Is Critical Role Scripted?

[@mecha-kicksmetro7655]

"Critical Role is scripted!!!!" Meanwhile, Taliesin: Life needs things to live

[@SpookeeOne]

Also Tal: "Help. It's again."

[@MarceldeJong]

They never said that the scripts are clever. 😂 (no I don't actually believe this)

[@keaton_james]

lmaooo

[@Duriel123]

Also tal: your soul is forfeit. Cool line, but that couldnt be scripted

[@andrewhinson4323]

May it live for ever!

[@kevinfelton689]

To DMs who don't prep, Matt's preparation might look like a script.

[@Andrewza1]

You telling me matt does not page through the monster manual 1 hour before session to find the monster the party will fight today.

[@jeroen92]

@@Andrewza1 No, he spends the entire morning making maps.

[@johnw1665]

@@jeroen92 that was a joke boy ya missed it. Flew right over ya. Ya gotta stay on ya toes boy ya toes i say

[@r.johnson4683]

How is Mercer being prepared somehow a bad thing? All of his best friends, including his wife, are some of the most talented voice actors in the Industry. We watch it because it's fun and funny.

[@kevinfelton689]

@@r.johnson4683 I don't know. Despite all that you've said trolls will still claim that it's scripted to the point where it's kind of a running joke on the show.

[@Teraclon]

Remember in the Whitestone Arc? Matt had literally prepared maps for EVERY building in whitestone becuase, and I qoute: "I had no idea where you guys would be going, so I prepared maps for everything". Why would he do that if they were supposed to go through a linear story that was already prepared?

[@joshuareynolds23]

Because it makes a pretty awesome image for a centerpiece of the table. I don't think anyone would argue that the dice always happen to fail or, succeed in the most dramatic way for the moment.

[@jamesmartin8005]

@@joshuareynolds23 Ive been playing D&D for 34 years, and that actually happens in DnD though, like..a lot. It's a bit eerie really, but the Dice gods choose how things will turn out and will surprise you.

[@MHMega]

Joshua Reynolds you only notice when they fail or succeed dramatically because those instances are memorable. The amount of times it falls the other way is most likely well within the bounds of how dice would statistically land dramatically over thousands of dramatic rolls.

[@Maxnowell]

have you played a tabletop rpg that was not heavily railroaded before? a good dungeon master will have extra maps and shit for buildings, dungeons, or random bits of land on standby. because they know that players aren't a viewer of a pre written story. but characters in one unfolding before the characters eyes.

[@earlwyss520]

@@Maxnowell It was once said, "No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy", and while it's true of military operations, it is also true of any TTRPG, where the DM may have a course of action that he wants the players to follow, but the players decide to do something completely different, and may even bypass the BBEG entirely. A good DM plans on getting his plans upset by chaotic players, because otherwise it would be absolute chaos. BTW I just love ruining the DMs plans, it's my favorite thing about D&D. CHAOS!!!!

[@tomjordan1170]

You only have to watch them spend a full session going in circles planning for a battle, only for it to fall apart with a single round, to realise it isn't scripted

[@wernercd]

But... if that's what the script calls for? checkmate.

[@noturmum7967]

​@@wernercdliberals real quiet after this comment...

[@JuanAntonioGarciaHeredia]

​@@noturmum7967Good attempt at humor.

[@evarchavex4800]

@@noturmum7967 Leave it to a conservative dumb ass to try and sound smart, only to say something completely nonsensical that in no way fits into what was said.

[@willeh1947]

Yes, they play off a script perfectly for 4 hours straight. Meanwhile Sam and Laura (Mostly Laura) having to read and stumble through their 5 min ad script.

[@goblinphreak2132]

that didn't say the whole episode is scripted, only that the goal is scripted. they have a set goal and can get there anyway they want. but its okay, movies are scripted. tv shows are scripted. if you been watching CR since the early days, you can tell the show has changed from free flow to scripted. the feel is completely different. but most people have poor memory.

[@collabgamescat8309]

@@goblinphreak2132 Aren't all D&D games scripted in some form, thus ruining the idea of it being a "Critical Role is scripted via plot points" being some revelation type of argument? I mean, there are story beats that certain people know that the others don't and such. This isn't to mention that the story beats aren't always hit as they all tend to play their own way which may mean there's no battle (like shortcuts kinda) or that there's a sudden risk they had no clue about, even secret encounters. It's just an overall strange argument either way you slice it.

[@goblinphreak2132]

@@collabgamescat8309 so you admit that they are scripted. but then still try to fight against the fact that its scripted? lmao man the loops people jump through to be "right" is astounding. its scripted. and that's okay. movies and tv shows are scripted too. it is possible to play a D&D game that isn't scripted, the DM making shit up on the spot like the players. most dont play that way though. they want scripted. because scripted is structure.

[@collabgamescat8309]

@@goblinphreak2132 I didn't say anything like that??? Did... Did you even read my points???

[@collabgamescat8309]

@@goblinphreak2132 What I'm saying is "OMG CR IS SCRIPTING THE STORY BEATS" isn't a revelation because *most* D&D games are played this way. Many who are saying it's scripted seem to ignore parts that may circumvent parts of said script or avoid parts of it entirely which can be hard to deal with when being recorded live. To act as if CR knowing even a bit of the story points (like needing to slay a beast or take out an evil group) is something they can use to say OMG to is pretty odd in my opinion *because* of the scripting you yourself say many D&D campaigns have due to the want for structure.

[@corvidkusnos]

People forget that the cast are professional actors who are pretty solid at improv, but even then it's very clearly not scripted

[@SupergeekMike]

Exactly :)

[@Neutral_Tired]

I think they remember the professional actors bit and forget the improv bit. Fairly often i see people say "They're profesisonal actors, of course you can't really tell it's scripted"

[@kitjohnson2767]

There is a difference between scripted comedy and improv comedy. Even the "best" clips I've seen of it (Grog gets Craven Edge) seems far more like Improv than scripted.

[@nbest]

@@kitjohnson2767 Grog "What the shit" is by far one of my favorite clips

[@sakurapablo671]

Which is true. If you notice that half the time, they will have something, beside their tablet’s, that there is something that they need to work off on. Since they will get together the following day or off a text, that they will say “how does this goes within the scenes” or “where are we continuing off that will follow for the next story.” That’s what I’m getting. Since, sometimes they have certain idea on a list.

[@after_alec]

All you need to show people is the time Matt developed a whole mechanic for ship combat, complete with roles, modifiers, etc - probably took him hours - and Taliesin (as Caduceus) bypasses the ENTIRE THING with Control Water and a good roll. It was amazing

[@kylecharneski3318]

I remember this episode as I was planning a seafaring campaign looking for different rules, got super excited the episode was leaning towards a fight so I could see what Matt came up with and then Caduceus ruined it all.

[@Lucarioguild7]

@@chrisstoltz3648 Pretty sure thats why he had him roll for it because he's not the kind of DM who usually downright shoots down an idea even if it ruins his plans

[@goblinphreak2132]

so you admit its scripted and planned. dice rolls can change a story if you aren't ready for it. as you said, matt wasn't ready. therefore its scripted. not ever detail of every moment. but enough.

[@coledibiase5971]

@@goblinphreak2132 You obviously don't know how D&D works.

[@goblinphreak2132]

@@coledibiase5971 "you obviously don't know that dnd is heavily scripted with rules and story lines but im going to keep arguging that its never scripted because im an idiot" that's you... lmao

[@lwriker1304]

I've watch Matt show us a map he intended to use for combat, but the crew negotiated out of combat. And another where a boss was dominated that led to a 30 minute episode instead of a 2 hour one-hit. Sure, they discuss some elements in story continuation, but they are really playing D&D.

[@SupergeekMike]

Exactly this.

[@queenannsrevenge100]

I’ve seen the “scripted” comment for YEARS. Anyone who’s played the game long enough knows it’s bunk. I’ve had EXACTLY the same kinds of situations they’ve had - not with a bunch or professional actors and improv-proficient players, but I’ve seen plenty of the things where the dice fall into place at the right moment, or go horribly wrong, or players that have great role play moments with one another. The rest that they do, in terms of story beats that Matt has - ALL DMS do. It’s called, having a story matrix so that you’re prepared for whatever crazy stupid stuff that players do.

[@spudsdj8384]

@@queenannsrevenge100 as a forever DM I agree I know my players will make my jaw hit the floor but once I get it up again I have to change everything in a matter of moments.

[@Tirath]

I still wonder what the goblin hiding in the well might have told them if they hadn't decided to fireball him before he could even show himself (CR2). The man ripped up a character sheet on the spot. You don't make up a full character sheet for a one off NPC 😅.

[@Irrevenant_]

I've seen every episode and one-shot and I don't think there has ever been a 30 minute episode. I do agree that they are playing real d&d though.

[@kikimmicoa]

Matt's face during shopping episodes; that's all the proof I need that it's organically pulled together.

[@Shadowmib]

Yeah if it was scripted, shopping sessions wouldn't be a thing

[@kevinfelton689]

Travis up bidding himself while Laura is losing her shit in campaign 1 is not something I think anybody scripted.

[@TheDangerNoodle]

"Critical Role is scripted" Critical Role: - "Help, its again." - "Life..needs *things* to live" - "I know three ways, that is not how you accomplish them." - Matt literally walking off set out of insanity whenever Travis says Chetney's tattoo means "Recognize The Alpha" - “We’re basically gods!” - “We’re running. Its bad.” - Every-time Travis tried to persuasion check Lucien in the bods fights (fruit salad, anyone?)

[@Juniper_Rose]

"We're basically Gods!" - a scripted line, apparently (that serves no purpose beyond making Keyleth AND Marisha look foolish because Marisha misjudged her landing trajectory, after who knows how long of getting flak from fans for literally everything she did)

[@alexhuettl1716]

@@Juniper_Rose I would like to submit ANY time Laura used sending with Jester as proof it's not scripted

[@mattpace1026]

You do realize it is entirely possible to script moments of stupidity, right? Watch any decent spoof movie, and that will be a lot clearer.

[@TheDangerNoodle]

@@mattpace1026 its not just stupid moments, it would just be terrible fucking writing lmao. Evem stupid moments are valid examples of why Critical Role very obviously isnt scripted - Keyleth’s “were basically gods” moment did nothing but get Marisha a bunch of hate online, more than she was already undeservingly getting from various other poor decisions. Why would they write something so idiotic for the cast member who already was getting more online hate than *anyone* else on Critical Role (at the time).

[@mattpace1026]

@@TheDangerNoodle Who says they aren't shitty writers? Also, way to completely ignore my point and try to change the subject. Makes you look real intelligent, bud.

[@michaelcox9855]

As someone who spent years playing with a game master of Matt's calibre (may he rest in peace) I can say this is exactly how a game goes. It is why I am a fan of the show. It brings back memories of the days when my DM and best friend was still alive.

[@roxanneurwin2610]

🖤🖤🖤🖤

[@Samurai_Stoner]

Sorry for your loss

[@michaelcox9855]

@@Samurai_Stoner Thanks, but he died a few years ago now. Still nice to have those memories brought back though. Especially since I haven't really had anyone to play with since then.

[@stagthechainsawbeserker3926]

@@michaelcox9855 I still see the shadows in my room......... SADGE

[@michaelcox9855]

@@stagthechainsawbeserker3926 No, we played in his room and at his house. Did occasionally see shadows move, but as someone who has seen a full body apparition, that's not that freaky.

[@piperbird7193]

I remember seeing somewhere (maybe Talks?) where someone said that before a show, Matt would come in very happily, with a map under a sheet, and after the show he would sadly leave with the same map still covered, because the gang just didn't make it there. If they were hitting scripted plot points, I highly doubt the poor man would be spending the time and energy to design, build, and transport maps that wouldn't be used that night.

[@SupergeekMike]

Exactly!

[@HLR4th]

Such a good description of most DM’s pre and post session experience!

[@romxxii]

must be worse now that he maps out in dwarven forge. He'll have to build them out in his secret map-building room, away from the other players' eyes, and then when he gets to the point where he'd be able to reveal the map, players go, "nope, let's go here instead." I think that recently happened in C3: Matt had to lead them with NPCs to the next combat encounter because the players already wanted to leave the city and do a heist mission. TBF I think Matt also scripted a section there, where he did a one-man act about former gay lovers going into therapy. I think that was done exclusively for Sam's benefit, who was playing a therapy bot.

[@Leukodin]

That whole Naval Combat encounter he had planned out, which he had to scrap because the gang got clever. And the dramatic tearing of the character sheet of the little thing in the pit that got incinerated by an over-cautious Caleb. I think Matt was also pointing the gang towards Caduceus for two episodes too.

[@hamsterfromabove8905]

I'm currently watching campaign 2 for the first time (over the course of taking a several months to catch up). Recently in my watching there was a moment where they decided to teleport to the white dragon's mountain instead of buying goats. You can see a poorly hidden moment of disappointment in Matt's eyes when he realized his planning for a two week plus goat ride was wasted. He even said something like, "after the show's over I want to show you guys the map because I was really fucking proud of it. I want you guys to see it even if we aren't going to play with it". Or like when Matt spent hours researching ship combat and after drawing from every source he could find on advice building his own personal ship combat system for critical role. And then Fjord used control water to sink the enemy ship in the first round of combat. Matt does a good job of allowing player agency, but there are occasionally moments where you can see him being disappointed because he was really proud of a piece of prep work that he realizes he'll never get to use. Those little moments wouldn't happen with a scripted show. If it was scripted Matt would only ever prepare exactly what was going to be needed.

[@seanofl]

I write out monologues so the NPC sounds way cooler than I can off the cuff. The GM usually has an outline of what they think will happen but then the session happens and the player characters send it sideways. That's just how it goes. Remember Liam make Matt create bookshops in detail just becuase?

[@SupergeekMike]

Haha not just any bookshops… specifically smutty bookshops.

[@seanofl]

@@SupergeekMike Tusk Love!

[@pazz]

Even players do this to an extent. I don't write it down or anything, but I do think out potential moments and what my character would say. Like, our party was working to save a town from a tyrannical ruler, so as the charisma character, I thought about what I would say to the masses in the event we toppled their Baron. Or like, dorky one liners to say after defeating an enemy we've been hunting down. I think there's a good chance Taliesin had thought out his Percy one liners ahead of time, maybe even Caduceus' monologue to Trent Ikithon.

[@SupergeekMike]

​@@pazzI honestly wish I communicated more with my players about where they'd like their characters to go/what they'd like to see - I'm just starting to do that with one of my groups and I'm planning to do it with the others as well.

[@simonwatkins3236]

Its his lack of need to to do that for characters that is one of Matts skills. Actors know how to Improv. Where i do notice him doing that and doing it well is in his flavour text. He can and does make it far more listionable than a some who is not an actor could manage from a cold reading.

[@weeklyhan8506]

Your guest star point hits harder when you realize that Taliesin sit out a complete episode, 5 hours, with a character ready, because their character was supposed to be at certain place, and the party went somewhere else instead...

[@JazzRadioFfm]

happened to our group a while ago. player died in a dungeon. next session there were noises in a certain room. we decided to not go in :D

[@frostreaper1607]

​@@JazzRadioFfmcan't the DM change a few things around? That sounds awful for the person waiting. If I were the DM I'd fix that crap when things go off rails.

[@monkeyman3194]

@@frostreaper1607rails need not exist unless apart of a railroad

[@THEPELADOMASTER]

@@monkeyman3194 rails aren't a bad. If a new character has to be introduced, the universe will bend so the party encounters them. Why would you keep a player from actually playing the game for several hours just because the party didn't trigger the right cutscene? Move the room. Move the character. Don't have players just doing nothing for 4 hours.

[@mr.crispyfriedchicken3946]

​@THEPELADOMASTER forget quantum ogres, we have quantum PCs!

[@thegeek0017]

Guys… I think that the campaigns might be planned in advance by Matt… he’s been pulling the strings the whole time and we never noticed. Also, I have a hunch that they are all actually actors

[@togaprentice9927]

I want to be sarcastic, but I don’t know if this is a serious comment or not.

[@benchristopher392]

​@@togaprentice9927 it's a joke dude 🤣

[@togaprentice9927]

@@benchristopher392 I mean, obviously. 🙄 but there are some people who don’t know this or just don’t want to learn that they are real actors, so I didn’t know if you were joking or being an idiot.

[@NWolfsson]

Code: Cracked. CritRole: Exposed. Hotel: Dalen's Closet.

[@sabrinaspurzem1672]

You might be on to something, something BIG XD

[@Navetsification]

Whenever I saw the posts about CR being scripted, I always thought it was a meme/joke, but to think that people actually believe it, kinda blows me away. Ofcouse a DM is going to have notes, and plot points (Otherwise continuity errors would be off the chart) and the players would have notes on their backgrounds, among the general notes they take aswell. There have been so many good moments, that well no script writer could trully come up with, like I'm watching CR 1 atm, and the goldfish Keyleth is just one of those moments! Again in CR2 with the Hag blueberry Cupcake, like Matt did not see that coming and just rolled with it. The scripted (Matt's world building) is great, but the creativity of the players is what made me such a big fan.

[@SupergeekMike]

Precisely! I think people really underestimate how important (how… critical) the rolls are on CR. Keyleth’s goldfish moment came from 2 rolls. The hag/cupcake was 1 or 2 rolls. These people don’t think CR is fudging their dice rolls, but they don’t realize that fudging dice is the only way to make those moments happen. But again… I assume they don’t watch the show.

[@masterhypnos6783]

Another prime example that disproves scripted episodes was in campaign 2 when Matt spent a week homebrewing crew roles for ship to ship combat, handed out printouts for the people who volunteered for those roles, and then Taliesin just uses a spell to capsize the opponent ship, winning the fight without the crew getting to try their new skills.

[@Managuan]

@@masterhypnos6783 That was Liam, not Taliesin. Caleb used control water, but yeah, that was one of those moment when I looked at Math and was " I soooo feel you man..." XD Edit : After checking it out I have to apologize, it is indeed Cadeuceus. My memory was wrong, sorry Master Hypnos

[@piscesrd]

There also IS a big meme and joke that was constant in Talks Machina about Brian working with the writing team, etc. It was like a long running gag.

[@goblinphreak2132]

comparing old season to new seasons. older seasons weren't scripted and more free flow. newer seasons are. they feel completely different.

[@leahwilton785]

This is so funny to me. Brennan Lee Mulligan has an interview somewhere where he talks about how we all consume so much media. We have this intuitive understanding of story structures. He talks about offering players space and they Will land the story beat. And I can't imagine this being more true than with a cast of professional actors (be it crit role, dimension20 or what else). And this makes sense - the player's goal is also to tell good stories within liveplay.

[@lucypeace6132]

Some people are so afraid of being conned, that they'll con themselves into believing there's a con, believing they're in the know and no one else is smart enough to understand it. My sister is one of these people and they're exhausting to be around. This is the root of all conspiracy theories. A bunch of people wanting to believe they're smarter than everyone else. 🙄

[@Goomyx1492]

Underrated comment, and put to words perfectly. These kinds of people infuriate me to no end, especially since they are often sanctimonious asshats.

[@chrisnotaperson8127]

You completely missed the main reason, IMHO, that people think CR is scripted. The cast is fake. I don't understand why no one talks about this. All those people we see playing D&D are actually extremely advanced puppets created by the Jim Henson company using the same techniques that built the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles but less green. There are hands inside of all those "people" and you can tell because of how rarely they ever leave their seats even when the game goes on for 4+ hours with just one break. Who doesn't have to pee like twice in a long game at least? "But they are famousish voice actors outside of critical role" you'll say and that just proves my point even more. VOICE ACTORS. There is no real Liam O'Brien that's just the stage name for some voice actor who has also been paid to voice this character on a D&D show.

[@lilylou4693]

You're right! And worse than that, if you watch closely, they drink during the episodes! Who's able to hold their pee for 4hours + while drinking liquids at the same time??? If that's no proof enough to you, I don't know what is...🧐 *insert conspiracy guy meme here*

[@davidnelson5826]

But hey thats just a theory a game theory and thanks for watching

[@nemanjajovanov]

I have one word for you: Depends.

[@sanelceric8438]

@@lilylou4693 do you watch the show? there are numerous times players will get up to take restroom breaks. guess his video is right. most people who make this theory havent seen the show. i run 6 hour sessions with 1 break and my players never seem to have to constantly use the restroom and we drink so again your argument is weak.

[@lilylou4693]

@@sanelceric8438 the real question is : do you?

[@nodansland303]

Instead of using special mechanics to have a unique epic encounter, taliesin cast a single spell and Matt was obviously just rolling with as all his prep went down with the ship. Anyone who has ran a game knows how genuine a moment like that is.

[@fatalfury66]

i have seen him tear character sheets, i have seen him bring out a massive terain build only to take it away turn two, its not scripted lol

[@anonymousfellow8879]

And Matt’s always pretty gleeful when he gets to bring out new terrains and models. It’s like a kid at christmas ‘cause he never really knows if he’ll get to use things he prepared or not (and it’s obvious that some of them are his favorites.) Kinda like he really gets into playing as the various bosses as something for the players to play against-you can tell he WANTS the party to win, but goshdarnit he’s just having so much fun getting to play as the necromancer or beholder or massive fucking DRAGON. Like, DMs are allowed to have fun and prepare and have their own notes.

[@ArielManxx]

yeah that one time Caleb incinerated guest's NPC in a trash pit before they could even interact😅

[@NWolfsson]

"The show is such perfect and a swiss-clock like delicacy of character interaction and story beats!" Ah yes, the intricacy of Travis being obstinate about not making Jester use a spell while Laura angrily messages him and such other moments :')

[@SupergeekMike]

Do the people who promote this theory understand that in the middle of a campaign, the party stole a boat for no reason and suddenly became pirates? Feels like they don’t know that…

[@shelbykutil9743]

@@SupergeekMike Or how about the scene where Caleb gives back an artifact to the Queen and Matt basically ended the session there because he had no idea what to do next and needed a week to plan!

[@bleddynwolf8463]

@@shelbykutil9743 or that time they just WENT to jorhas (spelling) completely randomly

[@shelbykutil9743]

@@bleddynwolf8463 Yes! To be fair, Matt definitely should have planned for that considering he had one of his players husband kidnapped lol

[@Rezinstance]

@@bleddynwolf8463 Xhorhas

[@rantdmc]

if you've ever run a D&D game, you know that the DM plans story beats and makes encounters that potentially reveal PCs characters. you could argue that CR is less "scripted" than say Dimension 20, where the encounter "map" is more planned and made by a group of people, instead of Matt making it on its own, as he does

[@SupergeekMike]

I would definitely agree that Dimension 20 is one of those shows I alluded to at the beginning, that does a better job of cheating out to the audience - they might be one of the best at it, because of all the people contributing to make the battle maps, the care taken to present information in a visually interesting way, and the clear behind-the-scenes work where multiple people help prep the story before the players see it.

[@SupergeekMike]

I’ll clarify, I don’t think that makes one of them better than the other, they’re just going for very different experiences. I’m sure I’ll get more into that when I do some Dimension 20 videos.

[@rantdmc]

hi, so the point really about any D&D game is that the DM prepares the game and does it in secret from the players. so there is a prepared plot. but that plot needs to be open enough to allow the players to feel truly free to improvise. and many games are sandboxes which allow the players to go wherever they want. both CR and D20 are prepared but that doesn't make them "scripted"

[@SupergeekMike]

@@rantdmc Absolutely agreed.

[@asianwanderer7243]

I just love that Matt tries to have a road map for possible encounters and travel possibilities but end up doing a whole different route and killing off a possible new friend... Aka the goblin in the pit.... Hahahaha

[@FeatherlessWings]

1. Most of them went to school for theater or otherwise acting, and 3 of them started acting when they were young children. There is a natural lead & follow openness when people trained to perform get together and start goofing off. 2. If you watch the campaign wrap episodes (I have only seen the ones for C2 & EXU), there is a LOT of “what would have happened if we’d done X instead?” And “where did you get the idea to do that?” And “WHO TF WAS THAT?” And stuff they couldn’t know if it was all planned.

[@AravisX]

Liam never spoke into the sending stone in C2 and regrets it. He brings it up in C3

[@Xyphyri]

Frankly the mere existence of moments where true tension exists tells me this is no more scripted than my home game in a composition notebook. Seeing Taliesin or Liam get aggravated about obscure rulings or distances in combat, and other such small gripes is the most normal and expected experience. Watching Matt shut down some crazy ideas, re-explain details that the cast completely misunderstood, etc. adds to this. There's clear evidence to the contrary of a cohesive script that everyone's in on. You can tell these are players working off of verbal descriptions who get details wrong, forget things, and say stupid shit, just like the rest of us. They're just professionally good at improvisation.

[@arlaxazure486]

As someone who has run an actual campaign module (Pathfinder: Rise of the Runelords) where you have all the scripting you could ask for, and telling players that this is your first time being a GM so please pay attention to story cues and just go along for everyone's sanity- With ALL the handicaps and buffers set up, the fooking players will STILL figure out a way to derail everything without even trying. All because of a little thing called "I'll need you to roll for that."

[@SupergeekMike]

Oh god I can only imagine

[@shaggymcscraggy4251]

EXACTLY!! The first module I ever ran was Mad Mage (only got 4 sessions out of it, but that's another story) and no matter how OBVIOUS I made some bread crumbs, the party would almost ALWAYS focus on the wrong detail presented to them hahaha !!! And you can SEE that happen in critical role (mainly campaign 1 and 2) where the cast either focus on the wrong detail for far too long or completely head in a direction Matt was not expecting. With a LESSER DM, you might notice the panic in their eyes when this happens, but Mr Mercer is a professional and can hide his mental anguish INTERNALLY hahaha

[@connorboyle2585]

@@shaggymcscraggy4251 one word: chair

[@Psyco913]

@@connorboyle2585 That chair was obviously scripted, but Matt just wouldn't admit to it.

[@mayaenglish5424]

Travis can barely remember what they're doing AS they're doing it, Imagine him trying to remember the plot outline to a 4-5 hour long episode... HA! (Sorry Travis I love you.)

[@SupergeekMike]

Exactly! People who think this cast is trying to keep a story cohesive by outlining in advance probably haven’t seen them all fail to remember the mechanics for the rogue or the barbarian for 3-6 years solid.

[@tahmistandish9338]

@@20catsRPG Bertrand dying was 100% the plan from the beginning. They've revealed that. And I would guess Travis wandering into the dark was giving Matt a chance to kill him. But did they know it would be that episode? Maybe. Did Travis know how it was going to happen or who? Maybe, but I don't think so. It was definitely planned but I don't think it was "scripted" per se.

[@mayaenglish5424]

@@20catsRPG Yeah, Bertie was scripted, and guess what, go watch their talk show, they'll tell you all about it lol It's not a secret. He was basically an NPC for Travis to play while waiting to introduce his real character cuz Matt didn't want him away from the table that long and they thought it would be fun to see Bertrand Bell again for a while. Also, like I said in a different comment somewhere on here that I don't expect you to hunt down, Go look at the stark contrast between Travis when he knows what's going on (Bertrand), And literally the entire rest of the show lol. It was SO OBVIOUS. Tell me you didn't see Bertrand's death coming a mile away? lol You can't , Travis is a good actor, but he's not that good, he just couldn't help himself, he was throwing off death flags like a mofo. Now, compare that to the rest of the show where crazy shit happens all the time and everyone looks like they just got hit upside the head with a frying pan... Or the giggles of delight when they figure something out, or Liam's panicked mime routine when shit really hit's the fan. Or Marisha's book hat of panic lol, Some of that would be weirdly specific to script wouldn't it? Bertrand was fun but I wish they hadn't done it because of the door it opened for crazy conspiracy people like you lol.

[@nanihernandez95]

@@20catsRPG just say you didnt pay attention, they said from the moment he died that it was supposed to happen. It wasnt supposed to be so early but it happened

[@anothercub6958]

@@20catsRPG Bruh. They explained soon after the introduction of Bertrand (I think on twitter) that he was Travis being an npc that would get the party on their way and that Travis' real campaign character would be introduced later on because that's what TRAVIS WANTED.They very clearly pointed out that it was scripted and even made jokes about Bertrand walkimg off being part of a script or Matt's direction in the early episodes with Chetney.

[@-Xabash-]

Matt is a great DM, the players are all great players, and they're all very good friends. It's the perfect storm and we're all just jealous to some degree.

[@SupergeekMike]

That’s definitely a huge part of it.

[@romxxii]

They're also all huge theater nerds, so they're all about getting into their characters.

[@-Xabash-]

@@romxxii exactly, they've got every skill for a great game.

[@sheridanwilde]

Yep - you know those roleplay groups where one (or more) of the players refuse to pick up on any scenario hooks, however many are laid out in front of them (and then complain that there's nothing to do)? Criticial Role is when every player is committed to actually having adventures.

[@romxxii]

@@sheridanwilde I think since Campaign 2 they've all written extensive backstories for all their characters, so that they have (a) overarching goals, and (b) story hooks that Matt can use later on. Robbie revealed in 4-Sided Dive that he didn't even expect Dorian's brother Cyrus to show up in full himbo glory; he was just written as part of Dorian's backstory. Matt took it upon himself to use Cyrus as a hook for Robbie's character.

[@torntrof]

I think there's also the problem of mistaking our own subjective experience with the absolute truth. People who say "CR is not like a real D&D game", actually mean "it's not like MY D&D game", without realising that there is a difference.

[@jaredbobier2844]

You are so right. This is a systemic issue that branches way beyond just dnd and causes some pretty major real world problems sadly.

[@melinnamba]

I am about to start gming for the first time, so I've been looking at gm advice online. It really surprised me how often you hear and read "don't even try to be like Matt Mercer and other pro gm's. Their style dosn't work for home games, and by the way most of their stuff is scripted anyway." I actually started watching critical role just because I wanted to see what they were doing so diffrently. And I can't see it. Their games are close to what I am used to. Aside from all the combat (I am used to going month between combat scenes) and maps and minis (we were always more of an illustrations kind of table). Some people apprently just can't imagine a game like CR at their own table. Which is a bit baffeling, considering that rpgs are all about imagination.

[@darkcrow125]

@@melinnamba the thing with "dont be like matt mercer and other pro gm" isnt a bad take because not every table plays the same

[@melinnamba]

@@darkcrow125 exactly. Not every table plays the same. And if trying to adopt a more pro-gm-like style works for you and your table, then why shouldn't you? The advice I am criticizing is not "don't force yourself to be like Matt Mercer, it dosn't work for everyone anyway." but the people who say it only works for live play steams and can't work for home games. There are so many people getting interested in rpgs because of Critical Role and other live play streams, that I am pretty sure the Matt Mercer style is what a lot of them are looking for. If you're game is like Critical Role and everyone enjoys it, wonderful! If everyone dosn't enjoy it, try something else! The question of whether or not you should try to be like Matt Mercer is really more about what you and your players want to get out of the game and not a generalized "it dosn't work".

[@melinnamba]

@Andrew My perspective on this topic is pretty balanced. I am neither saying every game has to be like critical role, nor am I saying no home game can be like critical role. I am saying do what works for you. Maybe you should listen to people who aren't critical role haters to get a more balanced view.

[@Kian30398]

One of my favourite moments in all of Critical Role is a sad one. It's Molly's death. You can see the complete shock in every cast member's face, Tal's most of all. He sits there for a good minute not moving and then basically leaves. He's not mad, he's sad. You can't fake that reaction to a character death no matter how good of an actor you are. I think that was my first live episode of Critical Role and it basically convinced me that D&D was the best thing ever.

[@kevinkorenke3569]

The part that really annoys me with this is that the infinitely more likely and logical possibility is simply that you have a group of actors who have known each other for years and have extensive experience improving off of each other. Too many people feel they have to try and blow the cover off of some Insidious conspiracy when all this is is half a dozen people that have known each other for a very long time and are good improvisational actors.

[@SupergeekMike]

Exactly.

[@romxxii]

They can't wrap their brains around it because their campaigns suck, I guess. Matt Mercer Effect in full effect.

[@anothercub6958]

That is the whole point of conspiracy theories lol. Being the special person to uncover some truth everyone was blind to

[@christiantheimprovguy1769]

As a 20+ year veteran of professional longform theater, this kind of conspiracy theory idea is possible to pull off (and I have performed one run of shows that way), but it's SOOOOOO much harder than simply improvising a story. Not only that, simply improvising a story almost always comes out better. Great stories unfold. You don't need to get complicated about it. It's just part of the art form of improv. Pre-scripting beats is a lot of work that really never makes the work shine the way great actors with strong improv skills can do on their own.

[@129das]

That is what TV sitcoms, or soap operas are and scripted long running show. But that not what d&d is or needs to be because unless your parody like what manshorts does, it just unnecessary for d&d.

[@iansamuels914]

In the penultimate section: the level of experience everyone has with pacing, providing space, avoiding crosstalk, and letting scenes play out is one of the biggest "actor things" that stands out in CR. There are other actual-play streams that have struggled with this b/c they were random collections of streamers who were all trying to be The Star at once. I think that's the biggest thing that distinguishes CR, and I like that you highlight that this is something ANYONE can learn.

[@asianwanderer7243]

Because they are all great story tellers, they are themselves the authors in this crazy world Matt has put together for them.. just think.. whatever they do become cannon.

[@lliamthrumble]

When you watch from campaign 1 all it was was crosstalk and weird stuff. It took them 6 years to learn to improv properly together and that's after 2 years of home games... they just good at improv

[@iansamuels914]

@@lliamthrumble They seemed to me to find a groove after the first few dozen episodes or so of Campaign 1. They'd certainly found it by the time they were pulling off things like the bathtub shenanigans of ep. 81. :D

[@StonedHunter]

I think one thing people also forget to take into consideration is that not only are these guys all friends/partners, but they're also work colleagues. They've all worked with one another to some degree or another as voice actors and such, so they probably have a lot of non-verbal communication that most tables don't normally have which would also lessen the amount of cross talk compared to regular tables. It would also mean that they understand each other creatively on a deeper level than most tables so they can pick up on each other's threads better. As for the inspiration. My fiance was inspired by CR to create his own DnD world and start DMing. He naturally storytells similarly to Matt so the voices and such just ended up happening on their own and even now when we haven't worked on it in a bit, he still finds new voices and says he'll be saving them for later XD

[@scottdunn3339]

These are professional actors, they understand the concept of "yes-anding" AND their goal as a group is different than the normal D&D game. They know they are putting on a show, so that's the mindset they have. Things don't have to be scripted when the entire group has the same goals.

[@ShadyMilksYoutube]

there are moments when the CR cast's RP is so incredible it almost seems scripted, and there are times when it falls a little flat. i think people who say the show is scripted might just not watch the show enough, because giving it maybe 3 episodes worth of your time will show you that it's not. EDIT: I want to say that I'm talking about C1 and C2. I believe *C3* is loosely scripted, which is not my cup of tea but it's fine. You cant expect people to be churn out brilliant, unique improv for 8+ years. They want to keep their jobs and not have to work so hard, they have kids, responsibilities, they probably want to do new things. Same goes for the oneshots. This isn't negative. EXU Calamity is obviously scripted heavily, and thats ok. The series is incredible! They're using DnD as a storytelling medium.

[@SupergeekMike]

Precisely!

[@vincejester7558]

Not every scripted line is gonna hit. And I don't believe any of them are scriptwriters.

[@curvilinearcube8716]

@@vincejester7558 Sam Riegel has an Emmy for directing. Not to mention you're implying that litteraly all the dislodge is pre-written which would mean even the arguments that waste time above table are written which would actually imply they have EXCELLENT script writers

[@vincejester7558]

@@curvilinearcube8716 No. I'm saying, they know what narrative arc the story will take. Kinda like professional wrestling. Or any reality teevee. It's like they have read the script, and have been told to improv and riff, and make it look natural. It doesn't take away from their talent. Dwayne Johnson is still great, Even tho Professional wrestling is fake. Directing isn't scriptwriting, but it is interesting to know.

[@greyscaleadaven]

​@@vincejester7558 (Spoilers for CR C2 in general after this paragraph) I mean in a way all DnD is scripted. As a DM, your players help you guide the story with their backstories and wants/desires. You prepare for what's in front of you while taking note of how this might affect your greater plot and characters in the background. If I never had any maps prepared or character backstory, then it would not be scripted at all. Because that exists, all of DnD takes some form of scripting to function correctly. Especially when it comes to people literally running premade adventures. Or y'know the static rules in the book. The only thing I would consider 'scripted' in the way you're framing it on CR is the ad reads. Everything else is just DnD and most people would know that after watching for a long time. It's why arcs like Fjords went so backwards, because while Matt had prepared for his progression in that path, he abandoned it in favor of rebelling against his patron because that's how he felt in the moment. Also Molly's death could not have been less intentional. His arc was there, but his death changed that arc completely. Caduceus was not planned as a part of the story, yet was included by Matt in a relatively short time frame. I wouldn't doubt they have plans between DM and player because I have plans with my players, and that's normal. They just don't get to know certain details or when it will happen. They just know that it might be a possibility for them.

[@p.f132]

One thing I heard from a friend once is: "Of course its scripted. Any DM worth their salt will have some idea how a session is going to go and prepare accordingly. Any player worth their salt will know which story beats to react to. Thats the goddamn game, and if you're really good at it, it will look as if you did rehearsals at times." Which I can absolutely confirm. I have three groups I play with, and the most experienced one feels like a theatre group with dice, sometimes. Never missing a beat. Always in character when appropriate. Witty and creative.

[@dziooooo]

Same, one of my tables is like this too. I think I'm a decent DM, but with them? With them I'm damn good. So when someone says this can't be real because real games can never pull this off? I say - skill issue.

[@rdreamspeakerisi3266]

It is not scripted I have been RP and DM for over 30 years the DM has a scripted adventure that is roughly written and what he hope the players will do but they never do what you think they will. Plus the good groups discuss between games what has happened and what they might do good DMs whant this it shows your players are intersted in what you have come up with. Also if playing higher levels where combat can take hours if you players had already come up with some tactics that can help speed up the game. It reall irratates me when people say CR is scripted shows they dont reall Know how RP games are run. I have also DM several differnct D&D plus other systems all work the same way. In a game I am playing I had a monologe that I wanted my bad guy to say I already had that written out.

[@SupergeekMike]

From a big picture perspective, it’s pretty likely that a lot of the people complaining about D&D online are not playing their own games at home. And, if they are, then their opinions really make me scratch my head about how healthy their relationships with their DMs/players might be. But I’m sure I’ll get into that more in future videos…

[@nicklikethesoup]

Matt's put out some of his DM notes in the past and you can see he has some dialogue scripted out for himself for some NPCs. But while, I go, sure that's scripted. I do the same thing for a ton of NPCs just so I can get the character's voice in mind and know how they would respond to some things I think will likely be asked/raised.

[@buttmunchmcnugget328]

I too have prewritten dialogue for various NPCs in certain situations, and i think thats is no proof at all the the claim the show is scripted. Some of the times that Matt seems to pull out a page and read off of it seems like an actual speech by the character, one they may have written down or practiced themselves.

[@AtomicLegion]

Dude, I've been DMing for about the same length of time and I've also been in film and television for over a decade, and made video games for over 20 years. The stuff they do might not be 100% scripted but I guarantee you that it's not an open world sandbox experience. It's an on the rails adventure.

[@buttmunchmcnugget328]

@@AtomicLegion Wow, like most DnD games? Im glad your years of experience could prove this. You "CR is scripted" people are like dnds version of Flatearthers lmao

[@lennydotdotdot5580]

Also, I really think that talking about certain rp scenes ahead with people is a good idea, particularly if you are a high rp table and might expect a "wait are we just acting" moment. If I know my character is gonna have a tearful confession I might chat with the player most likely to be involved to say I'm excited for an emotional rp scene so that they're not like "oh my god I made Lenny cry" when it happens.

[@ChaoticSalad]

Remember that time when Matt had this huge, epic ship battle planned, but someone used one spell to destory the ecounter before it began? Matt makes the face of 'I planned this shit for two weeks and you mofos just ruined it after a few minutes' face. This will happen to every DM ever.

[@anothercub6958]

Ah yes, I believe it was Caduceus' Tidalwave/Tsunami/ Some wave creating spell that defininitely wasn't shape water

[@p.f132]

Matt: PREPARE FOR NAVAL WARFARE! Caduceus: "No, I don't think we shall... respectfully."

[@asianwanderer7243]

I just enjoy the amount of times he's ripped up character sheets because his murder hobos off them.. as Marisha put it "well... I guess there goes another potential friend, we'll never make... Moving on.. "

[@danielcastillo591]

What always kills me is Sam desperately going "We can save this, it's still usable. Maybe they right their ship back up" and nope It's done

[@brothergrief9531]

Yes, yes it does!

[@NWolfsson]

On the Matt Mercer Effect and those who say it's "not real DND" and "damaging for the image of the hobby"... I say that's bullcrap. For one, Critical Role actually helped me rekindle my love for the hobby because I had a lot of only mechanic-based games that felt kinda dry, and it made me realize that, yes, there *are* people doing narrative-driven games, that it's valid and totally *an option.* Since then I've played regularly with a GM invested in narration and done my own game that is very much more invested in the choices the players do than the difficulty being a game-killer. Critical Role, to me, helped people who were on the fence get into and enjoy the hobby, it expanded it by example. I know everybody doesn't agree, but hey, that's my feeling about this. Their feelings are as valid as mine.

[@SupergeekMike]

I’m so glad! That’s exactly the effect that the folks at CR are going for, they want people to try the game and have fun doing it.

[@ohheyemmi]

Same with me. I have always been a writer and I love telling stories but never really got into D&D. It was introduced to me in HS where I made a Drow Rogue, but I never got to play because I moved out of state...again. Fast forward a decade or so and I start seeing some clips from campaign 1. It looked cool so I watched an episode but mostly in the background as I didnt realize it was a continuous narrative. Some friends brought up the idea of D&D so I mad a warlock in 5e. Two months later our DM had to stop due to schedule changes at work and she asked if I wanted to do it because I had expressed some interest in the process. By this time, campaign 2 started, which was nice because c1 seemed like a lot to catch up on. That plus the show GM Tips that Matt did gave me all the confidence I needed. I did a one shot, everyone loved it, and the rest is history. My personality is very subject to things like the Matt Mercer effect. I hold myself to literally impossible standards and am so mean to myself when I inevitably fail to meet those expectations. I dont know if its just D&D or if CR makes everything feel more possible or gives me some guidance on what to do, but I look to Matt as an inspiration, as something to strive for. Kind of like that expression "shoot for the moon and if you miss at least youll end up among the stars" or however that goes. If I set Mercer as my goal, I know I will have given my players the best gameplay experience and storyline I can at that moment. I know to plan for the unexpected and what that looks like, and I know that its okay to not be perfect because he messes up all the time. I still hold myself to ridiculous standards and need an absurd amount of validationand assurance most sessions, which Im sure is irritating to my players, but the feedback I get is almost always positive. So I guess thanks, Matt. EDIT: I forgot to mention that 2/3 of my current players are avid CR fans. I love the RP aspect more than combat and they are relatively new as well. Since I introduced them to CR, their roleplaying and D&D skills in general have skyrocketed. They are more excited to lean into their characters personalities, they pay way more attention to the story and lore elements, their decision making skills are just amazing and its just been a huge benefit for both of the campaigns Ive run so far.

[@willeh1947]

The Matt Mercer effect being viewed as a bad thing is frankly bonkers. Look at how many other RP podcasts or shows have sprung up after the success of CR and do well *because* of how different they are. Like, Dungeons and Daddies is a hugely popular podcast that is basically the complete opposite of CR, world building is almost non-existent and combat rules are largely ignored just to see what players come up with. And how many people wouldn’t have found and enjoyed these shows if not for CR?

[@brothergrief9531]

I agree, I had become very jaded on rpg's and was on the verge of quitting. Saw CR and fell in love with gaming all over again.

[@ssfbob456]

My first real D&D exposure was from TeamFourStar and their game, then when I showed that one toa friend he pointed me to Critical Role, and that's when I decided to play. I do think it was a good thing that I was exposed to what was more of a proper home game first, but saying that CR is ruining the hobby is nonsense. If anything it inspires people to be better players/DMs.

[@jayelle69]

Three moments come to mind when I think about the argument made that it’s scripted (spoilers ahead for C2): 1) how and why would anyone ever script Keyfish purposefully? 2) Matt mentions in an episode of Talks (I believe) that he’d planned for Matt Colville to join them for a game but the party went a different direction and it got nixed 3) C2E137/8 With jester and CApeleb and the threshold crest, Matt said “I’ll show you that map because situationally we won’t get there” implying that the way the party took action, the map wasn’t going to be needed after all. Matt has a creative team that helps him plan the basic narrative, that much is clear when you look at the various modules and books they have published, but just like any other game of D&D it’s up to the party members to decide how their story goes and Matt just drives the vehicle. Great video, I hope people take a lot from this! Can’t wait to see what more you put out 😊

[@trealosgaming3345]

Matt guides the vehicle and screams please god no time to time when the group force him on another rail

[@jhinpotion9230]

Hell, Colville even read some of the stuff he had written in preparation for his appearance on Critical Role. He was going to play a spymaster-style NPC, and wrote some prose about her to get into her mindset. None of it ever amounted to anything, because The Mighty Nein went in a whole other direction.

[@ssfbob456]

And just look at that last episode Orion was in. You can't fake that level of uncomfortability.

[@Letham316]

@@ssfbob456 Yeah, I watched this episode not too long ago. Travis: How bout you get nothing else and we move on. Orion: One more thing. Travis: No, no "one more thing" Orion: I drop by [name I can't remember] Travis: 😩 But yeah, his impulse control issues were on a whole other level that episode. 😬

[@Letham316]

@@jhinpotion9230 Ah, so he was set to appear in another episode. That actually makes me feel a little better. When I heard about the unexpected story change, I thought he was actually there in the back waiting for his character to be introduced. 😂

[@rolindahlquist3124]

I think part of the reason people think it's scripted is because the group by in large stays on task. It sometimes does get derailed a lot but Matt does an amazing job of getting back into the game. That's the biggest difference in my mind between CR and a regular game. Yes they're professional actors and Matt is amazing at voices and story telling but the big difference is they stay on task.

[@SomeRandomGuy1098]

Can't be understated how much just being respectful of each other's acting helps a ton with making for more cinematic stories I'll just say it's harder to do online (without a camera) because you can't tell from body language whether or not they're finished

[@meghanwalsh3634]

Matt definitely “trained” them out of the table cross-talk. They did it quite a lot in C1 and he used to sush them often - thankfully because it was near impossible for the audience to hear the action, for the transcribers to transcribe it and for him to hear and concentrate.

[@Working_Dreamer]

Excellent analysis! I’ve been watching Critical Role for the first time (currently on episode 71 of campaign one) and while I have not been in the fandom space long enough to see the conspiracy theory that it’s scripted myself, I can imagine it would be easy to think that if you don’t watch the old campaigns. But honestly I think one of the main reasons why these shows are not scripted is because of Liam and the trajectory of his character Vax. If a commenter is reading this, major spoilers for campaign one: Liam’s mother passed away and he was keeping an eye out for a way to get out of the game because of it. He no longer wanted to play a brooding character with a mother who has passed away from a dragon attack because the grief from losing one’s mother became so much more real for Liam. If this was scripted then I think writers would have written him out of the story for that reason, but from what I gathered I don’t think he made that goal known, but everyone knew he was going through the grieving process outside of the game. And when the Raven Queen came and could have given him a scripted reason to leave the show, Matt instead decided to make Vax her champion to help Liam process the grief in a safe environment. I think the Raven Queen moment proves it wasn’t scripted, but perhaps Matt realized what was happening and thought up on the spot a way to help Liam process his mother’s death through this opportunity. Liam has mentioned in the past that he was frustrated at the time but later grew to appreciate what Matt was trying to do because it did end up helping him explore his sadness without losing himself in it. I’m glad Liam had that outlet. And from a writing perspective I don’t think it would make sense to have the story scripted like the conspiracy theory claims because it seems like a hefty coincidence for Vax to have that progression without Liam’s grief as an outside influence. I believe that the vulnerability shown through Vax’s character in itself proves the show wasn’t scripted. Some of the prayers Vax made to the Raven Queen seemed especially vulnerable for Liam and I while I don’t know if he is religious in real life, it seemed to me that those prayers were a glimpse into what was going on in Liam’s mind at the time. And when Vax finally received a new purpose by accepting that death is always meant to be and that it’s neither a good or bad thing- it was incredible to see Vax come out of the Raven Queen’s temple with a new joy for life that he didn’t have before. After that, Liam seemed to enjoy himself again as well. Vax makes more jokes, goofs off with Grog, and overall Liam seems to be embracing the fun of the game again. If it was scripted then perhaps the whole plot would have been more streamlined, but Liam processed his mother’s death in real time and got through that pain at his own pace. I don’t know where Liam would have been without having his character to process everything. Maybe he would have been alright, but all the same I’m glad the story helped him through that difficult time. And I don’t think he would have had the same opportunity to process that if the story was scripted from the beginning.

[@SupergeekMike]

This is really wonderfully stated, and one of the prime examples I go back to when I think about the amazing story that CR was able to tell specifically because it wasn’t scripted. The fact that all of that came about because a trap killed Vex, which only happened because she happened to take a certain amount of damage in that fight… that’s the kind of thing you just can’t account for with a “beat sheet.”

[@Working_Dreamer]

@@SupergeekMike Exactly!! This story has been wonderful to witness so far. People tend to judge Vex for her mistake, but overall it unintentionally lead to help another player and that can not be underestimated. At times I wonder how Liam feels upon the idea that his grieving process has been immortalized like this, but at the same time I bet watching his grieving process has helped those who might be going through similar losses. I’m glad the story helped him as I’m sure it will help others time and time again.

[@Xiatter]

I didn't know any of this and I am crying reading it. I'm so glad Liam is still on the show. Caleb, especially, blew me away almost constantly.

[@lordzagnias1945]

To the people that believe this theory, I highly recommend playing a Stars without Number game ran by an Experienced (or even incredibly new DM). To create an amazing story, you don't NEED to plan out every single detail of every single town/city. Yes, you might have lore or plans for a 'grand scheme' of a country or plot points you've previously thought through, but at the same time, it's not needed. It's highly possible, that even though something MORE was hinted at during the Briarwood Arc with the Sphere if some things aligned the Chroma Conclave COULD have been the ending boss of the Critical Role campaign 1. Overall, you can certainly make an argument that some things in any tabletop roleplaying campaign is scripted. I know for a fact that I have a list of random NPCs with their personalities a lot of the time, especially on weeks where I just have a shit ton to do, or I expect it's going to be an intense session. Other times, I pull the entire town out of my ass, it just depends. For my villains, I do write an outline for a script, but that script inevitably always changes, just because of player actions. We can take a look at the Vecna fight, that shit was long and difficult. There were numerous times where they could have lost if the dice were bad, or if Matt rolled really well, it could have even continued at multiple points into later sessions with Vecna fleeing. Matt simply... Couldn't have planned for it. He made the character, he made the stat blocks, the environment, but in the end, it truly came down to the players and the rolls that made it happen the way it did and made it so unbelievably memorable. If there is one thing that's 'scripted' is that when characters aren't there, Matt doesn't focus on them even when it would be better/make more sense, but that's just table etiquette that in a wipe, the last person to die is always the one that isn't there. If the argument was CR was scripted for what you said was your original beliefs, I could see it and believe it. Players to talk to each other and DMs out of character, not only is it expected but encouraged. Guest Stars ARE 'scripted' in, even when it usually wouldn't make sense. But in CR, they are waiting, and Matt in my mind is not only crazy but incredibly amazing for doing what he does. This theory though is... Well, I'd hope any experienced roleplayer could see through them.

[@SupergeekMike]

Agreed!

[@jimdaily737]

SWN is dooopppeeee

[@clairefraser4315]

Most of the things that make it feel scripted have to do with them being trained actors. My favorite: They recognize a story beat when they see it. And they grab on to it. And that might feel scripted. But they also sometimes miss them in hilarious ways. And that's also awesome.

[@dziooooo]

Yup, and you don't need actors for this to happen. If you have really attentive and invested players, they WILL notice that the DM is hinting at something or building towards something. And if they are not assholes, they will try to follow that thread instead of fighting against it, because that's obviously where the fun is!

[@calebramey]

This is wild. I just got into DnD. I’ve just had my first session zero and just found Critical Role a couple of days ago. I’ve watched two episodes. It’s crazy to me that people are criticizing a game about story telling. Just enjoy the game and the story telling.

[@Jessie_Helms]

People who think it’s purely improve from all involved are insane. Obviously Matt has some stuff scripted for himself, new PC introductions are probably thought out greatly by all directly involved in making the character, etc… But I can say from first hand experience there’s no _need_ for a script if everyone involved wants to have fun and the DM knows what they’re doing. I remember thinking, “surely this is deeply outlined… they’ve gotta have talked over some of these jokes… surely those rolls were predetermined.” Then I ran a campaign, and I wholeheartedly believe Dimension 20 and Critical Roll are real D&D games.

[@DragonAbode]

The greatest evidence against this I think would be the guest star who would never be. Matt Mercer spent a ton of time colabing with Matt Colville to eventually bring him into the story as a guest. But the party took off in a completely different direction, by way of many choices over several episodes. Matt let them go. He couldn't steer them back. No greater story foresight. And no course correction in follow up episodes Shame we didn't get to see Matt Colville join in but here's to a chance in this campaign

[@ultraman6644]

if someone thinks that they always make each episode the most entertaining episode possible, they definitely haven't watch all the show. I LOVE cr but some episodes are difficult to watch, they get bogged down in dumb stuff make a plan for a hour only to drop it completely. boring fights which for players is fun but kinda boring to watch. dumb decisions that pull me out. and most of all 5 hours is difficult to listen to straight. I end up skipping things and always watch at 2x speed. but I watch because I love it and those moments which blow my mind or make me cry makes it all worth it.

[@SupergeekMike]

Exactly - it’s a D&D game, sometimes some things happen that go nowhere. And while it’s very possible to write scripted shows that are boring or have subplots that go nowhere, you’d think by now they’d have a better sense of how many “beats” make an interesting episode. This is honestly one of the most compelling arguments against the theory.

[@Fairburne69]

I agree with you mostly. I love watching combat. I love the strategy of it and love watching to see what they do. There are also some really strong story beats that can happen due to die rolls while on combat. Character deaths being the most obvious.

[@cyriltournier5784]

@@Fairburne69It is interesting and frankly inspiring that people can watch the same show and enjoy totally different things about it. Personally I find combats (especially DnD combat, which as far as Rpg combat goes is neither narrative nor fluid nor particularly tactic) boring. If I wanted to watch good tactics I'd much rather watch people actually playing a wargame.

[@elisaargueta1663]

I feel ya. Sometimes their combat literally puts me to sleep 😴

[@cyriltournier5784]

@@elisaargueta1663 happened to me as well ^^

[@TheWonkster]

The thing I have always respected about Matt more than anything else is his unabashed pure love and dedication for his games. He puts immense amounts of work, time, and money into his prep. As the games go on, he starts editing and rebalancing EVERY SINGLE statblock, creating and balancing sometimes more than 5 complex creatures from the ground up for one episode. It is truly his passion and he treats himself and his players alone as the final arbiters of the value of what he does. He doesn't care about what Wizards thinks, he doesn't really care what we think as far as whether what is happening is okay or "fair" or not. As long as his players are having fun, as long as he and his friends tell a great story together and experience in a way that satisfies all of them, he's happy. Despite the fame and money (which he funnels a great deal right into the most absurd dream DM gear, which almost all of us would do), he has remained the pure distillation of a great DM. He loves his game, he loves his players, and he loves the stories they make together. And that is a beautiful thing to see.

[@paulscott2037]

All you need to do is look at Matt's face when the group starts going on their long tangents of hysterics to see it's not scripted. Usually he goes from laughing with the group, to smiling, to looking bored and then to looking pissed off because they aren't getting back to the story. Like all DM's he loves when they're clever and do something ingenious to get out of a situation, but also like all DM's he prays every week that for just once in his life all his hours of prep and all his lore will prove fully worthwhile.

[@nalublackwater9729]

I remember many times when the players and the dice just threw everything out of the window. SPOILERS: Darktow, the pirate coven, when Caleb cracked a secret code having high intelligence modifier and rolling a nat 20. When they decided to surrender the Beacon to the Dark elf Queen, avoiding being thrown into prison. When they were supposed to have a secondary character (Essek) as a recurring antagonist, instead they befriended him and turned him into a valuable ally That ship combat which was entirely skipped because Caduceus used control water and straight out smashed the adversaries' ship against the rocks. Molly was supposed to never resurrect, instead Caduceus (again) rolled incredibly well and could use Divine Intervention (guy, that scene left me exhausted)

[@bluestar2059]

On the topic of the beacon: When they gave the beacon back to the dude, saying it was too dangerous for them to have, only to steal it from the guards ten minutes later.

[@justinc5967]

People out there trying to make Critical Role seem like professional wrestling. What it is, is professional improvisation collaborative storytelling. D&D is what you make it. It is nothing but a tool to use to tell a story. How you use it is entirely up to you.

[@SupergeekMike]

Exactly! They happen to be pretty good at telling a certain type of story, and some people can’t imagine how they could do that without working together in advance (or why they would), but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done by anybody ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@camiblack1]

@Paul Gauthier Even then, you have what's known as Audibles (so called because the match has to literally be talked about IN the ring area, because of something as freak as say a table spot going wrong taking a guy out of action for nearly a quarter year, or an rnjury pretty much knocking a wrestler loopy, or big guy tossed another guy way too hard and the biel onto the guys catching him went too far. Basically it's improv, like all D&D.

[@pemberliegh]

Agree. I get so irritated when I see people say this on twitter and it is clear that people who say it simply do not watch the show. No one could sit thru those games and hold onto that notion. It just doesn't make sense. Their game is no more "scripted" than any other game. If the DM is developing adventure hooks and prepping potential characters/locations/consequences for possible choices players make... Congrats, you're scripted now, I guess. If you've discussed the arc/personal journey your character is on based on their backstory and motivations... congrats, I guess you're scripted AND working off of predetermined story beats? Like... no. That is not how any of that works. Any DM can tell you they plan for scenarios A-D and inevitably players discuss A, C, and F and then in the moment go with plan S and DM has to improvise in the moment. And as for players, you may have an idea of what your character's goals are or what larger journey you want to see for them, but that still has to come out of the experiences and choices in the game. You don't know what or when things will happen or even if something else comes along and upends that in the best way possible.

[@SupergeekMike]

Yep - hot take, I know, but there’s nothing unique happening at the CR table. It’s remarkable, perhaps (if only because we’re all remarking upon it), and I’d argue it’s sensational and a hell of a good time to watch… but it’s still a game of D&D.

[@pemberliegh]

@@SupergeekMike yeah, the most elevated they are is in listening, supporting and making space for each other. And that's not unique to CR, it's just that their career paths have trained them to do it very well. My friend and I were watching the most recent ep and talking about how relatable the table is. The dumb inside jokes, trolling the DM a little too much, breaking into random songs from what someone says, childish double entendres that only make 13 year olds and dnd tables giggle.... It's just a table of nerdy ass gamers. Personally, what they have inspired me to do is up my game by taking better notes. I've always done that for the campaign, but also take them about my party members so as I learn things about them in game, I have stuff I remember to ask them about on wilderness walks or during watches.

[@SupergeekMike]

That’s a good call, those quiet moments are great because they also take some pressure off of the DM for making those parts entertaining - if you are all engaged with each other, they may not need to throw monsters at you on every short rest just to make sure you’re paying attention :)

[@pemberliegh]

​@@20catsRPG You either don't know what the word "scripted" means or you're being deliberately obtuse just for the chance to be a salty jerk about it. There is big a difference between a player saying they want to do something with a character and a DM finding a way to make that happen in the game vs performing scripted content. Travis wanted to play BB and then bring in another character later. He wanted BB to die as his exit. He did not know when, where, how, or why he would die and nor was he working off of a script with narrative beats, directions, and dialogue. That's what a script is, in case you were previously unaware. If you had actually watched the show, you would know that event clearly played out in the moment and not following any sort of script. Talking to your DM so you can play out an arc for a character, however broad or narrow, is a normal thing that happens at many D&D tables. The player says hey, here's my character and backstory and what kind of arc I would like to see for them. Then the DM, at their own discretion to determine if/how it makes sense in the game, tries to work that in to give the player the chance to do that. It's not scripted, but it is cooperative gaming. And it's fine if tables don't do that. It's ok to simply play out an adventure or a mystery or murder hobo thru a dungeon or whatever. It's just a game and the goal is to make the game fun for everyone at the table. But what CR does isn't anything different from other high RP/story tables - they just have S tier execution on the kind of game they want to play together.

[@ThorsShadow]

If you say CritRole is scripted, you have never WATCHED CritRole. Just look through the comments under this video here. There are multiple moments called out, where the cast derailed the whole story. Like Caleb (character of Liam) in campaign 2, giving an important item to the queen of a kingdom. Which Matt didn't expect and he had to cut the episode short at that moment, because he had to re-plan the whole thing. Or when they stole a ship and became pirates. Not planned, either. Or when Matt had an awesome ship battle planned and one character destroyed the enemy ship by casting control water. And, as has been said in the video, for a game that is built upon RANDOM dice rolls (like DnD) to be scripted/staged to work, they would need to fudge their dice rolls. And they don't.

[@anonymousfellow8879]

Exactly. And the guy who did fudge his rolls, spells, items, AND metagamed eventually got kicked off the show for it ‘cause he refused to stop (or respect the other players, and acted like a Grade A Asshole outside of DnD as well.) But…even if they did (They Do NOT)…who cares?? It’s still entertaining to watch and is a pretty handy resource for people new to the community to get an idea of how DnD Mechanics function and how sessions and campaigns typically run since-let’s face it. There’s only so much people new to DnD/TTRPGs can learn from studying a player’s handbook, especially if that’s not their strongest learning style

[@trealosgaming3345]

You know they arent by just watching Laura on a chain of bad rolls. She gets more and more pouty each low roll.

[@ThorsShadow]

@@trealosgaming3345 Yeah. Or when Travis rolled 3 nat1s in a row and got so annoyed.

[@tohon]

One of my biggest arguments against it being scripted is that they had ND Stevenson wait a couple episodes in the back room before they got to the point where Matt introduced tova to the party.

[@Miilycent]

the live episode when they take forever to cross a river just 100% convinced me that Matt and the rest of the cast care more about playing their game than putting on a show of a perfect game/story

[@LDungeon]

The "actors?" In the thumbnail broke me

[@SupergeekMike]

Haha thanks!

[@twistedturns65]

So, you have planned moments that a DM usually has with any game, and if you're running a very character driven game that DM likely has planned out interactions with particular characters, they might have even discussed things that may or may not happen. Combine all of that with the fact that these are professional actors, who very likely studied improv along with figuring out motivations and background for their character, and you're going to get a game that will come off as far more polished than just about anything run by your average group of geeks.

[@SupergeekMike]

Exactly!

[@RealMiniLink]

And the cherry on top is that they're also getting paid to do this so they're able to put way more time into every part of it than your average home game

[@karatewill75]

Echoing what you said about table etiquette, and playing with Matt/caring about his world: these are 7 people who've been playing with Matt as their DM for nearly a decade, if not longer. They are all very familiar with each other's intricacies. Any oddities in C1 can probably be explained away by the fact that they're unfamiliat with playing in front of a camera

[@SupergeekMike]

Well and also, C1 switched halfway through (well, at least from a level perspective) from Pathfinder to D&D, and from one 10-hour game per month to 1 3-to-4-hour game per week. A LOT will change when you do that, too.

[@socpancake]

I'm at around the 10-minute mark of the video, and... yeah. As with most conspiracy theories out there, this one is also elegantly disproved by the logic of Mr Occam and his well-honed razor 😅Either it's all an elaborate ruse with layers of planning and even more layers of misdirection, or it's a bunch of nerdy friends who happen to also be voice actors playing DnD and goofing around and occasionally landing at situational perfection. Thank you for the video, well thought out and well *scripted* as always (omg i can totally see your strings)

[@Malene_Simonsen]

It's not DnD but would love to see you cover KOLLOK by HyperRPG as their style of translating actual play into a livestream show is very unique and has a high focus on storytelling and pushing technical limits of the format

[@SupergeekMike]

It’s on a list of actual play shows I want to check out 😁

[@PromotedNothingness]

I’ve been playing DnD for a few years at this point but I’ve only started GM-ing within the last year. One big thing I realized is that when I started preparing for sessions, writing down lines my NPC’s could say and things that will happen in the session depending on what my party does, and it clicked with me that this is most likely what Matt does. He plans in his head the outcomes for the many things that the group could possibly do, and his NPC’s responses to them. And of course, me and Matt alike, we’ve been totally curve balled sometimes by our parties. I’ve noticed the panic on his face sometimes of the “oh shit I didn’t plan for this” that I’ve felt several times. I don’t believe that Critical Role is scripted, I just think that Matt is able to plan for 70% of what could happen. But we’re all human so of course it goes wrong sometimes.

[@raicantgame6634]

It's funny that I find and watch this video now, cause I had JUST made a big blog post about "The Skill Of Learning When To Shut Up" in tabletop rpgs. And I do find a lot of the "scripted" accusations and "not real D&D" accusations because it's not like their own tables funny because, most of the things they list not being in their games, I often have in mine. We have these big dramatic character moments that make you cry, we have these plot points falling together perfectly in ways that weren't planned (which always feels amazing), we don't really talk over each other a lot. Like of all the live/real play shows I've seen, Critical Role has played the most similar to most of my games. Obviously they don't feel as polished cause none of us are pro actors trained in improv, and we sometimes (often) venture off into nonsense land. But in terms of what feels like "real" dnd to me, it would have to be CR. That's what my games feel like. I actually have struggled to get into other shows because they don't play enough like my own, and it's just not the experience I look for in a ttrpg, playing or viewing.

[@snowtsukasa6662]

Everyone at the table is comfortable going into character, and having the spotlight on them, and it really shows. They essentially are the character, and put themselves in that spot. They also talk a lot with Matt about the intentions, goals, and all that of the character and what they would like to do that session. It all helps prepare for what's to come as they pay attention to the story. Some things are planned and the cast is aware of it, but they don't know how it'll happen. Darius's exit for example is one. Theres been a couple character exits in their previous campaigns also, Scanlan being a huge one, and Keg being another. The players knew it was going to happen and had a goal to aim for, but I wouldn't call that scripted - though I could see how an argument is made that it was. Its the groups experience that makes it work as smooth and it seems, and keeps things going. I would honestly like to see the notes exchanged between sessions, Matt's prep, and their written character backstories. It would be very interesting to see Matt's beind the scenes work on sessions they streamed, and just how much the players are aware of for what he plans. Plus how much this had changed from when they started to now.

[@MalikaBakura]

Critical role became what it is cause it is "REAL", as a player for over 30 years and a critter I love the deep character dives that I attempt to play in the games I currently play, and I admit that the show did inspire me to get more into character....voice and all

[@breendart134]

Same! Watching CR has made me a better player and DM by learning from observation. I started doing voices and it has made a huge difference in bringing characters to life, PCs and NPCs alike. It engages other people at the table, too. You don't even have to be good at it to start giving it a shot.

[@anonymousfellow8879]

Honestly the improv/voice acting bit of DnD is what even has me interested in DnD at all as someone new/not-yet-player (I have a player’s handbook and set of dice (watching CR it looks like I’ll need to buy more pretty soon), but struggling to find a group I want to join-Nat20 or otherwise) Like if it were just using ability sheets and rolling dice and counting up numbers…sorry but I can play a videogame for that. I’m here for the /roleplaying/ (and yeah, using feats and spells to Do Cool Shit/Used Creatively is pretty Neat, too), not the calling a spell/rolling dice at a monster encounter.

[@SmolAutumnLeafeon]

*SPOILERS FOR EXU CALAMITY* Honestly if any of their campaigns feel scripted it would be EXU Calamity and even then there's no way it was XD. Like the way Brennan lead his players through the narrative was phenomenal. He understood their characters and understood what he needed to make happen or exactly what to say to make his players do what he wanted. The way he crafted the story to hit those narrative beats was astounding like how he se up the entire campaign with the dream sequence only to bring it back full circle in the last episode. How he pushed at Aabria's character to blight the tree or how he played on Luis's need to redeem to bring Asmodeus back into the world like everytime I could see him walking them closer to the Calamity. But even then, even though they had a limited amount of time to get the Calamity to happen never once did it feel inorganic. There was too much chance, too much luck, too much room for exploration and uncertainty to chalk it up to a script. It was all Brennan understanding how manipulate his players characters to achieve the outcomes he wanted and needed without also encroaching on the players freedom. To say that He, Matt, and the players are merely following a script does them such a great disservice.

[@Iownspaceandcake]

The number of times the entire party takes turns asking the same npc the exact same question nearly word for word is all I needed as proof

[@Helldog6]

Literally, this is the result of a Good DM having players that are 100% invested in their characters, willing to bite on the plot hooks the DM throws their way. As a DM who has that dynamic now, I can honestly say that I am grateful. Sometimes the chaos should be embraced, and it is for sure, but my players have flat out told me that my world was too open and that "Be less subtle and just.. well.. flat out tell us where to go" and the ability to just lay out a plot hook or idea or concept and have an essentially 100% chance for my players interact with and fully commit to it has allowed me to craft stories that are complex, cohesive, and satisfying along with giving moments where every player gets their chance to truly shine, instead of leaving it up to maybes and dice rolls. You can still have those crazy moments, those off-the-wall ideas, and those out of nowhere decisions - it just happens directly within the narrative and it's great. I don't have to worry about whether or not my players will care - they do and they will, as long as I do my job correctly. Matt not only has that dynamic (and more) but is incredibly experienced and has honed his skills to capitalize on that. Do I think the Dice rolls are fudged? Sometimes, I definitely get that feeling. Grogs 2 Natural 20's in a row during the Search for Grog for example is one of the best moments in CR history IMO, but I would be lying if I said that it didn't give me some doubts. There are multiple D20's on the table, we never see which dice he used, one of them is a 16 - the other on the table is a 20 - It would be incredibly easy to do... Roll a random D20 with the Natural 20 on the side, and just claim it was the 20 and not the 16. Why? To get the reactions like that, in moments like that. The crowd going crazy, the hype from the other people at the table, my hype at home watching it - and as DM in plenty of DM groups - I've heard plenty of times where fudging dice was incredibly useful to make the encounter better (I refuse to do it, but I get it). Likewise, I remember a very specific scenario toward the end of Campaign 2 where one of the characters got a very low roll on a persuasion check that could've allowed the party to have multiple high-level NPCs join them in the final fight. It made story sense, it would've made everything easier, gave a theoretically satisfying ending - there was no reason to NOT fudge the dice if "drama" was all they were going for, but it was a failed roll. Many moments like that exist, more than don't - so Idk why it's doubtful that with thousands of hours of content that every once and a while there will be amazing dice rolls but it's the pessimist/skeptic in me that gives me doubts. I just try not to think about it, and hope that it's never revealed that they do.

[@SupergeekMike]

After the controversy around Orion’s rolls, I personally think they don’t have much interest in fudging. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@piscesrd]

My theory, if anything, is that more of the cast are communicating their motivations and stories with each other, so they can help each other reach the story beats they want to. This is just playing D&D and communicating with your other players.

[@sirhamalot8651]

I think CR uses certain principles in the game to make it more like a show, but I don't think it's scripted. Character monologues are generally not interrupted or talked over, the players try to wrench emotion form their performances, and maybe they celebrate a little too exuberantly but it's all for the benefit of the audience. I think this is why the story moves so slowly. Many episodes, when you look back at a summary, you see the PCs accomplished very little but manage to fill up 4 hours. With their over-emphasis on improv, I doubt there is a hard and fast script that the players are told about beforehand, but rather, they come to game knowing they are going to act according to the show's principles and rules. It's not the same as a home RPG game, for sure.

[@SunlessSage]

This is pretty much how I think it goes. We mustn't forget that they all are (voice-)actors who have developed some serious improv skills as time went on. I have no doubt certain parts have been planned or discussed in group, but that's to ensure fluidity. It's obvious when the players have agreed beforehand to have a certain talk between characters, that doesn't mean they wrote a script for the scene or that an entire episode is like that. Critical Role is still primarily intended as entertainment, so it makes sense to have these little moments at least somewhat planned. Home games will never be like CR, because none of us has that amount of time budget, or both to dedicate to it.

[@tempymcaccounterson5744]

I love the thoughts about table etiquettes. Especially when you think about how these guys started in a home game where they would play once every couple months. Effectively they were all like Ashley when she was gone to film Blindspot. They all had to learn to play again and we’re all excited to hang out. So, when they went to play weekly they hadn’t gotten the hang of stopping crosstalk and such and Matt’s world wasn’t a complete interest because it was probably thought of that they would forget it by the next time they would play. Excellent thoughts. Enjoying the videos!

[@DareMurdok]

Trained performers in a friend group that genuinely love each other can make for a great storytelling show , who'd've thunk it? remember this all started because they were all already friends and Liam wanted to play D&D for his birthday and Matt setup a game as a gift. they're wonderfully wholesome people that just also happen to be very talented and people get so intimidated by it they push against it the idea of it being good in the genuine sense. there's a formula for why CR is good. and it starts with Love and Respect for each other

[@clayman648]

It's not scripted. Look at the raw emotions with Beau regarding Molly and how upset she really was.

[@maddoxio]

Campaign 3 SPOILERS Liam and Laura crying and Orym's agony filled "Wh...what can we do?" During the otahan fight... They didn't expect it. Those are real emotions, even as great actors, you can't fake that kinda "oh fuck. The character I grew attached to is now possibly dead."

[@honeymanod]

It is like watching professional sports and saying "it is not real sports, because that is not how I play." Matt Mercer and the critical role staff are professionals, and it shows.

[@AValidPointUHave]

I think the only thing on CR that has been “scripted” has been purposeful player absences (I.e kidnapping players) or the Bertrand thing so Travis could do what he actually wanted in C3

[@knightofni735]

I think 18:56 is the core of it. For one, the "listening and learning" part, but also because no crosstalking automatically builds confidence to speak up and take your time with a rp moment as a player yourself. I mean, for the cast of cr that probably has been true from the beginning, they're all used to public speaking, improvising and taking the spotlight, but this differs for most casual dnd players. A lot of us are probably somewhat shy or insecure (especially in a group that is not as tightly-knit and familiar with each other like the cr cast is!) and maybe not super spontaneous or straightup a bit scared of the reactions if they would really commit to a more intense moment of rp. Especially when this moment only involves two players of the whole group. Even if you have a great, respectful group, it can feel really awkward to "make everyone wait" just because you want to rp a longer scene. And if there's a lot of crosstalking that only strengthens this subconscious feeling. Also the dynamic at most tables is usually far more mixed, with one or two more talkative and some calmer players. Maybe even some players who just don't enjoy roleplaying that much at all. And this is perfectly fine, I don't mean to tell anyone to change this! We all play the game differently and should try to find a group and a dynamic that fits best with what we feel comfortable with! I'm just saying that a dynamic where a) everyone likes to take the spotlight and improvise unpromptedly once in a while and b) everyone feels save and comfortable to do so because they know everyone else will be mostly quiet and listening reeaally changes the amount and probably "quality" (for lack of a better word) of the rp within the game. (Also, moving away from roleplay and focussing on Matt's DM skills, which make for so immersive and catching stories that it just becomes much easier for everyone to just completely get into it. The only one who actually "scripts" things is him, but it often works so well to kindle player interactions and story moments that those might seem scripted just because Matt is amazing at coming up with the most interesting settings that immediately spark reactions. That's a lot of talent and practice from his side, of course, but also a plain time factor. Most DMs do not have the time, or resources to come up with so much groundwork every single week. This might make "casual" campaigns just less dense, the story moments are maybe more spread out. This depends on the DM and the players of course, but it might play into the impression of CR being so packed with plot. Which, as you also said in the video, isn't even as apparent as it seems if you don't watch every video filled with rambling, weird decisions and tangents and some dnd-typical miscommunication.)

[@Dreadnaught1985]

The number 1 way to point out it's not "scripted" is that there's compilation of times Matt has tore up sheets for encounters and NPC'S that he never got to use. One of the biggest moments of campaign 2 (spoiler alert, stop reading if you want to enjoy it) where Laura tricks the witchy villain with a cupcake. This lead to the combat encounter being thrown out and Matt not revealing the combat map. They ended up showing it on twitter later. But a big epic battle got skipped because of a god damn cupcake. 9/10 other DM's that are having to buy dwaeven forge terrain. If I spend thousands of dollars on a battle map. Take the time to coordinate the layout and configuring parts of it to break away... You god damn know I'm going to make that fight happen. But Matt went with the more entertaining option that was revealed to him. Yes, he's got artists working with him to create these fantastic models. So he's got the campaign on some rails. He's got a through line that he's trying to match. To me, the show is pretty close to equal parts a piece of entertainment and a game. There are other games out there like acquisition in, that's maybe closer to 60% a show, 40% a game. Because they are more of a series of 1 off events. So if they don't hit the narrative beats it leads to something less enjoyable. And they are at conventions so bigger time restrictions. The reason I like critical role and dimension 20 is that these people do.work in entertainment, they are all practiced performers. Either comedians and writers or voice actors. They know how to tell a story, so naturally when it comes to them improvising. It's gonna be a league above the average home game.

[@mark_sturzbecher]

As a Dungeon Master I sometimes tell my players what scenes are planned at the start of the session. Like: -"Today, the cleric's resolve to adventure will be challenged." -"Today, the fighter will be presented with a lose-lose situation." -"Today, the warlock's past will catch up to him and force him to make a sacrifice." Scenes that need to happen if personal elements or major plot points are to play out. And because they got a heads up, they improv those scenes so much better. Yes you can keep the players in the dark, but I found that a small heads up on major 'character/plot development' is always appreciated and leads to far more engaging scenes.

[@Mircalla]

I do think that you have to be at least a little bit naïve to think that NONE of the show is planned. Not "scripted", but certainly planned. Romantic relationships, for instance. Liam has said he asked Matt if he was cool with Vax kissing Kiki ahead of time. I think that Marisha and Ashley had spoken about Beau and Yasha getting together ahead of time, same with Travis/Laura and Fjord/Jester. Honestly, that's just good form and respectful table etiquette. You should not be surprising another player with romance, you should always get consent ahead of time. And so in that sense, yes, I fully believe that from episode 100 of campaign 2 onwards, those players knew that their characters would end up together, and they were working towards something they planned ahead of time. And there's lots of examples of things like this, especially around the back half of campaign 2, but the show still certainly isn't "scripted".

[@aaronghunter]

Very normal planning as a campaign proceeds, at least when one isn't primary spellcaster and stuck trying to square a circle.

[@eugenethompson628]

Look at basically any campaign book... If it has an ending (even multiple endings) in place, then it is planned. The more points in the middle are planned out, the more railroady the campaign is. That still doesn't mean it's "scripted". Then there are much more sandbox-style campaigns, where you have a setting, NPCs, conflicts, and lore, but you have the PCs setting their own goals, deciding which NPCs and which conflicts they want to engage with... and the DM is constantly improving. Super-fun (if you enjoy improv), but near impossible to plan anything more than a session forward, and definitely impossible to script. I do sandbox campaigns a LOT. I love running them, and I recognize the difference between a heavily-planned railroad and a loosely-planned sandbox. Critical Role is clearly a sandbox. It's an amazingly-detailed lore-filled sandbox, but it's a sandbox. And there's an amazingly talented and creative group of kids playing in it... unscripted.

[@michaelryan3818]

Good prep looks scripted. It's too easy to have randomly generated maps on hand to not use them. I keep multiple tavern, house, etc map's on hand just in case. Random NPC name list on the side. Good prep makes the session easier and more fluid.

[@xEvilRaptorx]

9:30 the whole talk with Vax and [spoiler] i felt like Liam thought "all powerful, they must know everything already" so he never actually says whats going on. Idt Matt makes it clear enough that the NPC doesn't know and can't know unless you tell them...

[@SupergeekMike]

He essentially said the same on Talks Machina lol - I suspect the question threw him for a loop, which short-circuited him/gave him a brain fart

[@xEvilRaptorx]

@@SupergeekMike if memory serves right, I think I remember Liam having a "wtf do you want from me matt" look pop up during the exchange

[@IgnisKhan]

I've only seen the first few dozen episodes of C3 and the first four and a half of C1 because I don't have time* to watch them as fast as they're produced, so I've barely dipped my toe in these waters. But it seems obvious that the fact they're all professional actors and great at non-tabletop improv means they can intuit story beats and tropes the very second they start to play out -- and in the blink of an eye, throw together interactions that _feel_ scripted. (*I spend too much time on them because my weird autistic brain demands to know the cause of every single instance of background laughter, so counting rewinds I spend 90 minutes watching for every hour of runtime. Little crosstalk, my half-elven arse!)

[@baileycharlton2191]

Just like Laura or Sam said during one of their streams the way you know CR isn't scripted is because they do have scripts for the adds and they can never hold it together for those. Also they aren't because could you imagine how much work that shit would be it's way way easier and makes for a better product to not script it. Again like everyone else has said of course Matt has things he wants them to see and do and he might point them that direction but if Laura and marisha wanted to say F it and leave with Dorian let's say because they were done being in that city with those people then they could of done that. They don't because the players don't want to do that. The players want to play Matt's story so they don't overly fight or try to go against Matt and his story. They certainly throw him off all the time like stealing a boat, killing 5 to 8 people and leaving a ghost story to be told about the dead blue girl with an ax in her.

[@abberbabylon]

This made me think of the goblin in the well. The party fireballed the well and Matt ripped up his notes for that NPC and the party went "Oh snap we F'd up!" kzbin.info/www/bejne/d4euc2SOlreWd5o

[@ftwarcher2290]

As a person who recently watched episode 56 of Campaign 2 in which Liam does something crazy at the end and Travis is completely visibly opposed to the action but it works out very well

[@linuscorbett2609]

Hi Mike, I recently found your channel and I must say you're extremely eloquent! Especially in the video when you talked about a specific problem player

[@Spark_Chaser]

For a while, I thought that the show was scripted to some degree. Then I watched the show and saw how completely off kilter this group of players were. The kind of decisions they made in some episodes are not the kind of things you wouldn't likely script. Are they actors? Yes. That's what they do for a living, and they've learned to improv off of each other. They know how to make the drama work.

[@SupergeekMike]

Exactly!

[@wolves2996]

my thing is that even if the show is scripted it wouldn't stop me from enjoying the show for the entire 4 hours every week!

[@streamerVSnoun]

Sadly I think people aren't used to DND groups where everyone's on the same wavelength, and focused on making it fun for everyone instead of their own personal enjoyment.

[@oliviabirmingham7007]

I have only even watched campaign 3. But it's so obvious it's not scripted! Just watching the episodes at the masquerade makes it so so obvious they aren't running off a script.

[@yat282]

C3 has felt a bit more like this to me than previous campaigns, but that might just be because it's no longer done live. I think it might also come from the players thinking more about telling a story with their character, and then naturally picking characters that they know will have an arc of some kind

[@Joshkie2]

0:46 Mat has always scripted out intros and narrative beats he wants to get right, and there are probably more we have never heard than heard. He also thinks about were the players might go and stages set peace of scenery an characters for the different areas he thinks they will be in. He goes over all this in his how to DM series that was on Geek and Sundry.

[@Big_Dai]

Well, it's a.. millionaire.. business.. and some of them are actors. Whenever people approach something with the mentality of "it would be too complicated and it would take a lot of effort" doesn't really understand people. Specially when mouthed by someone that can't compare to people that actually get famous because of their charisma, skills and talents (meaning it is possible for them, even if it isn't possible to you).. so such an excuse is just garbage. That aside, it would not be a surprise if they had some control over what they give their audience. Matt is a professional, so it might seem that way.. but their content is NOT something you do on your Livingroom for yourself and your friends.. it is made for thousands of viewers.

[@xapes1]

I love ❤ critical role.

[@SupergeekMike]

Same!

[@CrimsonNgreyshardplate]

I honestly believe that Campaign 1 isn’t scripted at all, and that the first half of Campaign 2 isn’t scripted. But once the kickstarter for the show kicked in I think they realized that they have an entertainment empire ready to go. When watching the later part of campaign 2 and all of campaign 3 you don’t get the genuine feel that Campaign 1 has. They are trying to create a story that can be animated and televised. And they are working towards that. Sure there’s no proof, but as I watch it the new content it really feels like they have an agreed end point and they are working towards that. It doesn’t mean that the content they produce isn’t going to be good, but I think we are kidding ourselves if we are say that this is still just a group of people coming together to play dungeons and dragons.

[@maddoxio]

Also A lotta DND campaigns are KINDA scripted in a sense. Players rehearse lines they might say in badass scenarios, or something their characters would do (romance, fights, etc) It ain't a bad thing.