Critical Role, the popular cadre of voice actors who stream their Dungeons & Dragons exploits, is letting newcomers play its first-ever official adventure for free online, and it might revolutionize how the game is played forever. In a time where social distancing is crucial and isolation and boredom are at an all-time high, the way people go about work, school, and, now, even D&D may remain fundamentally changed well after the end of quarantine.
From the time Gygax and Arneson first devised the fantasy tabletop sensation through the present, D&D has lingered on the impenetrable heart of geek culture, widely beloved but perceived by many as too hardcore and niche to easily get into. However, Critical Role and its large following of self-proclaimed "critters" have been slowly chipping away at that image of inaccessibility. Comprised of hyper-talented voice actors and helmed by none other than industry legend Matthew Mercer (Titanfall 2, Fire Emblem) as their Dungeon Master, Critical Role actual-play streams and live shows have shown that D&D has mass appeal, growing so rapidly in popularity that a show based on their first campaign raised millions through crowdfunding and is currently in the works.
The adventurous troupe is now partnering with D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast and online tabletop platform Roll20 to bring an official Critical Role campaign to people everywhere. Explorer's Guide to Wildemount helps players explore the vast, lore-rich continent of Wildemount, and the first adventure, Frozen Sick, is available online for free. Crafting enough content, art, and more to fill an entire sourcebook is normally so expensive that the cost is often passed along to small groups of dedicated players willing to pay. However, this is one of the very few instances in the entire medium where players of all levels of experience and economic means can play together without organizing a meet-up, and remote adventures in the world of Exandria might be a great point of entry during coronavirus quarantine.
Very recently, even the members of Critical Role have suspended their actual-play streams in response to the quick and deadly spread of COVID-19, which has large swathes of the global populace practicing self-isolation in a collective effort to protect vulnerable populations. Mercer and company are certainly not the only in-person parties affected in the D&D community either, as digital interactive entertainment has seen a sharp spike in activity across the board. In a socially dissonant age, virtual platforms like Roll20 have long been seen as the inevitable way forward for tabletop games, but the circumstantial timing of Explorer's Guide to Wildemount's free preview during this crisis may be a catalyst for online D&D play to quickly and soundly surpass physical roundtable sessions.
Many ideas presumed essential about health systems, economies, and entertainment are in significant flux right now. While some things might come out on the other side unscathed, many services and activities that rely on close interpersonal contact may be altered without ever reverting back their original forms - for better or worse. As far as that concerns Dungeons & Dragons, an influx of new players adopting online play habits with the free Critical Role campaign preview might be truly transformative, but hopefully, the comradely tavern spirit of the game isn't lost or tainted along the way.
Source: Roll20, Roll20/YouTube