How to Watch Critical Role

Critical Role is the most popular Dungeons & Dragons show on the Internet, which is why Wizards of the Coast is publishing a sourcebook based on the show later this year. Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount comes out in March, which means now is the perfect time to jump into Critical Role. For those not familiar with the show, Critical Role starts a group of voice actors and longtime friends who play Dungeons & Dragons every week. The main cast consists of Matthew Mercer, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey, Liam O’Brien, Sam Riegel, Marisha Ray, Ashley Johnson, and Taliesin Jaffe. The show started in 2015 on Geek & Sundry, but the group founded their own studio in 2018 and now are an independent company.

Critical Role has a massive fanbase, mostly due to the immersive storytelling of the cast. As veteran voice actors, the players all adopt accents and are great at improvisation, leading to almost all of the group’s NPC interactions happening in character. DM Matthew Mercer has also built a massive world filled with mystery, intrigue, and multiple warring factions, which appeals to any fan of high fantasy and deep lore.

At first glance, Critical Role can be an intimidating show to get into. Episodes have run weekly since 2015, and the average episode runs about 4 hours. However, the show is split up into two campaigns, the later of which only began in early 2018. The most recent campaign follows the Mighty Nein, a ragtag group of adventurers exploring the continent of Wildemount. Although D&D fans can learn more about Wildemount when Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount is released in March, following the campaign provides some additional context and really brings Wildemount to life.

There are three main ways of following Critical Role. The first is to watch the show live every week on Critical Role‘s Twitch channel, which airs at 7 PM PT on Thursdays. Mercer provides a brief recap at the beginning of every episode, and you can always try to dive right in. Alternately, players can start watching Campaign 2 on YouTube, as new episodes are posted on Monday. The first 19 episodes of Campaign 2 are currently on Geek & Sundry’s Twitch channel, which the more recent ones can be found on Critical Role‘s YouTube channel. Luckily, Critical Role also manages a handy playlist so you can follow the campaign without searching. Alternately, you can also find audio versions of Critical Role episodes on various podcast platforms. Once again, the first 19 episodes can be found on Geek & Sundry’s Critical Role podcast, while the rest are on Critical Role’s own podcast. Personally, I prefer listening to the podcast to catch up, as you can listen to it while at work or in the car.

Critical Role is a great show that provides a fun Dungeons & Dragons experience, and serves as the perfect introduction to a strange and fantastic world. Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount will be released on March 17th.