behavior of the previous dm and the rest of the group, we can infer that they were letting the druids walk all over them to keep, "the hot lesbians," in the game, so they would all have some eye candy, so basically, op was stepping into an unhealthy group, and when they tried to apply healthy gaming behavior, it broke the unhealthy group, causing them all to leave instead of growing from the experience.

[@QuanTrietLOL]

Or rather, they weren't there for DnD. When that "thing" was gone, they left. Simple as that

[@THarSul]

@@QuanTrietLOL well put

[@minnion2871]

And aparently the "Hot Lesbians" expected the DM to be a mind reader.... I still have no idea what their strategy of hiding in the grass was supposed to accomplish...

[@THarSul]

@@minnion2871 who knows, since they never told op what they had in mind, no changes could have really been made one way or another; for all we know, the druids might have expected to raise an army of ants from the underbrush or something, but since they never said what they expected, we're all left grasping at straws with regard to their nonsensical behavior, lol

[@rosehorror1422]

"Matt would never not go by RAW or homebrew stuff!" Me, watching Matt use rule of cool a ton and literally homebrewed entire classes for his PCs: OoO

[@croakingfroggie]

Slightly off topic; Homebrewing classes can be a lot of fun, I do it from time to time as DM.

[@ValleyoftheLeaf]

Matt: "The rules say you can still be on fire as a water elemental, but you know what? You're not on fire because that's stupid."

[@isaacnikolic5895]

@@ValleyoftheLeaf We allow 2 spells to be cast per turn because it's more fun. You can certainly try. The entire gunslinger class.

[@hazeltree7738]

@@ValleyoftheLeaf Essentially "I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid-ass decision, I've elected to ignore it"

[@nerdatwar49]

“Dang that guy’s been staring at his keyboard for 20min now!”

[@user-di5bb6nm8b]

To be fair...when he made the old lady keep watch during the night was the funniest shit

[@reeven1721]

"He told me he was not playing Evil, he was Chaotic Neutral." "Ah, so he WAS playing Evil!" ;)

[@brianpembrook9164]

You know I once submitted a chaotic evil character into a game. He got accepted and I felt that was because I was just so HONEST about the whole thing...

[@Fitz0fury]

yeah CN characters are basically always rogues that want to steal but also want to be in a heroic campaign. i just cut onces hand off 3 weeks ago for thieving. the joy in the rest of the parties face as they realized we would no longer try drag out everything to pickpocket everything in sight was fantastic. he is now on a quest to get a magical hand and secretly hiring a mercenary army. character arc to bad guy inevitable.

[@nintendoboy3605]

Chaotic Neutral characters if done right aren't exactly evil

[@denjidenji9162]

Hey, as someone who plays a chaotic neutral character, not all of them are evil! Mine just has a gambling addiction and wants to find a cure to his fairy wife's curse, he's just also kinda stupid. He wouldn't do that shit, smh my head (Yes I'm not super serious here, just pointing that out lmao)

[@nintendoboy3605]

@@denjidenji9162 That sounds amazing

[@Undomaranel]

"Don't be a lesser version of X, be the best version of you." Great advice there for just about everything.

[@alex222333ful]

Why is your Ojama Lime impression so good???

[@KevinMacLeod-administrator]

That last line is an inspiration. 21:18 Love this!❤

[@TheAres1999]

That second group was really toxic. The Druids got whatever they wanted in game, because everyone else was fetishizing their relationship That does not sound like a healthy gaming experience for anyone

[@davidvonjohnston]

Sometimes people need an incentive to play.

[@iota-09]

I dunno i feel like that was just a meme story, like "3 fiddy" on imgur or stuff like that, i genuinely cannot have the heart in me to believe that story is real.

[@cobruh836]

@@iota-09 ive seen similar, thats why i quit this cancer community. bunch of narcissist females that want all the attention and a whole lot of simps giving it to them

[@mohammedsarker5756]

@@iota-09 for everyone in that story's sake lets hope so

[@gabington8990]

Wait what? Im assuming this story never happened, but I can't see where the fetishization is coming from, to the point that I feel like your comment is satire. Please elaborate lol

[@paladinboyd1228]

Anyone else feel sorry for the old lady? If I was DM edgelord's character would have dropped dead from killing a old lady.

[@johngleeman8347]

It was needlessly mean. The rope trick could have them both safe in the extradimensional space! XD

[@x0uzumakinaruto0x]

I mean, I guess he didn't technically kill her. However, I would have reduced all his stats to the absolute minimum for putting her in harm's way in the first place.

[@Nyghtking]

It was literally a pointless action too, he pulled up the rope, so no ground based entity would be able to get to him, and you can't see into the dimension from the outside so nothing flying was going to get him either, he was perfectly safe, but instead he chose to have an old, wounded, tired women, with no combat skills kill herself by forcing her to fight wild animals for no reason. So yeah a really evil action.

[@rootyful]

I was honestly expecting an outcome of like.... The edgelord finds the druids, but they react to him with total hostility for mistreating this old lady like this.

[@paladinboyd1228]

@@x0uzumakinaruto0x That would have been better than me giving him the curse of granny murder.

[@novakian]

Why am i just now noticing the wave noises in the background of these vids. Very nice

[@zeos26]

What was the "clever spider tactic"? Am I missing something?

[@Omen_Cheetah]

Edgelord: "My character indirectly murdered an old grandma, it's what my character would do." The Rest of the party: "Well, we're going to avenge the old lady and murder the shit out of you. Its what our characters would do" Edgelord: "What no, reeeeee. You can't just turn on me! Don't let them do this to me DM, what would Mercer do?!" *unholy screeching continues.*

[@Pokytik]

The only problem with this is:"how the character knew of what happened in the night?". That's meta all the way. If you have problems with a player, resolve it out of game. Edgelord was clearly destroying the good vibes at the table, just tell him and/or kick him instead of killing him with a meta play

[@ilpensatore1462]

@@Pokytik it could easily be explain it in game as "someone told them they saw the edgelord order the grandma to follow him in the woods from their window, she never came back so putting 2 and 2 togheter..." at the end of the day it's about what the dm will allow and what the players enjoy I suppose

[@genericname2747]

@@Pokytik He came into the town carrying a dead woman and immediately started ordering people around. That's suspicious

[@Pokytik]

@@genericname2747 well, if he did that, yes

[@genericname2747]

@@Pokytik meta play is annoying though. It's always best to talk to the players about problems

[@TheNemesis432]

1:13 This premise actually excites me. I can already imagine my chaotic evil character having a mental breakdown over having to constantly act nice to people around him once he realizes what the curse is the thing (if DM will allow me to roll an evil character with "evil acts have consequences" in the first place).

[@derricgreene]

That way he can go back to his usual career of pillaging villages after the curse is broken

[@The_PolterGhost]

My CEs would probably be skirting the edge of what was realistically allowed. As for why: 1. They treat people nicely, even prisoners. 2. They are willing to make allies with virtually anyone. 3. Once they have earned trust, it's far easier to coerce people to do some very risky things, and it's way easier to start throwing on the gaslighting. 4. They do not care how much damage their actions inevitably cause, because their own personal freedoms and personal gains are more important than the safety and stability of others. Psycho killers make decent CE NPCs but poor player characters. Treating others as pets or resources, being manipulative, and overall not caring about whether or not my actions will ruin other people, so long as it gets me what I want in the end? That's the CE PC I want to see, all the time.

[@MinatheRaichu]

@@The_PolterGhost i can't believe you just described an entry level job manager.

[@aviereus9490]

DM can run a game however they want but everyone should be entitled to what kinda character they want to be

[@PsychoticDreams0]

I have been trying so hard to play D&D for years, i can never find a consistent group =(

[@phishinround420]

I tried to set up a comical “enchanted item gone rogue” in a marketplace once for some PC’s… it ended with them taking the leg off my comic relief character and being detained by the guards for assault. Sometimes comedy happens, most times randomly. I don’t try to force it.

[@HiitaKamui]

As a DM myself...that last story hurt me in so many ways...such...I don't even have words atm....

[@JorisVDC]

Can you please point out on this drawing where they hurt you?

[@HiitaKamui]

@@JorisVDC yes...

[@GreedyDrunk92]

I do not even play dnd, but this last story makes me feel nothing, but frustration

[@tristanvernooy4941]

I'm so sad the players left. What a poor dm, he really tried his best

[@xh0rsex]

@@tristanvernooy4941 If only he was more like Matt Mercer...