Critical Role OBSESSED Player Wants Everything To Be Critical Role

[@SynysterFiction]

For the first story, to be even more petty. If she approaches OP again asking for DnD help, OP should tell her to go watch Critical Role again.

[@rustedone2807]

The last time I had a DM blatantly take control of my toon like Jared did, I actually handed my character sheet to that DM, telling him that when I could play my own character, let me know, then I sat back, cracked open the PHB, and pretended to read spell descriptions. He tore my sheet in half, ending the session because (in his words), “I’m the DM and my word is law.” The five of us (6th was the DM) got together after the game and collectively decided to quit on the spot. We then refused to let him join our next game. His controlling shenanigans were admittedly much more repulsive than the stories’ and we normally just took the abuse, because we were inexperienced teen-agers, at that time (mid-80’s).

[@ChaosCounseling]

I hate when people try to use anxiety as an immunity from criticism

[@marooniballooni03759]

I love the double counterspell in the last story, it's what I would call glorious!

[@symantares9171]

In the first story, she didn't want help with a character, she wanted help plagiarizing without getting caught

[@byronsmothers8064]

"I'm just playing the character OP helped me build, this is how they told me I should do it!"

[@jamesmahon6788]

I would have ripped Sarah a new one. She wants to try spinning a story on social media and bring in info about work and family? She's gonna reap some serious consequence

[@iank472]

Sew the wind, reap the Whirlwind!

[@flyingtrixster729]

Wow she went after his job and kids. I would say she was trying to get him fired and kids beaten up. She straight out doxed him and used mental health as an excuse. That is beyond gross. That is straight up evil.

[@koboldking7153]

I notice that besides the mercer effect, a lot of people can't grasp the idea of someone not playing stereotypes and try to force stereotypes on the characters. Despite whatever their backstory is

[@bubbykins4864]

The bard one is completely ridiculous anyway. Anyone who actually knows the lore of the classes would know that it's the warlocks that would be most likely to fuck things, Pact of the Fiend with said patron being associated with lust especially so. They also use CHA as the casting modifier, so mechanically, they can do so. They most likely negotiated with their patron before getting the power, even if the negotiations ultimately only appear to be in favor of the warlock. Yet they dare think EDM gets you more STDs? They were never prepared.

[@tsifirakiehl4250]

First story: I’ve never watched Critical Role, but I’m fairly certain Scanlan isn’t the only bard who was ever on the show, and even if he was, he had more dimension and personality than just horny. Second story: Again, I haven’t watched Critical Role, but I’m pretty sure the players don’t try to tell Matt Mercer how to build his world. I’m also pretty sure they fail checks sometimes and don’t throw tantrums over it. I’ve even heard that if a PC does something stupid, Matt Mercer will make them face the consequences. Also, every player at my table has some mental health issues, and none of them throw tantrums over failing a saving throw or dox me or my family on Facebook. Sarah has no excuse. Third story: Class has nothing to do with sexuality. Class has nothing to do with sexuality. Class has nothing to do with sexuality. Read this over and over until you get it through your head. Also, Charm Person DOESN’T FUCKING WORK THAT WAY! Charm Person makes the target see the caster as a casual friend, and thus more willing to do favors for them. It does NOT completely take over the target’s mind or make them romantically or sexually attracted to the caster. Charm Person will not get you laid unless the person you’re casting it on is already the kind of person willing to have sex with a casual friend. Good on OP for getting away from that railroading r@pist. Fourth story: No, Jason! Grow a backbone! When I first started DMing, I told the players they could pick anything from the books I had, and if they wanted homebrew, they had to send it to me for approval. One player sent me a homebrew subclass, which I approved, and they’re still playing it today. However, if they’d showed up to our first session with that subclass suddenly changed, I would have told them that I approved the homebrew they sent me, not what they mangled it into. Set boundaries and stick to them!

[@realdragon]

Didn't watch CR either but it's professional show, I think they have writers so their characters are flashed out

[@rynowatcher]

@@realdragon meh? Not really. The character of Scanlin is the stereotypical bard; that player's first time playing so they went very stereotypical. The dm in that game made the bard's bastard daughter come back to get him to cool it because he was starting to make some of the viewers uncomfortable because he was a walking dick joke. 1st season theybalso kicked a friend who was "that guy," just like every group. They had to put cameras facing the dice tray. They are a home game with a budget and actors on staff, so they have a lot of the same problems as everyone.

[@coffeefox5703]

@@realdragon Uh, unlikely. The guys at Critical Role started all of this pretty small and were originally just playing D&D by themselves before deciding to film it all.

[@rynowatcher]

@@coffeefox5703 to be fair, they started with a bigger budget than most streamers have now because they all worked into entertainment and had a base quality in production just because they knew more about recording and monitization of performances. The early days of actual plays had most people sounding like they were in a wind tunnel and no video. Also helps that they are all above average levels of attractive, versus shows like Dan Harmon's attempt or Happy Jack's that had more average gamer looks, shall we say? It was also because they switched to d&d. They were doing pathfinder 1e at their home game and switched to 5e because WotC would support and promote them. Geek and Sundry (who originally produced CR) had other actual play shows, but this is the only one that stuck.

[@Floraclaw]

@@rynowatcher also if let's not forget the one thing that Matt says every week "A group of nerdy ass voice actors" also known as professionals actors, who know how to play characters. People who expect any random person to be like Matthew Mercer or any of the other people of critical role are completely insane.

[@quetzalcoatl974]

Its funny how players that watch critical role and only watch from the 2nd session and onwards, are the same people becoming "That guys"

[@luckyslob3359]

That Ace story really hurt to hear. As an Ace myself, it really stings to hear how Ace people struggle to have others understand their point of view and sometimes just shut up and let other people think or do whatever they like. It sucks. Asexuality. Is. Not. Consent. When someone says no, regardless of the situation, *It Means No.*

[@realrealwarpet]

My sorceress is known to be promiscuous, because she loves to flaunt her beauty, but if she says no, it means no. Trying to force her just means she’s going to kill you.

[@DaoYeLung]

Bur OP never mentioned they were Ace. In this instance both OP and DM are in the wrong, OP for not at the very least pulling the DM on the side and say thier character was asexual, and DM for pushing forward with something the player clearly wasn't comfortable with. Also for not being flexible enough to change the script on the fly when that plot line wasn't panning out.

[@RiveroftheWither]

@@DaoYeLung The dm pointedly ignore session 0 discussed limits and ignores the characters stats, abilities and rolls to railroad the scene. Thinking he would respect the characters sexuality is a bit naive don't you think? He already showed clear disrespect to both player and character, just because he didn't want to be flexible...

[@asioca1992]

@@DaoYeLung Even if OP wasn't asexual, that doesn't give the DM the right to effectively roofie their character for the sake of the railroad when they said that they weren't interested in screwing them. The moment they expressed misgivings is the moment the DM should've stopped and left it at that, especially when they expressed how much they didn't want elements like that during session 0.

[@RiversEagle_]

@@DaoYeLung Hi OP of that story here. Sorry you think I was in the wrong for not coming out of the closet to a person I barely knew. I, as many LGBTQ players before and after me, use DnD to come to terms with things we were figuring out. So I wasn't exactly comfortable fully labelling my character because to me that would be officially labelling myself. Shouldn't matter anyways since in the session 0 I said I didn't want to do anything sexual.

[@frog7226]

Best way to play a bard imo: make up silly rhymes. Make a list of attributes of the diffrent characters (name, good at, size, color, ect.) Then use rhymezone to find rhymeing words. Then either using ABAB, AAABBA, or AAAA or any other scheme come up with character specific or game specific rhyme. Players LOVE it. When you make a dumb 4 sentence line about the barbarian hitting things hard they really enjoy it.

[@abbygleeson420]

oh this is great, i'm keeping this in mind

[@DarthJudicar22]

The part of the first story I find really funny is that Critical Role actually invalidates her own argument. Yes, Scanlan is a horny Bard, but we’ve had several Bards since him that aren’t such as Dorian Storm.

[@hollowblaze2320]

That second to last story. Good on OP for ghosting DM. I get communications is the 1st step and all but if you have a player like that, especially if it's a stranger on the internet with similar interests. You really don't have an obligation to say "hey it's been fun but Ima bounce." Let them figure out the issue while u move on to better things.

[@awesome19ssbb]

for the second story i'm honestly surprise the dm didn't drop both of the player for emily shit. emily throwing a fit is bad but that fact she bought the dm work and kids in them isn't a pity party moves it a very dickish move. as for sarah if it was just the pity thing i agree but again emily brought dm life into basically doxxing him. regardless if she did have mental health she still need to take accountability for doing that.

[@Badbart1967]

This is for the last story, I think that the players dealt with the problem player the best way that was available. Everything they tried beforehand fell on deaf ears.

[@lamiahunter]

I would have been petty as hell on that facebook post “wow you’re showing a lot of bravery to just outright lie to everyone in public”

[@Psycopathicus]

Aggressively pushing forward a plot point despite character resistance is one thing - it's arguably kind of a dick move, and you shouldn't do it, but it's at least vaguely defensible in the name of keeping your plot going. But outright ignoring a character's roll that might derail that plot? DUDE. That is not cool. It's completely ignoring how the game works; you might as well just narrate what you want to have happen. 'OK, so you fight and my guy wins, then you go here and do this thing...' It's like thinking you can win a game of chess by saying 'your king dies' before anyone's moved a piece. It's completely indefensible.

[@dragonturtle2703]

That is textbook doxing: slandering a person, and all but asking people to use the personal information presented to target them, in an age where people totally will.

[@professorsponge1554]

I've played 2 bards that I really loved. 'Revered' Badab Cardock, a fraudster, liar and con artist who abused the Arcane Healer Archetype and various other spells to appear as a great priest. He had a collection of holy symbols and holy texts, and each town he'd pretend to be a different priest. The other was bard/monk gestalt Jangle Red Barn One Door Ox Lost, a clown who focused on mimicking, escape artistry, and acrobatics and was adept at grappling.

[@Keiji555]

Last Bard I played was a pathfinder Paladin/Bard multiclass Catfolk follower of Odin. He wasn't horny. He was a brooding, moping alcoholic that did a lot of singing. Most of the time he preferred not to sing, but had to overcome the death of his wife and children after a dark elf attack on his tribe while he was away. He upheld his duties to the utmost, but he wasn't a fun guy to be around. But everyone followed him because he was the smartest guy in the room, and was always responsible and never let his alcohol get in the way of politics. At the end, he finally made a final funeral pyre for the last of his family objects (Including a doll one of his children held dear) so he could get closure, and fought hard to defeat a Dark elf Death Knight, became an elven noble (Long story involving a newly disgraced elven knight, another PC, accidentally and incompetently handing my character the object representing her family nobility, and never bothering to ask him about it.) and started a knighthood. He never did sleep with anyone. Not even a glance at a female Catfolk. Just too broken for words. In the end, in the epilogue he did remarry later on, but through that game... Nope.

[@dragonturtle2703]

Ah, the Mercer effect. People who play previous editions/other RPGs hate the 5E crowd coming in and expecting/demanding it be like 5E, and even they hate the Mercer effect.

[@NopeNaw]

It's not that they're expecting it to be like 5E (most of the Mercer Effect stories tend to be about people playing 5E) it's that they're expecting it to be like Critical Role. In some cases even demanding it.

[@dragonturtle2703]

@@NopeNaw I meant more that there is a similar effect where people from 5E go to other systems/editions, are disappointed it isn’t like 5E, demand it change if they are a that guy, then leave (or kicked in the that guy case).

[@classicrockkid345]

I, kinda disagree on the Bard story. I really think OP should've let the other players know what he was doing with his bard. Plus, the DM made everyone in the party Fade to Black. So chances are he had story beets for everyone. Bard was just being really stubborn. Besides, being Ace doesn't necessarily mean you don't want companionship. DM coulda worked around that by saying the woman wasn't interested in him in that way and would've much rather a companion to sleep side by side with for the night

[@theflumpsydumpster7228]

Fuck yeah, DnD and kitties. Good way to start my Thursday, thanks Doge!

[@vodostar9134]

On that last one, I would have just left the game, but counterspelling the heals and administering the coup de grace was amusing.

[@talkingwithadam812]

I dont mind being railroaded for story reasons. If 'i got robbed' for story, fine, cool, lets go do the thing, i got ur back dm But railroading story thru sex... thats just uncomfy..

[@firstnamelastname7244]

Not just uncomfortable- pressuring someone into roleplaying a sexual encounter they didn't agree to is sexual harassment.

[@talkingwithadam812]

@@firstnamelastname7244 ur right, its not uncomfy, its sexual harassment

[@Lobsterwithinternet]

Disagree. If the DM wants to have a captive audience for their story, count me out.

[@talkingwithadam812]

@@Lobsterwithinternet in cos you have to go to the town. If u dont, theres no story. With ur mentality youd be out of 99% of offical modules. Which is understandable, since ur flat out refusing to play along because u 'dont wanna be a captive to the dm'

[@Michaeljack81sk]

First Story: OP Shouldn't feel bad, you can't fix stupid. Second Story: Pretty much everything Doge said Both: Honestly, I'm getting tired of Not blaming critical role for players like this but so many of them do seem to have it in common... Third Story: The unwanted sexual stuff is worse than the railroading...but only just Final Story: Very satisfying chaser to a bunch of awful horror stories!

[@rynowatcher]

Meh, I do not blame CR for this sort of thing. Making a bad character based on fiction was going on since the beginning. The edgy loner stereotype was cemented by Drizzt. The dumb barbarian was a Conan knock off. Everyone emulates fiction and if you have never done it before you do it badly.

[@Michaeljack81sk]

@@rynowatcher It's more the "Critical Role Does it This Way and so must you or you're a bad player/DM" attitude I'm talking about really

[@rynowatcher]

@@Michaeljack81sk I mean that used to be a thing with dm's at larger cons. "Garry Gigax did it this way, so..." Though you do run into it a bit more with mass media.

[@Michaeljack81sk]

@@rynowatcher That's exactly it though. Back in the days of Gygax you got maybe a few hardcore Nerds going "Acktually.." Critical Role has unintentionally amplified that several thousandfold to the point where its hard to get away from it

[@rynowatcher]

@@Michaeljack81sk I mean, I lived in the Midwest back in the TSR days; it was a bit more common there than any critical role stuff because your pool of players that had not directly interacted with TSR was really low (less players though). This is why they put a satirical "whatever the dm says" foreword in the ad&d dmg. All in all, I will say the biggest thing that changed was the expectation of production value. People want music, sound effects,and sculpted terrain now.

[@WTFisTingispingis]

Aaaaa Nipsey making biscuits is so cute.

[@theofficerfactory2625]

Hello Nipsy. The cat with a swanky voice. Story 1-2: A double header for the Matt Mercer effect. I wonder if they were the same self entitled spoiled brat player? Story 3: Aye. One of these types of DMs. Palm, meet forehead; forehead, meet palm. The poor horny bard stereotype makes playing bards a problem as that's how most people view bards. More treats for the hungry void. Story 4: A MC TG (main character that guy) is a potent combo. Thankfully the others caught onto the BS (should I have to say?) of Tod. Happy void cat.

[@ryanrizzo4869]

I really like that Nipsy really likes things.

[@ketrava0425]

Thank you OP for doing your best to save us from another generation of obscenely horny bards. The character trope is funny but good Lord is it done to death

[@Oogieeiko]

I would love to be put in a situation for the second to last story so that I can spend the entire session contradicting everything the DM tries to do to get my character sexually assaulted. Like I would go so far as to before every time they try to make it fade to Black saying that my character is a eunuch, that my character is incapable of physical relationships because they trigger trauma, ect

[@leovicctanteo4537]

How is Doge becoming the best D&D horror story channel right now xD Luv u Doge!

[@DnDDoge]

Thanks! This comment actualy helped a bad day be less bad.

[@pralinepecans1087]

critical role is to D&D that porn is to sex.

[@DnDDoge]

This is a great saying, and I'm stealing it.

[@jaysonklein6018]

6:47 ... ok, I loled

[@pLanetstarBerry]

Ooof. I feel bad for the OP with the half elf ace bard. That sounded like a great character concept! I played a bard in one campaign and thankfully my DM understood that I didn't want to play the stereotype. Granted, he did have moments where NPCs would flirt with my bard but A) it was something I was comfortable with my character dealing with, and B) said NPCs respected his no. Everyone else just thought it was hilarious whenever NPCs took some time to shoot their shot with the bard, they knew he was gonna politely turn them down. Reverse Uno humor and all that. As a DM, I'm mad OP's DM was so stubborn over the honeypot situation to the point of SAing a PC over it. Like, it could've been more interesting if she (the honeypot) changed her strategy, switched the gears to less sexual entertainment like a drinking contest or gambling. Or hell, even spun a story like "hey, I know you said no but could you please pretend to change your mind? I'm having an off day and I dont want to service any customers today. We don't have to do anything." Chances are he'd sympathize with that and let her stay with him. There, problem solved! DM get his precious subplot going and no one gets assaulted over it. There could be banter- maybe they have some things in common, like a sheltered background, she plays an instrument to, or she's ace as well. I dunno, all of that just sounds way more interesting than whatever tf Jared thought he was gonna accomplish doing *that*.

[@JacobL228]

Don't let Lucky get chonky from too many squeezy treats, okay Doge?

[@GuiPaim]

Thet final story was awesome. The DM should really thank those players.

[@REfan2002]

Perfect video to start my work day.

[@monikasernek1177]

Ok what the heck is with critical role and people literally trying replaying it without changing some parts? Even people who make fanfic try to make something different - even if it just inserting a mary-sue self-insert - it's something.

[@akmi1931]

Last story, they did the best option they had available since they tried everything else. The game was over at that point no matter what they did so going out with a bang is all they could do

[@thekaiser3815]

These players sounds like they lack imagination if all they can do is copy someone else's game.

[@SnaxTheSnaxolotl]

I like that bed too Nipsy! I did like subscribe and ring the bell, I also set it to all notifications instead of custom!

[@Jaeger_Bishop]

I think my computer has a twisted sense of humor. Just as the "DM Forces Romance" story came on, "99 Problems (But a bitch ain't one)" started playing. Seriously though I would have told the DM to knock it off or I walk, no one takes player agency away from me.

[@vortega472]

Ah sweet wittle Nipsy, don't ever change. Then we get a couple of disturbing tales, then LUCKY!!! And then finally we get more cringe... Soft confession, Doge, you're a good narrator and I love your delivery, and if you didn't have the hat or the brood I would still listen. But...I love me some Lucky, he really does deserve the treat!!! What are they? I feel I'm not giving my family their just desert.

[@deepseastonecore3017]

Thanks 4 all the hard work.

[@fylimar]

Bard is my favorite class in DnD, so I play them often (atm a halfelf lore bard, who will multiclass into an archfey warlock), but I never played the horny bard trope. I actually don't know any player, who does that. We had a horny assassin once in the group, but never a bard. I think, it's a stupid trope. And about Sarah: What a sorry excuse for a human being. Using her anxiety as an excuse to be shitty to everyone. I have anxiety and can behave just fine. And then giving private information about the DM and his family out on facebook - I probably would have tried to sue her for that.

[@jakeand9020]

Advice for new DMs, hard refuse any homebrew character content. Even more experienced DMs should only allow pre-approved character changes. Not allowance at character creation, only homebrew content from before character creation begins. Only DMs who know all the players and has played with them all, preferably as a group, should allow custom homebrew content during character creation.

[@Thedragonlover95]

I can see Xenoblade's making quite the appearance in others videos, and i'm all here for it

[@eloidasarmi6815]

About echo Knight. Insane homebrew is not enough for him, he is cheating. You can't use healing word twice a turn even with action surge, because it's a bonus action spell.

[@halodude7167]

Wonder if the person in the first story finished campaign 1? In the latter half of the campaign, Scanlan stops sleeping around and tries to be a proper parent to the daughter he didn't know he had due to the aforementioned one night stands. Bards don't have to be horny, they can be whatever you think up.

[@marybdrake1472]

When all else fails, deploy the cats. XD ❤ Luna, lawful stupid paladins, muderhobo rogues, and the Matt Mercer effect. D&D is kind of a mess these days. More so than it had been. And, that "It's what our characters would do" was used for the purpose of good. I approve. 👏

[@Renkencen]

I only know CR via the animated shows and I couldn't get into the dnd live stream itself after watching the cartoon. Even then I got an general idea what my Bard character will be if I ever get to played another DND oneshot which I REFUSE to be change into the cliche Bard without good reason. Just that my Bard character idea isn't the typical flirty and bang anyone on sight!

[@thekaiser3815]

I think Emely is bad as well, she chose to let this happen.

[@WolfHreda]

It's true, Critters are both some of the best and worst things in this community.

[@michelcosta76]

It's indeed a comfy bed catto

[@UltimatTacoman]

For that first story, the rude player is going to crash and burn. The least creative person I've ever seen, and they're seriously trying to emulate a rather creative character/player.

[@johngleeman8347]

I like to think that nine times out of ten, "that guy" tales actually end with the table collectively standing up, giving the c!@# the finger, and leaving. The hijinks are just a creative way to provide an audience with the musings of the author about how the obnoxious player could have been dealt with in-game.

[@danielramsey6141]

The Doge has a lot of Cute Cats :)

[@alexgreen2850]

I would lay my life down for Nipsy

[@41dn]

The more I hear about stories like these the less interested I am in critical role

[@shadiafifi54]

Don't blame CR. I've never watched CR either, but it's the issue of imitators and rabid fans who insist on following it to the letter.

[@41dn]

@@shadiafifi54 I'm sure it's actually good, it's just the more I hear about if a thing is the best out there over and over it gets absolutely tiring. Like, I'm sure your friend recommended you watch that thing one time and you still never really got to it, that kind of thing

[@Lersa25]

A lot of people eat bread and also are not good people. It's a correlation, not a consequence.

[@chickenknights8863]

Sorry, I was distracted wanting to know if Noah heard Lanz wants something meatier. Also why would you want to play a bard as Scanlan when you could play as the minstrel following around Brave Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot in Holy Grail? All your bardic inspiration is built around how maimed the party members will get if they fail their rolls.

[@michaelcohen8259]

Nipsey is quite articulate. 😄

[@AmbersKnight]

As I don't run D&D (I run other RPGs but not D&D) I do get a little frustrated by the "it isn;t like Critical Role so I wont play it" mentality that has infested the hobby. However, it has gone beyond players wanting to play characters or assume the game will be just like Critical Role, to the point where people won't play anything other than D&D even when there are equally good fantasy RPGs out there (let alone games from other genres). D&D is clearly the most well known RPG out there, but it has become a monster now where other RPGs are simply not getting much of a look in at all in the minds of new players.

[@Floraclaw]

I appreciate any DM (including the one I'm playing with) that will straight up will say "If you expect this to be critical role, don't" Set realistic expectations for the players and the DM. Not everyone is an professional voice actor and story writer.

[@AmbersKnight]

@@Floraclaw Exactly. I feel CR has given an unrealistic expectation of what RPGs are.

[@NopeNaw]

Infested is definitely the appropriate word to describe it. D&D's size in comparison with other games and overshadowing them was already an issue before, 5E and Critical Role just made it exponentially worse.

[@mayalewis2956]

Honestly, I feel bad for the crit role cast because of the amount of people who pin the blame on them over other dnd players behaviour .like those players choose to behave that way

[@soultpp]

These people with their obsession that all bards follow the meme'd stereotype are worse that old men that use the exact same dumb jokes 5000x per day which no one ever laughs at. I won't deny that I've found a few of the bard memes funny outside of games, but a meme and an actual campaign & character are two very different things and these people really need to take the gum out of their brains and try to understand that. I'm beginning to think that this kind of attitude has high similarity to racism. "X class only can be this" sounds to me very like someone saying, "X race can only be this." Perhaps that is a bit extreme, but it is a parallel that I find unsettling at least. Also, minor request: Cat bios! One for each kitty, with name, a short title, and any other amusing facts! (Bonus points for full character sheets!) Couple obvious starting points> Lucky, Like and Comment Kitty... Nipsy, "He Really Likes Stuff"... Could make a cute short with maybe 10s per kitty. ☺ Not necessary but I'd love to see them! Keep up the great work Doge!

[@vidmanandrew09]

It’s fine to take inspiration from CritRoll. But to disregard any advice? Jeez…

[@DnDDoge]

Not only that, but to tell OP that she wasted her time was a bad look for her personality

[@lalunafate]

Did you stop listing the game footage in the background or am I just blind?

[@DnDDoge]

It should be there at the beginning of the first story

[@lalunafate]

@@DnDDoge Ah I see, I mostly just listen while working and glance over when I can, I was checking the description for it. Thanks! Game looks good :)

[@ssskoh4440]

Why must they tie regular D&D's with Critical Roles? Your DM is not Matt Mercer, and you're not any of the cast in Critical role, stop comparing your game with the show you are watching FFS

[@napkinpope5352]

Personally, in the DM forces romance story, OP sounds more like the ass to me. OP didn’t ever tell the DM that the character was asexual, which means that all of OP’s responses would have just seemed like a player being a rules lawyer to the DM. Also, OP states that the DM broke what was agreed upon in session 0, but never actually says what that was. My guess is that no assault and fade to black were probably agreed to considering how the DM handled the brothel interactions with the other players. The DM probably would have never planned the brothel route to get to OPs character if they had actually known OP’s character was asexual. It’s ok to explore personal things in a character, but OP should have been forthright at least about their character (no need to say that they themselves were personally exploring it), so everyone could play honestly, instead of deciding to use the game that belongs to all the players as their personal therapy.

[@Isaygoodday5]

As soon as they describe their character as a "soft asexual", you know you can't take what they have to say at face value

[@Isaygoodday5]

Easily the last person from these stories I'd want to play with is the "soft asexual" Using that term, multiple times no less, is one of the most chronically online things I've heard

[@tirzahroseroot]

Doge plays Xenoblade 3! LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@solarchos4352]

MOAR TREETS!!!

[@NopeNaw]

The amount of stories with Critical Role fangirls like these has made me 1. adamant about not ever watching it and 2. consider a mention of Critical Role as a big red flag. Oh yeah, sure, you've watched a show with people playing D&D but we who've actually played the game since 3.5 or longer know less about it than you. It's also these people that complain about gatekeeping. Yeah, you're freaking right I'm gonna gatekeep you walking Dunning-Kruger billboards off my table! Can I also state that I absolutely *loathe* this braindead himbo caricature of the bard class? Bard is my favourite class, and all of the bards I've played have been wildly different and... wait for it... none of them were incurable horndogs!

[@rustyshackleford1910]

Yesss, moar skweezee treatz

[@thedungeondelver]

Critical Role is one of the worst things to happen to D&D since Lorraine Williams.

[@Ironbattlemace]

I got so bad taste in my mouth from critical role stans. I've seen a lot of women that seem have this super toxic mindset about it, platantly copying characters and putting other people down, trying to create their own CR episode.

[@novadrake9232]

Cute kitty 😺

[@GeorgeSu15]

Never played DnD, never watched Critical Role. It's interesting but every time I hear the 2 words "Critical Role" in the stories is nothing but toxic people yelling at vulnerable people, or rather just dropping everything to go watch it. Just sounds like to me Critical Role brings out the asshole in people

[@Lersa25]

No, it's totally possible to be an asshole without watching CR. Just, if you're an asshole and you've also watched CR, now you can use them for being an asshole. Just like people use their mental issues, kinks, manipulating skills, etc. Everything goes as an excuse to yell and bitch.

[@Lersa25]

What I don't understand about the "Mercer effect". It's how DMs always say "I'm not Mercer, he has a lot of money and help, I can't run my games as good as he does". Well, it's probably fair to some point. Also, it's perfectly fine if you just like another style of playing. But people don't watch CR because of sound effects and nice background. First campaign, they had terrible sound and camera. They didn't have a great table etiquette, either. But they learned and did their best to improve everything. For years. And for all those years, people were watching and telling their friends to watch, because the game was good. Mercer was a great DM before he had money and pretty lights and co-writers. He gives his players agency and consequences, he has NPCs cool enough to make shopping another adventure, he makes combats more than beating 15 similar wolves with sticks on a perfectly flat ground. And every time I heard a DM (in my games) whining it's unfair to expect them to be like Mercer, their campaign was just a dull neverending narrative without any chance for us to act, or a world full of NPCs hostile for no reason, except for the wonderful DMPC... you get the point. And I'm preparing my first campaign now, and I can bet my life I won't be anything close to Mercer's DMing level, ever. I know I lack certain abilities. But those boring battles and faceless NPCs and world without logic? I know I can do better than my old DMs. If I don't whine how it's unfair of my players to expect me f***ing CARE and TRY.

[@SnaxTheSnaxolotl]

It’s time!!!

[@zelpar]

Critical Role is a boon and a curse

[@NPC-xd6on]

why would anybody explore sexual ideas in dnd? honestly - i dont want to be part of your "exploration" and i am here for good ol fantasy - even when i dm "these people" always have to bring up sex...why?!

[@RiversEagle_]

If you're complaining that much about someone exploring their non-straight sexuality in a overtly non-sexual manner then sounds like you're more bothered by the fact they're not straight. The fact you're referring to them as "these people" doesn't help things.

[@NPC-xd6on]

@@RiversEagle_ nah ur shitty argument does not aplly here because i never mentioned what exactly they are doing. anyway without consent of the other players and the dm you should at least ask the group right before making it about yourself, weird and cringy for others. And they do this in a sexual manner - did u even read my comment or you always jump to "ooga booga diskirmiantion" thing?

[@rynowatcher]

Third story with the half elf: kinda on the fence on that one. The asexual half elf with awareness seems like the op is metagaming a bit, but concent was definitely violated. That does not seem to be why op left as they are listing feats and spell effects; they seemed more upset they were robbed than the magical sexual assault. Generally, the idiot noble character seemed to be a little too hesitant to entertain a new friend; even if he had no physical interest he could drink, play games, play cards, go for a walk, dance, or talk to them and going off alone is not that beyond the pale for an actual party situation. Asexual people like having good conversations with interesting, beautiful people. Turning the girl down implies a sense of being more world weary than a character interested in the athletics of pole dancing should be, and there should have been an out of character discussion on how that interaction should be handled. I am not against a dm using a magic that paralyzes, pertifies, or forces an elf into revary as a way to feed a plot hook. I do not really consider that cheating as it is more of a "cut scene" to the game. It is railroading, but not the worst. It would not raise any eye brows if the character woke up with a hangover, I think. The dm doubling down on the sexual nature of the interaction is not great... Awareness gives you a plus 5 passive perception, this means the creature roles against a higher DC but them sneaking up is very possible. The phrasing confuses people because they are immune to the surprised condition and a lot of people think that means they cannot be taken off guard, but that is not really how it is supposed to work. I would say that the party foul here is the dm violating concent, especially after a session 0 discussion. I am not sure if op made it clear that it was a line and not a veil (lines are absolutely no x, veil is no y on screen, ie if you are OK with sexual content but just want a fade to black). Session 0's do not do a good job of defining boundaries a lot of tines because Grey areas always pop up and misunderstandings happen.

[@RiversEagle_]

So I'm the OP of that story and I just have to tell you that you're completely off base. Me getting robbed wasn't what upset me. What upset me was a) getting fucking raped and b) the DM adamantly ignoring several game mechanics so that he could force a railroaded segment. If I didn't speak up he was planning on ignoring major racial abilities I had. It's not metagaming to argue that as a jumpy person with a high passive perception that I would be more likely to notice someone breaking into my room. I listed the abilities and backstory to show the effort I put in my character to show just how disrespectful it was for the DM to completely ignore it. It's not "Awareness", it's the Alert feat. And " they cannot be taken off guard, but that is not really how it is supposed to work. " is just patently incorrect. From the PHB on Alert "You can’t be surprised while you are conscious". It's literally plain as day, as long as my character was awake he could not be surprised. When the DM's attempted surprise didn't work he tried to put me to sleep magically which also doesn't work cause of my racial ability. My character wasn't an idiot noble, he was sheltered, big difference. And I dunno about you, but I'm not gonna be particularly interested in entertaining "a new friend" since they weren't a new friend. They were a random stranger thrust at them to fuck, something they weren't interested in doing at all. Why would he want to spend time with someone trying to fuck him when he has absolutely no desire to do so? Please do not try to lecture me on how I ought to act with my own sexuality.

[@Lersa25]

But the player didn't know she was to rob until it happened. How can you metagame about something you don't know about?

[@witchhillgames6194]

This is why I can't stand critical role. It gives people a bad idea of what D&D is. The show is good and well done, but the fandom gets toxic as shit really fast.

[@grayrook2406]

D&D is not the place to explore "sexuality" still scummy.

[@RiversEagle_]

I personally really disagree with this. Roleplaying games are an amazing safe judgment free way to explore how it feels to live life as a specific identity or way of living. Many of my LGBTQ friends have said things like "I dated women in DnD way before dating women IRL (this context my friend is a lesbian). In my experience, and I'm not accusing you of this, the only people who have an issue with people exploring and roleplaying LGBTQ identities and themes are queerphobic bigots.

[@NopeNaw]

@@RiversEagle_ "judgment free" "queerphobic bigots" Maybe practice what you preach.

[@Isaygoodday5]

​@@RiversEagle_you can't just expect other people to be your safe space when they haven't given their consent to do so. Also you're sounding like the kind of "bigots" you're complaining about

[@RiversEagle_]

@@Isaygoodday5 Lmao the typical insipid “ackshually you not accepting my intolerance makes you the bigot”. Fuck off 😂

[@Beargrin89]

I loathe the "horny bard." Great, you picked the class that arguably takes the most creativity, and you went with the least creative option.

[@MenxiGoblinQueen]

Critical Role really was nothing but poison for the TTRPG hobby...

[@thekaiser3815]

Yes and no, yes it has created a mistaken conception of the hobby. And the no. It was spread the hobby to a whole new generation of players bringing in new blood and ideas. Good and bad it has done more good then Ill I think 😌

[@shadiafifi54]

@@thekaiser3815 I second this. It brought many to the hobby, and opened many to the game and its possibilities, but too many people obsess over something and ruin it for others. Or we could just be hearing about the fringe cases, since those are the ones that cause all the controversy.

[@thekaiser3815]

@@shadiafifi54 indeed, and there is a lot to be luerned from Critical roll, player etiquette little tricks for for both the DM and players to be inspired by. At the end of the day it is more entertainment then a how to play.

[@morganmcinroy4211]

Anything popular has bad fans, and CR has called these people out to stop doing this stuff.

[@Lersa25]

Stupid and problematic people don't need to watch a specific show to learn to be stupid and problematic. Without CR, they would still make horny bards and edgy rogues and main characters telling everyone how to play.

[@siobhanroberts2329]

I meant to press like and I pressed dislike by mistake and then youtube said they send that to the creator which is like my nightmare come to life but that's why you got a dislike today. Ham thumbs.

[@thephantomwolf1002]

First? First

[@Thanatos--]

3rd Story: Don't explore your undefined sexuality and not let it be known as far as the character you are playing. That was a shit show ready to happen.

[@RiversEagle_]

No.

[@Lersa25]

No. You don't have to explain why you don't want to have sex. You say no, and it must be enough. They said no such shit in session 0, they didn't have to give reasons.

[@Isaygoodday5]

Exactly, and activity that you do with other people is not the place to explore your sexuality without their knowledge

[@zanzazaar]

1. Hate critical role. Nothing make more harm for dnd than them. 2 how many paople is playing this one bard?

[@realrealwarpet]

Ah being sexually assaulted as an asexual character. My druid doesn’t consent to this! Though, my druid isnt aromantic, or sex repulsed. Just not a need or a want for him. If a woman, or man, comes on to him like that, he’s going to be very uncomfortable. As an added fun fact, he’s well endowed. Because that just makes him being ace funnier to me.

[@Serbinderbintine]

Critical role is truly a plague on dnd.

[@MarquisLeary34]

Critical Role. Almost on a daily basis on these channels do I see just how much damage it's doing to this hobby.

[@kevinkrueger7479]

I know it's pedantic but the term you're looking for in "GM Forces Romance" is "Honey Trap," not "Honey Pot."