KarneeKarnay
Member
I've always wanted to get into D&D and every time I hear about it, it gets me wishing. Anyone got any advice on how can learn and where i can play with others?
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Critical Role: Voice Actors Playing D&D
- Thread starter Henchmen21
- Start date
Jest Chillin
Member
You can get the basic rules and character sheets for free from Wizards of the Coast here.
Alternately, you can get the Starters Guide at any local Tabletop Gaming store or on Amazon. Usually runs about $20 or so. Comes with everything one person would need to start playing.
Or you can get the Players Handbook at the same locations listed above. Typically pricier. Around $30.
If you want to try a live game, you can check with local Tabletop Gaming stores to see if they have local games going. Likewise you can check for sub-Reddit's or websites like meetup.com. For online games, Roll20.net is free and there's always tons of games looking for players.
My personal advice is to buy the Players Handbook (320 pages as opposed to the Starter Set's 32 pages), a full set of dice (available all over the place and contains 1 of every dice type you could need), download the character sheet PDF from Wizards as it's easy to print fresh copies that way, then look on Roll20.net for games. You won't need the dice for Roll20 as it has an internal rolling system but it's nice to have a set of dice and you'll be ready for an in person game if you want to try your hand at that eventually.
Do you know?
Vecna and Lich-y stuff, I assume?
Megalosaro
Banned
DnD is some of the most fun a person can have. It's lime make believe for adults.
5e is an especially good product. All the boos they've put out have been fantastic.
Jest Chillin
Member
Yup.
Speculation that may contain spoilers:
It's definitely Vecna. The party should be aware of it because they learned a bit after the original Briarwood Arc but with all that's happened since, they may have forgotten. Certainly seemed like they did as no one seemed to recognize his title of The Whispered One. The interesting question is which iteration of Vicna will Matt use. From what the players discovered in the past, The Briarwoods were trying to perform a ceremony to give Vecna full Godhood. But the missing eyes of the cultists suggest that he's already ascended from Lich to at least a Demigod. The Raven Queen is an enemy of Vecna, so maybe the Orcus stuff was a red herring and Vecna is going to be the final goal of the campaign. Lots of variables but either way stuff is going to get hectic. And I imagine there's only a handful of sessions left before Ashley has to film again so the party will be hard pressed to move forward or face the possibility of losing their cleric before several major lich/undead fights.
Maybe
Vecna and the Raven Queen were vying for the same position as the god of death, she got it, so now they're immortal enemies? Seems possible, at least.
I hope Ashley is still able to skype in on the regular during the end of the campaign. It's a little more awkward, but it would be a shame for her and Pike to miss out on the final arc. Maybe they can do some texting or something to keep her fully clued in as to what's going on while they're playing.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
I was under the assumption that Orcus would be the S1 Big Bad. Now I'm assuming he will be S2.
Pilgrimzero
Member
I believe the new season would be new characters and possibly a new game, like Shadowrun (which would be amazing)
Sir Garbageman
Member
So I've always wanted to give this show a shot but the giant backlog of eps always felt too daunting.
I could probably manage with a podcast though due to my commute to work. Anyone have any thoughts on the podcast version of the show?
Thanks
I could probably manage with a podcast though due to my commute to work. Anyone have any thoughts on the podcast version of the show?
Thanks
They could still include both in this arc. Vecna for levels 17, 18 and maybe some of 19, and have them discover things along the way pointing to a final showdown with Orcus at level 20.
BrightLightLava
Unconfirmed Member
Based on the show, you're only really going to miss out on some of the conversations about positioning during fights (and maybe some visual jokes about Sam's various shirts, and his giant mug), so it should be too bad.
Jest Chillin
Member
New characters. I doubt a new game. Only Matt, Talliesin, and Marisha (a bit) know much about other systems. And anything more complex than 5e will slow combat down. Which is why they converted to 5e from Pathfinder to start with.
I believe it will be new characters in the same world. Probably with a bit of a time skip into the future.
I believe Matt said on that Q&A stream that he will have the next party starting at level 2 and it will be in the same world but a while after Vox Machina's heyday. He didn't mention anything about using a new game, so I assume it will be 5e again.
They have mentioned doing some one-shots between campaigns, so they'll probably try out a few different games then.
I'd personally love to see them do a challenge dungeon like Tomb of Horrors as a one-shot between campaigns.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
With of course cameos by Vox.
I hope Vex's son Vox and Vax's daughter Vix make an appearance.
Soo.. Seems like Orion did a stream a few days ago where he kind of talked about some of the circumstances of why he left Critical Role. Seems like drugs were involved (which he partly began to use due to his cancer as well as finding out he had caught HIV somewhere around the same time, which he revealed for the first time in the stream), though just having trouble with drugs didn't sound like it was the ultimate reason why he had to leave. Sounded like him being a bit fucked due to all the shit he was going through with the cancer and HIV + using drugs caused him to act in some way or do something that caused him to be kicked out and there seems to be some legal stuff that prevents him from talking about the specifics.
Yeah wish him the best of luck I think its waaaaay too far to come back to Critical Role especially with Tibs getting a very beautiful sendoff, perhaps he could come again as a Guest with a different character.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
I feel like rushing Orcus would not only be lame, but also a total exhaustion on the players.
I had a thought that, after they defeat Vecna, maybe the Raven Queen becomes the Big Bad of S2 with Orcus as the Dragon.
They should be Vix and Vyx to be even more confusing.
Megalosaro
Banned
Holy shit. That's fucking a travesty. Hopefully he's at least still friends?
The Elven "i" and "y" sound totally different, you guys.
I just skimmed it, but he mentioned that Marisha was his best friend and that he's sorry he couldn't talk to her about it.
I think everyone on the show and Orion are on acquaintance status these days.
PeskyToaster
Member
I'm getting my friends together to start our first game. A couple of us have played personal games up but that was more 'where everything is made up and the rules don't matter' so I think we'll get the rulebooks and stuff to make sure we're doing it casually correct.
I used the 'It's my birthday' method to gather everyone like Liam did lol. I'm going to be buying all the rulebooks and shit so we'll have to share for now. Probably need some dice sets too.
I think my friend has a couple story ideas so it might be fun to just jump right in and see what we can get out of it.
I used the 'It's my birthday' method to gather everyone like Liam did lol. I'm going to be buying all the rulebooks and shit so we'll have to share for now. Probably need some dice sets too.
I think my friend has a couple story ideas so it might be fun to just jump right in and see what we can get out of it.
At least Matt & Sam seem to be friendly, if not friends (I saw some facebook pictures with the three in seemingly friendly terms all smiling & everything with some "hey, look who I ran into" description for the image from Spring 2016 when I did some light research as to where Orion disappeared suddenly).
I imagine some damage has been done but it doesn't seem like bridges have been nuked with the mother of all nukes. I could see relationships being mended in time if Orion manages to keep his drug problem in check and assuming what he did wasn't something completely unforgivable. Not sure if they'll want to have him back on Critical Role (at least regularly), but if CR continues long enough and they do restore friendships, I don't think it's outside the realm of possibilities altogether to see Orion make an appearance or two. However slim that chance might be.
I honestly think it's best if they don't have him back on, whether it is a legal issue or not. Going by his behavior and what he's saying in that confession video, I think he still has a long road to recovery.
Alpha Centauri
Member
Agreed. Out of 100 episodes, the only planning session that was of any worth was Kashaw showing them how bad they were at planning.
Henchmen21
Banned
Ooh, all at the same table. Wonder if this is going to work considering they've been two tables for two years now.
They got the audio issues fixed pretty quickly considering the stress and the fact that they're trying a new system.
It seems like they're CONSTANTLY adjusting people's levels. It's unbelievably distracting. Hopefully they get them dialed in soon and leave them the hell alone.
edit - it's not as bad as last week, at least. They were bringing people all the way down every time they weren't talking last week.
Jest Chillin
Member
This isn't all that different from the very first setup actually. Initially they were at two tables pushed together where the two sets of the party were facing each other and Matt was at the head of the table.
Yes, they adjust the levels on the fly with this system. Which has it's positives. For when they get too loud (yelling, laughing, singing) and when cast members are whispering privately or when Matt's whispering insight checks. It is noticeable though.
The new set looks cozy and the new overlay looks clean. I like it.
Audio is better than last week, though still a little funky. They're constantly adjusting audio levels now –I really hope they can just lock it down to something consistent again soon– but Marisha's mic continues to be too loud. That's been the same to varying degrees in every setup they've had though, so I don't know if the pitch of her voice just gets picked up more for some reason, or she just doesn't have her "stage voice" down as well as everyone else.
Audio is better than last week, though still a little funky. They're constantly adjusting audio levels now –I really hope they can just lock it down to something consistent again soon– but Marisha's mic continues to be too loud. That's been the same to varying degrees in every setup they've had though, so I don't know if the pitch of her voice just gets picked up more for some reason, or she just doesn't have her "stage voice" down as well as everyone else.
They need to just run everything through a compressor. That's why they exist.
I assume they have some sort of reasoning for not doing that, but you're absolutely right that they need to.
I'm sure it will be fixed eventually, but it's still strange and disappointing that the audio has taken such a hit after being good for so long.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
FTFY.
Sam was not interested in anybody dragging their feet tonight.
For real though. Smug Liam is the worst Liam.
Keep waiting for Liam to get himself killed due to the smugness, still hasn't happened.
"Manners" is the best code word for that device.
Taliesin is good at naming his toys.
Taliesin is good at naming his toys.
He's been trying for quite a while now.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
I, for one, dislike the new CGI set. I thought it was real neat when it was just them playing in a real setting.
I thought his intermission games were the worst. No direction, constantly changing focus, constantly stripping the characters of their stats and agency, no arc, and it ended with the most ridiculous jerk-off scene.
Also: "Go tell my druid to come to bed." < ----- get fucked, dude.
I thought his intermission games were the worst. No direction, constantly changing focus, constantly stripping the characters of their stats and agency, no arc, and it ended with the most ridiculous jerk-off scene.
Also: "Go tell my druid to come to bed." < ----- get fucked, dude.
I've had my issues with Liam as a player for a long time. Especially when he gets snippy or rude with Matt, but he's just generally controlling and high maintenance when he's not being smug or having a "me me me me me me me me me me me me" scene.
And that last intermission game was indeed the worst. I couldn't even finish it. I had to stop watching once they got to the final scene because it was like 30 minutes of autofellatio while his players watched. I said it at the time, but I think it says a lot about Liam that the game he ran for his friends was literally all about him. I like the first one because the first half has the fake voiceover session which I thought was great.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
wat - the set isn't CGI.
Holy shit, the building they film in is huge. I totally just thought it was a small sound booth in one of their garages.
When has he ever been rude or snippy towards Matt? The worst it gets is when he's kind of in the moment, wants to do something a bit too much/grandiose/impossible during his turn, Matt says no and he's a bit confused about the rules and has to have Matt thoroughly explain why he can't do what he wants to do. But he's never rude or snippy, at least nowhere near as bad as how Travis has gotten with Orion or Marisha.
And while I don't disagree that he has some me me me moments (especially earlier), Liam often stays quiet for long periods of time, so it's not like he's constantly hogging the spotlight, only when he sees some opportunity for some drama he feels fits the situation/his character + he's gotten far better with not having those monologues at other players that end with "and then I leave", which did get a bit selfrighteous at times. It's not wrong for the players to want to have some focus on themselves during sessions.
And while I wasn't a fan of the game he ran, it wasn't "just about him" in the end, more like a vessel to show his appreciation towards his friends. The stuff at the end was less about "look at how awesome I am" and more a "hey, I love you guys and am forever grateful you have stuck by my side through my hard times" show of affection & appreciation.
I'm not going to go back and watch every episode to find you examples of rudeness, but it's mostly the looks he gives and tone of voice.
And you can definitely read his second quest as just being a way to show his appreciation, but it's about the way he did that. He basically spent both games taking away all of the players' agency and killing them, made himself the final goal, and their big reward was hearing him monologue about how much he likes his friends and how selflessly he loves them. A person can give a speech about someone else and still make it about themselves. Suspiciously similar to the Vax, "Hey, how are you? I want to talk to you. Now I'm going to talk at you for ten minutes and leave without you saying anything." conversations.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
I think it says a lot when you have Matt and Liam, two guys that love to ham it up, but when Matt hams it up, it is for effect rather than substance.
think you're reading too much into looks & tone. He can be a bit insisting but that doesn't equal rude. Perhaps a tiny bit snippy if he's a little disappointed he can't do something cool he had thought for his turn & Matt shoots his attempt down due to rules (who hasn't had those moments when rules get in the way of awesome and been a bit pissy about it
). Don't think his attitude, even when he has been a bit frustrated, has ever been directed at Matt, more just general frustration. Again, Travis has been far worse an asshole towards people; with actual meant-to-insult words too, not just looks and tones.Again, I do share a lot of your criticism. His game was too tightly structured and did leave too little agency to players and didn't really have any way to affect anything in the outcome. But the players seemed to enjoy the WTFiness of it and yours is a particularly cynical way of reading the end. I don't think there was much "look at how awesome I am for giving this kind of selfless speech" to it. Liam just seemed to think it'd be fun to put his friends into nightmares he's had and the finale to be a twist that allowed him to show his appreciation. He just should've planned a bit more to allow for a bit more flexibility & chances for the players to affect the game.
And also again, Liam has gotten far better at actually interacting with people rather than monologing at them. I don't even remember the last time he did the whole "and then I walk away" thing seriously. After the other players started doing it as a friendly jab at him, he mostly stopped doing it after awhile and the couple of times I do remember it more recently ( like, episode 50 recently), it was as more of a joke acknowledging his past silly tendencies to do so, not as overly dramatically as before.
HP_Wuvcraft
Banned
I never got that.
Alpha Centauri
Member
Agreed Travis ribbs people for funny/stupid shit, but it's always in a jokey / positive manner. Except with Orion of course. With Sam, they'll shittalk each other about football.
Can you give some examples where he just straight up insults someone? I really can't remember anything like that. Maybe making fun of Keyleth's goldfish stunt?
Can you give some examples where he just straight up insults someone? I really can't remember anything like that. Maybe making fun of Keyleth's goldfish stunt?