I may get some flak for this but a big point of contention for me is the overall anti-theist mood and dogging the deities in the world. Like I get none of the players are religious, if at all, but their reaction and playthrough in the world reacting to the BBEG feels very heavy handed and ridiculous to the point of caricature. It's one thing to be atheist, agnostic or anti-theist but this group is going full bore into fedora territory and it's not fun for me personally. Like how you just gonna crap on a god literally blessing you with their power? LOL It's just weird to me.
That's a huge problem I've had with it too. It doesn't make any sense to NOT be religious in a world full of crazy evil shit and god's that EVERYBODY knows exists that can and do intervene in reality-altering ways.
That was an issue for me that started with Marisha's characters back in C1. She's always been thee anti-theist. But now it seems the entire group caught the fedora syndrome.
I thought that as well. Game was setup with a world where gods help you and have some truly good souls. yet they take out their only hate of religion here.
@@pishposh69 In C1 though I didn't mind it because it was Keyleth the character, not Marisha the player, which is fine especially since the rest of the party was relatively (or at least appropriately) religious. But then it was also Beau, and then also Laudna...
The self-help therapy sessions in C3 is just too much for me. The "we succeeded because you spoke your truth" got old very fast. I think they had a healthy balance of it in C2 but it seemed to work then. Idk, I can watch basically anything else to get that message if I wanted to. Plus the crassness of Ashton is just cringe.
^This has been a big one for me. Like, yes, moments like that can be powerful for characters sometimes, but it feels like there's too many of them stuffed in there and it gets a little old and boring after awhile.
It's prerecorded for the audiences entertainment to edit over any unapproved language or jokes, reactions are overblown for the sake of the camera, Contracts are signed for merchandise that involve all the PC's likeness and there is too much money on the line to take risks. You will never see an organic PC's death in the game that sticks so there are no stakes so it has basically devolved into some kind of weird soap opera to play into their insane parasocial fans. It's no longer a bunch of friends playing a game it's a corporate product made and packaged to be sold to a consumer.
1.) The OGL siding with WOTC/Hasbro. 2.) The try hard mentality. They are treating these characters as work. Or, it seems that they don't care about the characters. 3.) They're burnt out. The story might be there, but the mind is tired.
100% "diversity hires" for Optics, especially during PRIDE(tm) month. The cast is 100% straight and White....They would never be "allowed" in today's very "accepting" market.
Group never felt like a group and just random people walking around. Characters: Immogen is just discount Tiberius. Very unintentional main character syndrome, mind reading counters so much exploring nature of DnD. As well as her ruining other characters moments with red moon crap. Everyone save for Chet, Laudna, and FCG are boring, uninteresting, or just moody and their moments are just swept under the rug for Immogen moments. The pure disrespect of the legacy Characters is utterly gross. The random mad maxx stuff was really out of left field. Like, oh hey we have machine guns and morter bikes now yet no other nation is marching there to basically have a tech boom?(pulling a legend of Korra) I feel like Brenden did more in EXU pre calamity then Matt has done all C3. I actually was invested and wanted more. In all honesty I'm just going to wait for C3 to die and try C4 when it happens. Hopefully that will explode, pun intended. Granted, this is all my opinion, and if other critters like C3 more power to you
I might not agree with your opinion but I'm so tired of this community saying you can't critize it.... It's a multimillion dollar company, of course you can critize it!! They are doing this for our entertainment first and theirs second
Nu-CR fans are a Cult of Redditors and Tik-Tokkers that have literally never even seen C1 and would want to "cancel" if they did. Pure creative cancer. D&D is a "safe space" now. No more monsters!
@@SrLoueiz Well there is a time and place for criticism to be taken seriously. Live chat is for engagement. Twitter, message boards, video essays are better places to post criticisms for people to think about.
@@lanceareadbhar Except it's no better in any of those platforms. I've tried to voice very respectul and fair critiques or even just personal opinions that weren't praising the show and the way the fanbase will eat you alive just for that is so annoying.
@@SrLoueiz they get to say it's hate speech. .this is where we are. and LA is probably more out of touch that other places. I think it's odd they all have so many characters that are non-straight to make a statement yet it's like 7% irl. it's like here we want to show support by showing everyone is this way yay! not that I care but its.. odd
Here's my take on this. CR is simply a WAY bigger business in C3 than it was in C1 and C2. They're unfocused right now. C3 is not their only concern, and I believe it's impacting the quality. During C3 (post-Covid), they also ran Calamity, Candela Obscura, Vox Machina animated releases of S1 & S2, Mercer DM'ing on D20 for multiple epic episodes, prep on Daggerheart and Candela Obscura gaming systems, potentially working on separating from Hasbro/WotC, tons of new merch, Marisha fighting someone, commitment to Four Sided Die episodes and getting back into the Con circuit. I feel like the split of the party in C3 has been a stall tactic to give all the CR people some time to breathe. But it has not lightened the load for Mercer, through which all good things come. So even the quality (and the point) of this split has been diluted. Say what you want about the specifics of C3 that you may love or hate (C1 & C2 developed various storylines over time). None of that is really the problem. It's lack of focus. Too many irons in the fire. The Vox Machina series would've been enough for any small business to put out. CR did that and tons more. C3 is suffering for it. Add in that Mercer was clear that the party would be in over their head in C3. Working thru problems way out of their paygrade. And so far, that's been true. Regardless of the strange party mix and bent for chaos, these characters are out of their league. This is by design. And it's less enjoyable to watch. Nuff said. Thanks for letting me rant a bit...
That’s very true they are overloaded with a lot. And as a consumer I’m grateful for that. I think it was on four sided dive that Laura said that they wanted to take away the thumbnail image and give it to someone else. But she wanted to keep it, it brought her joy. Also, it’s not just them there company is like 40+ people deep last time I checked
In that same thread, all of the 'extras' that caused them to start pre-recording shows, really stunted the organic evolution of the story. It goes back to what @Criter-Talk was saying about tunnel vision in the campaign so that goal lines can be met. There is no more sense that we are witnessing history in the making. We're just being told about it after the fact.
I think its less that than other things. They had other things going on during C2. We may see now the fruits of those things. If anything most of the hard work of setitng up the company, dealing with the kickstarter, and the production of the show happened dring C2. durving C1 and 2, Ashley's time was split between this and NYC. So i really dont think its about this. I think its about the structure of the campaign itself.
@@mirtos39ya it had some bad setup choices off the bat. They needed a better excuse to stay away from the main plot to develop relationships, instead it felt rushed, forced, and inorganic. Bell’s death, couldn’t get invested because it became clear he was just a plot device. Their rich benefactor almost got out of feeling like a plot device and then went right back once the crew were left his resources. The fact they had an airship immediately meant we didn’t get to travel the land more intimately and get more connected with the region and the characters. This just suffered over all from being rushed. It’s feeling like a commodity and not an experience. Like modern Marvel and Disney projects, don’t think too much, just consume new product and get ready for more. They’re spread thin, and perhaps getting direction from bad consultants on how they should run the campaign. I just hate to think Matt setup this world and plot on his own. He’s feels too talented to be making so many bad narrative choices.
C3 started feeling like an intentional slow roll during the party split. The months of pointless side quests (flower hunt, team building games, scouting mission) seemed to be fill for avoiding a campaign conclusion. My hope is the Daggerheart beta is the light at the end of the tunnel. C3 won’t get meaty again until Daggerheart is ready to replace D&D in C4.
For campaign 3, the characters are all so extreme that they never seem to fit with one another. They all seem to be going in different directions and trying to force the rest to go with them.
@@undefined2105well...yeah, and that works for "normal" Campains or...well, real life. But this is a game, and it's a show, and that can get confusing...
My main gripe with this campaign is that the Supposed Moral Choice:tm: is not really a choice: only somebody clinically insane would look at the consequences of killing the gods and go "Yeah, let's totes do it!"
I know what you mean, but at the same time, this a world where the calamity happened. The gods within this world have been characterized as kinda selfish beings, the world is basically a post apocalypse when compared to what we saw pre-calamity. Ludinus especially, he saw firsthand how much people could achieve without the help of the gods
@@mcmann2243 That is true. But then the consequences of killing the gods is an enormous unknown: would clerics, druids and paladins (which, let's keep in mind, have economy and society-altering abilities) retain their powers? (growing crops, healing the sick and wounded, resurrecting the dead, keeping the seas, oceans and skies in good behaviour so trade can happen faster, etc) Or, in other words, do the folks in the world really want to fuck around to find out? XD
@@talscorner3696There's also the fact from the Greying Lands bit where the God's are the biggest force keeping abyssal incursions from getting too out of hand.
Absolutely. It drives me nuts how so many of the player characters hold a basically ridiculous position for a world like this. It just doesn't seem honest and seems more like a statement they want to make about organized religion in our world.
I appreciate you putting this out there and I think you have very valid points. For me, it's the characters the players created. C1 had very basic characters that we saw evolve and change with very few mysterious backstories, which worked very well and we felt strong connections to. C2 had that again, but a few characters (IMO Nott, Caleb for example) had these mysterious backstories that got revealed very effectively, but were the minority. Other characters were relatively straightforward (Beau, Yasha, Jester, Fjord to some degree). Sure they have secrets but their existence is not a mystery. C3 it seems that everyone has a secret, everyone has a plot behind them and its' like we're playing catch up. FCG, Chetney, Imogen, Laudna, Fearne, Ashton...essentially everyone except Orym has some sort of mysterious origin story that we may or may not get info about which feels very unsatisfying.
honestly feels like Travis is done with Chetney daddy and is looking for the exit of this character. The disappointment when Imogene made sure he made the trip to the moon, it really felt like he Travis was trying to get left behind….
It feels like each individual is basically a main character instead of the group itself being the main character. Idk if that makes any sense. Think 7 different novellas instead of one epic novel.
Honestly lost interest in campaign 3… mighty nein was best, vox was a close contender, this third campaign isn’t bad where i do enjoy like 3-4 characters to varying degrees… but they just don’t keep me there… fresh cut grass just does literally nothing for me… which is sad since knott and scandlin are soooo dear to me FCG just was a ball drop for me personally.
honestly, i think they just went for the red moon too fast. from the get-go it felt like they were going for the end game, and that just threw everything off. it shouldn't have been introduced until halfway through, at the earliest.
The problen is because is the characters Suck. Laudna was good in the 8 first episodes after that she became repetive. Imogen is terrible. OMG i hate Imogen. She is like child of the profecy Naruto vibes. Fearne is cool, she is the best character of Asheley, maybe because she play it more. Orym is bland. He lack motivacion. Chetney is perfect. He is one of the best characters in the shown period. Ashton is the worst character of Taelesin. FCG is a coll character. I like Sam interpretecion of him. But he is terrible Cleric. Terrible. And Sam is very good whith play if his backstory and FGC have amnesia. Making Sam lose a big part of his play style.
The double irony is that despite the focus on the "Red Moon"/Apocalypse, it's clearly not all that bad if they can BAMPF! around with obnoxious NPCs(Abriya is enthusiasm cancer in every way) for months on end. Kinda kills the "sense of urgency" and "The End is Neigh" vibe, tbh.
THANK YOU I noticed at some point that nothing really dangerous can happen with the group. No matter they do, they never really fail. They never really lose. They never really die. After you realised it, it become really difficult to empathize characters. What the difference of any encounters, if they will succeed anyway?
@@Nomorenord The cannot/will not EVER be able to have a major unplanned even, much less a PC death. The "Producers" won't "allow" it, and there's too much money tied up in merch, marketing, etc...Look what happened to Molly, a completely boring, but cooling looking character, that died too so, so they had to Rezz hims 15 times to keep the merch money flowing. It's just a semi-improv, "action show" with no action and no more good improv b/c they're strangled by Political Correctness. They're bored to tears and you can see it on all their faces.
My reasons for stopping watching the series was: 1)Fillers/Known information being regurgitated,the DM should simply say for the the sake of watchability the characters in the game already talked and know this. 2)Story felt really restrictive,unclear if it's Matt's fault 100% or not but it really seems like the players don't have a choice in the matter,the DM will get his way REGARDLESS and that's a problem.When you make the viewer truly believe that choice is an illusion the viewer's imagination just disappears.I want to point out that I also agree imogen's backstory is very intrusive and overshadows everything. 3)Generally bland/bad pacing,personally speaking after episode 29 I couldn't watch it anymore so I went ahead to the wiki and spoiled everything for myself and I am glad I did.On top of everything after a while it felt so predictable and boring and characters felt one dimensional lacking any emotional connection with other characters making the viewer not really give a shit about them either. It really devolved into "each character has a deep hidden secret,their own agenta and there's no PvP,players can't be aggressive/unpredictable because the DM and the players decided so since day one so their garbage secrets will be revealed when the DM seems fit to do so" It just becomes so stale but I guess it was good and entertaining for a while but I really regret pushing past episode 18 and just went straight to the spoilers and save myself from bullshit filler episodes and ever more imploding story.
I do kinda think the red moon plot maybe should have been the last arc of the campaign or at least been held off from happening for maybe an arc or two of going through everyones backstorys (excluding Imogen’s backstory as hers in tied into the moon arc)
C3 is filled with side characters. None of them are capable/willing to front the group and drive the narrative. Imogen was doing it until Sam threw it in her face as the "main character" and since she is just as meandering as the rest.
That is Sam joking with his good friend about comments he’s seen in the community. Imogen was the main character and party “face” but she didn’t like the idea of that and backed off. Can’t say I blame her when tons of people are criticizing her for doing it. Either Matt didn’t communicate that her backstory would tie in heavy to the main story, or she didn’t think it would be THAT intrinsic.
@@lamardavis688except she _is_ the main character but Laura clearly doesn't want to/isn't capable of playing it that way. Just another of many problems with this campaign.
I understand where you're coming from with there being too much focus on the Red Moon. If I were to guess, I'd bet they are trying to stay focused on their new RPG system, Daggerheart. Which is set to release sometime early next year. Maybe Critical Role viewed Campaign 3 as the "set up". The time to change everything, before moving forward.
Checked out at about episode 60 and haven't really missed it. Ironically, I think this is around when this video came out, lol. This was after those awful dragging sessions where they plan something for 3 hours and then their plan falls apart around 2 minutes later. I checked out completely when they were going around destroying the malleus keys (or whatever they're called). It's a shame, too, the first few episodes with Bertrand and up to the big ball, it was really engaging but since they left the initial city, it was tedious to the extreme, apart from a few moments like the Deathwish Run but too sparse to make it worth the time investment. Maybe I'll get back to it but every time I try I feel sorta detached from the whole thing.
I drifted off of CR during C2. Back then i saw that something is not clocking as id did in C1. After about 40? episodes of C2 i still was not sure what is this story supposed to be about. Not in "mysterious" way, just in "what is going on, why is it written like that" way. Plus characters were... bland? To the point i watched most of characters seemed written off of same scheme of "You think you f'd up in your past but noo its actually OTHERS fault, you are good the way you are". I simply found it cheap and harmful, not to mention that its just bland compared to characters from C1. Most of it was simply "oh woe me my poor soul" with rolling dice. So i dropped it after some time. Then there was non-mercer exandria.... and lets say that it should be shown on some workshops on how not to DM. Did not even touch C3, as Since C1 CR and its members did some... questionable things and got involved in some... QUESTIONABLE dramas showing too much where their views are instead of focusing on what was good in the "product" itself. Simply cant watch it anymore for prolonged period of time not seeing that rather than story they focused on "sending a message". Buuut i liked the tv series.
I will love CR regardless, the cast is such an inspiration to me, and I felt sad that I haven't been able to connect with this campaign. I've seen a video before that completely counter arguments this saying that pretty much there is no consequences for them, they are going anywhere else except the moon like the fey realm when the gods and exandria is on the verge of destruction. Plans take 3 hours and fall apart in two minutes, and finally there are too many jokes and joke characters. So although two videos completely contradict each other, the final point for both is that it feels less impactful, less emotional and no consequences
People said campaign 2 sucked comparing it to campaign 1, people are saying campaign 3 sucks comparing it to campaign 1&2, people will continue to compare and criticize something not realizing what they're doing
I disagree. I liked 2 more than 1 with the exception of their endings. The characters in 2 I felt were more compelling. 3 felt goofy and kinda meta... like they're trying to force the same lightning in a bottle and I don't think it lands. Same with the characters being more "special snowflake" if that makes sense. It might be just my taste but I prefer more traditional fantasy.
I just want to see the main cast, I have nothing against guests but I am invested in Travis marisha Liam talisan Ashley Sam and Laura. Them and their characters interacting with each other to beat the bad guys and save the day. That’s just me personally.
They're literally "too White" and "old" and "straight" and must "showcase diversity at the table" per their orders from their Corporate masters, or they will literally be "canceled" . Heck, the Nu-Fans would never allow C1 to happen at all. Many have still never seen it.
@@KarlKarsnarklol I had this exact thought earlier when I still could stomach the latest campaign. Exandria is apparently California, with every single person going by "they/them"?? I think they've honestly just lived in LA for too long.
@@ao1778 Indeed, Sam even asked Tallisen "You're really gonna do this?!?" when "they" came out during he character intros. C1 is who they truly are and it was great. Every campaign since has become worse and worse. I haven't watched in months.....and neither has anyone else, if the numbers are to be believed. Cheers!
To sum up, no emotional connection by the players to the world, the plot, or each other, and a meandering, disconnected, tedious plot. This group would have moved on to another game in real life.
i personally liked critical role for the world building, the comedy and the interactions between players. unfortunately, in campaign 2: the interactions and character moments felt unnatural, like they were scripted (for example characters would be doing the dumbest thing possible even tho they should know about the consequences). the comedy became stale rather quick as it boiled down to "let's insult Fjord's (or any white man's for that matter) masculinity" until basically the end of the campaign. world building took a major hit too because, SOMEHOW, every straight white male was either dumb, evil or both, all major factions were ruled by "strong independent women that need no man" (or any other LGBT member). in all honesty i didn't even bother starting C3 (nor i watched the "the mighty Nein reunited" specials)
Thank you for your points of concern for campaign 3 and I completely agree wjth them. I think what really started the concern was when they began to pre record the sessions. Now while i totally understand the practicality of that move, it removes the element of being "live" with the players. Half the time watching them play for real on the spot made it exciting. Nowadays it sorta feels hollow because they're not there on Thursday 😢. Another point to consider is how big Critical Role has become. Let's face it: they're no longer a struggling little company, they've become a media kingdom which in some ways makes it worse for us fans. They're not focused on the game anymore, they have other projects that take their time and so the gameplay can seem stale. Now in regards to the actual campaign, i agree that this has been a aort of railroaded campaign. And from i could tell from earlier comments is that Bells Hells is STILL trying to find their Avengers moment to become a cohesive fighting unit, which is a problem, especially 80 episodes in. Don't get me wrong, i actually thought CR trying new types of characters was pretty cool, but their personalities are all over the place which can really the synergy of the party. And i get that in real life we are chaotic, but when placed in a group situation there has be am eventual intro to unity. And another thing! Make Robbie Daymond a full cast member dang it! I love the cast, but they be stale sometimes, he was a breath of fresh air in the gameplay 🎉.
I tell you what the problem with CR is. It’s no longer a game of D&D between friends, it’s a business. It no longer targets its players, it focuses solely on an outside audience - us, in order to get views, likes, subs and money. CR has become a scripted show full of fake drama created to raise the hype and retain the viewership. Is it still entertaining? Of course it is, just like Star Trek, X-Files or Umbrella Academy are - even though all of those are dramatic stories enacted by actors. CR has shifted into the the same category. While entertaining, it no longer is real D&D. For a complete noob, the show still looks amazing. But anyone with a few years of D&D experience starts seeing the truth. I’m afraid CR is never going to get better. The only way it could happen is if they just played a campaign and didn’t give a fluff about the views and subs, ideally if they were not making any money off it. But that will never happen, they got used to the finances and they won’t do that even if it was for charity. One-shot, likited series, maybe… But a whole campaign? No, that will never happen, even though they’re all working and very successful voice actors with plenty of jobs and don’t need a penny from CR to make ends meet… Power of greed is unstoppable.
For me it was the time absolutely wasted after the teleportation happened on the first party, it was episode after episode of Frida this Frida that i was so tired of it I almost didn't make it to the other party, and then they wrap that up in what two or three episodes? I genuinely don't remember. AND they kill the best, THE BEST guest they've ever had imo Utkarsh Ambudkar playing Bor'Dor Dog'Son an absolutely useless Sorcerer with so much character and charm I fell in love with everything he did and then they just off him.. Great... Haven't bothered trying to watch more of it so I just relisten to the second campaign for the 8th time in three years.
I'll take the chic who plays prism over Ashley any day. I'm like 3 episodes behind when normally I stayed up to listen live, so something is off that isn't keeping my attention. Could be me, idk, but the emotions of campaign 1 felt genuine, and now it feels like acting.
I love this campaign. Its different because starting off they were groups of people who knew each other joinig up. I dont think the play is rushed, I feel the urgency of figuring things out. As this has probably been the biggest baddest thing to happen
I mean in C2 Caleb and nott knew each other for a few weeks, beau jester and fjord knew each other for maybe a week or two, and Molly and Yasha knew each other for like a year or something. I tried to get into C3 of course but I think everyone just gets very attached to their first CR campaign they watch and since this scifi ish genre is so different to the political intrigue of C2 or the high fantasy of C1, folks that know CR for those other campaigns aren't getting into it as much.
1. Tone. I noticed that Matthew Mercer tends to run his games with some amount of seriousness more like in Tolkien or Star Wars. Meanwhile, his players generally play their characters silly like Marvel characters or Rick and Morty characters. I do not like my goofy shit in D&D. 2. The players made boring characters (to me anyway). I think all his players made shite characters for campaign 3, and I tapped out somewhere around episode 6. I especially hated Laudna and considered resuming watching when I heard she died. That was very exciting for me.
The big reason that the third season seems to suck is that it is suffering from the success of the first two seasons. The first season was new and interesting something we had not seen before. The second season was different even as it was set in the same world. The third season is not really different from the previous seasons and most importantly the viewers are jaded and expecting to much of the cast. This is atmiditly my own view of the situation.
I mean, it's a game, not a scripted show. Matt has a story to tell that's vital to the growth of the gaming world. But the players are not along for the ride, WE are. I watch this game because of the players and because Matt is a damned genius. If more than 1 or two of these people play in a game, I'll watch it. Is the story as compelling as S1 or S2? Maybe not (although I find the religious conflict, arguments regarding freedom of choice, and the dark side of power are VERY weighty and fascinating story beats). But we need to remember we are watching a game, not critiquing Rothfuss livestreaming attempts to write that 3rd novel (which... hey. 1st book took 15 years to write. Man has the right to take as long as he needs to write the 3rd book). It's a game. Not a novel. We are PRIVILEGED to watch these Voice Actors do their thing. If you're not as big a fan of the story, take some lessons back for your own game. Punch up the pace, do a TPK or two. OR go the Gygax route, have time pass in-game while it passes in real life, have players collect taxes and grow crops. The roots of the game should be a reminder that pacing and story are not solely up to the DM/GM. This is collaborative storytelling, with a framework in place that makes some things clunky. That's it. Otherwise, we've got a great world-builder at the helm, with some seriously impressive Players that most DMs/GMs would give their right arm to have the privilege of running a game for. Let's cut them a bit of slack, ok? And if you really don't like this season as much, you can watch Dimension 20, or Midst, or Candela Obscura, or hell, reruns of Acq Inc or B Team or DCA. It's a game, folks. Sometimes the mechanics and the ground laying and the collaborative nature of the endeavor takes time.
I agree especially on the religious part. But I would like to see more of that above table banter I find that when those moments are happening I’m enjoying it the most.
@KarlKarsnark there's a difference between "scripted" as in "here are your lines" and "scripted" as in, Matt's got a general concept of where this is going, and he may warn the players that it's gonna get dark, or he may tell the guest PCs that he wants them to behave a certain way, or he incorporates their backstories into the game in such a way that they'll end up doing roughly what he's planned for. OR... they steal a pirate ship and Matt has to plan several sessions around that before they come back to his notes as written. Yeah, it's a general plot line, but I guarantee that it's not a script they're reading from. Individual PCs could absolutely come into the game with plans, one-liners, even monologues. It's not a stage play, though. Maybe we can agree on that?
My biggest issue is their trying to tell a Burning Wheel story using 5e. What they do in game that is the entertainment part has next to no mechanical support so Matt and the players have to do all the heavy lifting and making it good despite 5e rather than because of it. All 5e brings to the table is the combat, and then they end up doing way too much combat because that's what D&D needs. If they played a game like Burning Wheel combat could be a narrative tool like in a novel, and a GM response rather than a requirement of the system. On top of that the beliefs and instincts will let them bring backstory easier into the game because there are specifics for the GM to target rather than generalisations. It also gives a stance to the characters beyond "this is a thing" so Matt has something to challenge and tie into other events. He does all that already but this way the game is doing all the heavy lifting so he can spend less time worrying about it.
Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. read the following as opinion and not fact, because it is not fact. It's just easier to make direct affirmative statements. I happen to like this one the most, and disagree with a lot of your points. These character have all developed quite a lot. Were some parts rushed? No more than the players chose to rush them with only a handful of exceptions. I guess I have different expectations of what to get out of it, though. I think the pacing is excellent for the most part, with only a few parts to take issue with. You aren't actually wrong here, I just don't agree with your opinion. I've seen this opinion a bit here and there, but also a bunch of dissenting opinion as well. Also, on the emotion thing: Their current characters all express emotion differently (not less) than their older characters. If anything, there is a lot more emotion going on, and it is often more intense, it's just directed toward different things. I would agree if you said the characters typically are sharing less inter-party emotional reaction, though, but it's not a huge amount less. They all have very deep issues they are dealing with in their own ways that are frequently getting in the way of that, and it would make less sense for them to behave otherwise. They all have different and in many cases more impactful connections to the major plot, and that plot is substantially more dour and consistently more of a pressing issue, as well. It would feel awkward if they reacted like their older characters to the happenings in this one. Are there big differences? Sure. I just don't agree they are bad, and in fact think most are good. I'm getting a lot more enjoyment out of this campaign than campaign two. I wont say more than campaign one, and the difference isn't actually all that much. I did kinda get bored of campaign two and waited and skipped ahead, though. I'm not sure but I think the lull for me began around the arc where they were first dealing with the pirates a bunch, and I just got kinda bored for some reason I don't really remember. I haven't been bored yet this season at all. Quite the opposite. I love all these characters and their stories and interactions, and I especially love the worldbuilding that is happening here.
Im glad that you are enjoying this campaign and the emotions are definitely there but more muted. And you are right that it’s in part due to the fact that the way these characters deal with situations is a lot more inward facing.
Side thing too: FCG's romance with the other warforged felt very weird and forced. They try to represent genders and identities bc woke but why wouldn't they create an asexual relationship from that? It feels like they put him there FOR FCG, I don't get it, it feels so ingenuine.
Interesting points. I'd be curious how campaign 2 stacks up through this many episodes. I recall a lot of Beau's character development coming late while Fjord and Yasha dominates the early part of the campaign. I thought the guest stars recently really helped the above board banter.
Yea the guest definitely helped in terms of table banter and the latest episode with laudna was great and want to see more of that’s. As for campaign two and us seeing the the red moon arc it’s hard for me to see where it could go from here!
I kept moving the goal post in my head. I remember pushing through the slog in Basurras because I told myself E 25-28 was the tipping point where M9 became amazing (When Cad joined and the arc Avantika arc soon followed) Then I told myself E34 would be when it would pick up because that aligns with the Chroma Conclave arc. I think this isn't a good way to compare campaigns. I do think C3's structure is too different for any comparisons to be made. It's simply a different taste which works for some but perhaps not for me
bro yasha was barely even in campaign 2. Matt has more play time as yasha then even ashley does. Ashley has to learn how to play her character multiple times during the campaign. it got so bad i just call her "critical roles longest running guest"
as the old addage goes, "ya can't please everyone." I love the Ruidis story but i feel like it has a lot more to do with JUST Imogen and her backstory. Chetney, Fearne, and Laudna are all connected to its flares. the implications of it's destruction or whatever has large enough ramifications to involve EVERYONE. this ruidis thing has been a thing since campaign 1. im rewatching campaign 2 and the second episode he reminds them, "yes there's 2 moons we just didn't have much reason to focus on it during the first campaign." if the first campaign would've happened around an apogee solstice, it would've been more centered around Ruidis IMO. but he waited until the third to where much of the world was established for a reason. i love it and can't wait to see where it goes. maybe the cataclysm that "birthed" ashton in his new form ALSO happened during a solstice, just not an apogee? maybe that's why it failed? also the teleportation took him CLOSER to where the catastrophe happened. i've been emotionally invested since the beginning idk what's keeping yall from connecting
I have connected with it but because of everything the characters whose story I have connected with have been but on the sidelines or just not explored as deeply. My hope is that the campaign does not end with the red moon arch. And we could explore this stories deeper.
people were saying the same things towards c1 and c2. "it will never go anywhere, the characters are blah, etc". LET MATT COOK. This campaign has been a rollercoaster and I'm not getting off anytime soon
Big part for me is the show is no longer live, but also not really edited much, so it feels VERY different than it did when it was live but also VERY different than more edited shows like the Dimension20 shows. I would like them to either go back to live, or go with a more edited format like D20 style. Also the characters all feel like chaos gremlins. There is no leader, no structure, and because of that they just stumble from point to point until Matt railroads them to the next chapter. Then you have a certain character who seems to intentionally disrupt the progress of the campaign and go entirely against the spirit of "yes, and" that the show has always ran on. I won't say who, but if you've watched you already know who I mean.
So now we’re gonna act like this is a tv show and we should critique it’s pacing?? They should go feed chickens when the world is about to end? (I appreciate your opinions though, always good to hear other points of view)
I stopped watching 20min into the first episode, which was 5min after all the intro stuff. The fanbase took too much hold over things and they started using pronouns for no reason. I could take the joke of Talisin’s Frankenstein monster being “they”, but the robot? No. That was the last second I watched. The cringey, overzealous fans ruined what was supposed to be just a group of friends playing D&D and I hate them for it. Not the cast, but those toxic fans.
@@Walthanar lol. Nothing insecure about me fam. And nope, I voted for Jorgensen (libertarian). But I found the crybaby that voted for the walking houseplant currently “in charge”.
Yup, the "Nu-CR" would cancel the cast and characters of C1 in a heartbeat. Many have never even seen it despite being, "totally the biggest fan ever".
Minor gripe but Caduceus basically keeps his arc in his pocket an it only comes into focus as it resolves itself. Yes he demonstrates many intentions of being mostly their for the support of others. But his actual arc spotlight time is less than any character including C3 to the point that the resolution felt like whiplash to me. Not that your arguments are wrong per se but it invalidates what you are trying to put out as evidence.
It is what it is, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Not sure if making my first on camera appearance a controversial topic was a good idea but it’s what was on my mind 🤷♂️
To say that it "sucks" is a bit too much, but I'll admit that I struggle to get attached to the characters and...to get inversted in the story... I still love it but now I have to focus on it, almost force myself to get into it (not force myself to like it, it's just like I have to get myself into the story BEFORE watching an episode, be it on stream or afterward). And I hate to be this guy, but I feel like the first two campaigns were easier to be inversted in (especially the second one for me at least) and the main reason being the characters...
I said way before campaign 3 started that they had caught lightening in a bottle with the campaign 2 characters, they were all superb and had incredible dynamics with each other. Very, very difficult to recreate that.
@@0saintclark0 I don't think it's about "recreating" the same thing. C1 and C2 charcaters were very different both in character and in their interactions to one another and yet as intresting/compelling. I don't think there's a problem with C3 charcaters quality, but rather that they're not compatible with the whole "entertainment" part of CR (That's just a feeling tho, I could very well be wrong)
SPOILER Look how they treated FCG's death. They took Bordor's death harder than FCG's, and they're the ones that killed him. I've been saying it for a while; Campaign 1 was a group of friends playing a game on camera. Campaign 2 was people starting a business while playing a game on camera. Campaign 3 is a bunch of business owners that HAVE to play a game on camera to keep that business going.
To add to your last point. I remember Marisha saying that in this campaign "all bets are off" and "anything can happen". Ironic, considering Laudna's 'death' early in the campaign. C3 is long, boring, and very low-stakes which kind of contradicts the apocalyptic vibe they are going for.
The problem with this this campaign is that Matt has removed hope from the world. It feels like he wants to tie up lose ends which is why they went to Molaesmyr and have to kill off Ludinus so they can close the chapter with as many questions answered as possible in time for Daggerhearts release and eventual takeover. I am all for the new systems release, however I signed up for D&D. Candela and Daggerheart may be interesting new games but I have no plans to change my play style to fit these new systems.
I don't feel like it is any slower paced than C1 or C2. I do feel like C1 still holds up the best but I feel like it's because they were playing the game now they are making a production so the added pressure of "We gotta make this right." Has an affect. I also feel like the characters in C3 conflict more with their player. I live Ashley as an actress but I don't see Fern there, same with Laura, Marisha, Travis, and Sam. Granted this is likely a personal view but the fact that I became more invested in the guest PCs and through them slightly more into the core cast makes me wonder. The irony to that is I didn't like Dorian in the main cast either.
C1 was the cast being themselves. Everything since then has only gotten more and more predictable and pedantic. The amount of Woke, Leftie, California politics don't help either (muh pronouns). Nu-CR "fans" would literally cancel the cast of C1, if it aired today. That's how twisted the show has become.
You're spot-on here, man. But I've made the decision to try not to get sour about it in this instance, or let it bother me too much. Unlike original properties being infected and transformed by the leftist ideology of new owners (like Dr. Who, Skullgirls, the current state of comics, 'sensitivity readers' censoring and rewriting Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, or a thousand other examples), Critical Role is their own thing. In this instance, it's the original creators who have decided to inject this stuff into their own work. It's theirs to do with as they please, and if I choose to keep watching, that's on me. ...still causes me to cringe sometimes though. And yes, 100%, the life and raw joy that was present in Campaign One is mostly gone now, replaced by this corporate, manufactured feeling. I'm pretty sure this will be the last campaign with the original cast, and they're trying to prepare and 'train' the audience to accept a new cast and DM for the next campaign, so they can keep running CR as a business without being trapped in this hellscape of performing forever.
Yeah it got so brutal with the “I’d rather side with the evil gods because what have the good ones ever done for me” bullshit. Just so blatant what they are doing. And the slaughtering of the church people and lying to the other half of the party about what they did. And no repercussions!
I dont like character bacsktories in my campaigns. Of course when my players want to I encourage it, but keep it minimal. Not everyone is the same or has the same passion for writing. If you got one guy at the table who kills it and writes out a whole life story and another who doesnt. Suddenly someone is pulling the spitlight toward them like a black hole and someone is gonna get neglected.
I am sorry others are not enjoying this campaign as much as the prior two... I have to say that I am enjoying it quite as much as the first two... I hope those who are not enjoying the overall experience can find enough of those joyous interludes that abound...
I remember lying in my bed at night for the release of episode 1, and the reveal of the characters instantly made me worried. Half of them felt too absurd for me to get attached to. FCG especially was just too strange for me to like. The other half just didn't interest me much. Bertrand's death made me feel nothing, even though the party acted like they lost a lifelong friend. It just felt like they were doing Molly's death all over again. I liked Laudna's reveal, but it was also kind of annoying to see Delilah Briarwood AGAIN! Lastly, Matt's utter disgust at Chetney's tattoo, and his subsequent lecture on alpha males was not fun to watch. Not saying I disagree, but the utter contempt was just uncomfortable to me. I don't need morality lectures in my silly tabletop game, and I don't enjoy seeing grown adults act so foul.
I mean it's only 63 episodes in... While there are 141 of campaign 1 and 2 each... My feeling is that you're comparing campaign 32 the feelings you had at the end of campaign 1 and 2. Not remembering how long it took to get there and how there would be big chunks that were focused on each individual's backstory I mean campaign two with the guitar thing that was the exact same thing as the red moon in campaign 3. How many times did the Ottawa overtake the story up characters that weren't even connected?
I ver much remember my watching both campaigns. campaign 2 around this time started ramping up. For me it was a slow start. Campaign 1 we had briarwood arch and middle of croma conclave. The fact that it’s only 63 episodes and we are at what feels like the end of the campaign is partly the problem. This arc began with the luminous twins!!! Around episode 10 that’s 50+ episode on essentially one arc.
@@Critter-Talk well you know Matt Mercer knows how to create a story and to constantly be moving up until the end. Yes it may feel like the end of the story to someone who doesn't understand where the story is going however to someone who has a better concept of what will come after well to them it probably seems like the middle of the story. If you've noticed they've made a lot of references to the matron of rate as of late and I bet you by the end of this campaign at least one of the cast and probably what's your name who died for 200 years will become gods themselves. If you didn't get that that's where the story is going already then I'm sorry to have most likely have spoiled it for you however there have been plenty of clues that this campaign is going further than the campaign's where they met the gods and instead this campaign will have at least some of the gods die off and some of the characters that they created will fill that power vacuum.
@@Critter-Talk ok well look at the number of pages in the Harry Potter series... Some of the stories require more attention to one aspect or another. Heck this campaign may have 329eps, you might assume it has the same number as before although that is not guaranteed and only reference the number of episodes in previous campaigns in order to give you the idea that hey there still a decent chunk left.
So any campaign you’ve been in has always covered every single person’s backstory? Sometimes that’s just how the story goes, but EXPERIENCE will tell us that Matt doesn’t leave anyone out. He is always keeping these things in mind and working towards it. Stop comparing like this is scripted or planned by everyone involved.
Weird. Campaign 3 is the first watchable campaign they've played for me. It's the first one that had good pacing. I find the filler episodes a little bit of slag and back to the previous campaigns pacing.
So, I can agree that this isn’t the best season so far. Do I believe that it has to be? No. Exponential improvement isn’t possible and I’m just enjoying the filler campaign. It’s not done but I think we’ll get a calamity event to mess the world up now that all continents are explored.
Honestly I lost interest in watching entire episodes of CR way back in campaign 1, tried to get in to campaign 2 but it was just more of the same roadblocks that kept me from enjoying it, at most I now watch highlight clips that way I get all of the fun without having to sit through 3 or 4 hours of nothing, I much rather just spend that time actually playing an RPG instead of watching others play. I don't think live-plays are my cup of tea beyond highlight clips. (I also despise watching people play videogames for essentially the same reason)
I may get some flak for this but a big point of contention for me is the overall anti-theist mood and dogging the deities in the world. Like I get none of the players are religious, if at all, but their reaction and playthrough in the world reacting to the BBEG feels very heavy handed and ridiculous to the point of caricature. It's one thing to be atheist, agnostic or anti-theist but this group is going full bore into fedora territory and it's not fun for me personally. Like how you just gonna crap on a god literally blessing you with their power? LOL It's just weird to me.
That's a huge problem I've had with it too. It doesn't make any sense to NOT be religious in a world full of crazy evil shit and god's that EVERYBODY knows exists that can and do intervene in reality-altering ways.
Laudna was literally resurrected by the Dawnfather then goes on to actively sh*t on him
That was an issue for me that started with Marisha's characters back in C1. She's always been thee anti-theist. But now it seems the entire group caught the fedora syndrome.
I thought that as well. Game was setup with a world where gods help you and have some truly good souls. yet they take out their only hate of religion here.
@@pishposh69 In C1 though I didn't mind it because it was Keyleth the character, not Marisha the player, which is fine especially since the rest of the party was relatively (or at least appropriately) religious. But then it was also Beau, and then also Laudna...
The self-help therapy sessions in C3 is just too much for me. The "we succeeded because you spoke your truth" got old very fast. I think they had a healthy balance of it in C2 but it seemed to work then. Idk, I can watch basically anything else to get that message if I wanted to. Plus the crassness of Ashton is just cringe.
^This has been a big one for me. Like, yes, moments like that can be powerful for characters sometimes, but it feels like there's too many of them stuffed in there and it gets a little old and boring after awhile.
It's prerecorded for the audiences entertainment to edit over any unapproved language or jokes, reactions are overblown for the sake of the camera, Contracts are signed for merchandise that involve all the PC's likeness and there is too much money on the line to take risks. You will never see an organic PC's death in the game that sticks so there are no stakes so it has basically devolved into some kind of weird soap opera to play into their insane parasocial fans. It's no longer a bunch of friends playing a game it's a corporate product made and packaged to be sold to a consumer.
1.) The OGL siding with WOTC/Hasbro.
2.) The try hard mentality. They are treating these characters as work. Or, it seems that they don't care about the characters.
3.) They're burnt out. The story might be there, but the mind is tired.
It just drags. And the guest players don't seem relevant.
100% "diversity hires" for Optics, especially during PRIDE(tm) month. The cast is 100% straight and White....They would never be "allowed" in today's very "accepting" market.
Group never felt like a group and just random people walking around. Characters: Immogen is just discount Tiberius. Very unintentional main character syndrome, mind reading counters so much exploring nature of DnD. As well as her ruining other characters moments with red moon crap. Everyone save for Chet, Laudna, and FCG are boring, uninteresting, or just moody and their moments are just swept under the rug for Immogen moments. The pure disrespect of the legacy Characters is utterly gross. The random mad maxx stuff was really out of left field. Like, oh hey we have machine guns and morter bikes now yet no other nation is marching there to basically have a tech boom?(pulling a legend of Korra) I feel like Brenden did more in EXU pre calamity then Matt has done all C3. I actually was invested and wanted more. In all honesty I'm just going to wait for C3 to die and try C4 when it happens. Hopefully that will explode, pun intended. Granted, this is all my opinion, and if other critters like C3 more power to you
I might not agree with your opinion but I'm so tired of this community saying you can't critize it.... It's a multimillion dollar company, of course you can critize it!! They are doing this for our entertainment first and theirs second
Nu-CR fans are a Cult of Redditors and Tik-Tokkers that have literally never even seen C1 and would want to "cancel" if they did. Pure creative cancer. D&D is a "safe space" now. No more monsters!
true brother you try to say somenthing in the live chat get's instantly muted.
@@SrLoueiz
Well there is a time and place for criticism to be taken seriously. Live chat is for engagement. Twitter, message boards, video essays are better places to post criticisms for people to think about.
@@lanceareadbhar Except it's no better in any of those platforms. I've tried to voice very respectul and fair critiques or even just personal opinions that weren't praising the show and the way the fanbase will eat you alive just for that is so annoying.
@@SrLoueiz they get to say it's hate speech. .this is where we are. and LA is probably more out of touch that other places. I think it's odd they all have so many characters that are non-straight to make a statement yet it's like 7% irl. it's like here we want to show support by showing everyone is this way yay! not that I care but its.. odd
Here's my take on this. CR is simply a WAY bigger business in C3 than it was in C1 and C2. They're unfocused right now. C3 is not their only concern, and I believe it's impacting the quality.
During C3 (post-Covid), they also ran Calamity, Candela Obscura, Vox Machina animated releases of S1 & S2, Mercer DM'ing on D20 for multiple epic episodes, prep on Daggerheart and Candela Obscura gaming systems, potentially working on separating from Hasbro/WotC, tons of new merch, Marisha fighting someone, commitment to Four Sided Die episodes and getting back into the Con circuit. I feel like the split of the party in C3 has been a stall tactic to give all the CR people some time to breathe. But it has not lightened the load for Mercer, through which all good things come. So even the quality (and the point) of this split has been diluted.
Say what you want about the specifics of C3 that you may love or hate (C1 & C2 developed various storylines over time). None of that is really the problem. It's lack of focus. Too many irons in the fire. The Vox Machina series would've been enough for any small business to put out. CR did that and tons more. C3 is suffering for it.
Add in that Mercer was clear that the party would be in over their head in C3. Working thru problems way out of their paygrade. And so far, that's been true. Regardless of the strange party mix and bent for chaos, these characters are out of their league. This is by design. And it's less enjoyable to watch.
Nuff said. Thanks for letting me rant a bit...
That’s very true they are overloaded with a lot. And as a consumer I’m grateful for that. I think it was on four sided dive that Laura said that they wanted to take away the thumbnail image and give it to someone else. But she wanted to keep it, it brought her joy. Also, it’s not just them there company is like 40+ people deep last time I checked
In that same thread, all of the 'extras' that caused them to start pre-recording shows, really stunted the organic evolution of the story. It goes back to what @Criter-Talk was saying about tunnel vision in the campaign so that goal lines can be met. There is no more sense that we are witnessing history in the making. We're just being told about it after the fact.
I think its less that than other things. They had other things going on during C2. We may see now the fruits of those things. If anything most of the hard work of setitng up the company, dealing with the kickstarter, and the production of the show happened dring C2. durving C1 and 2, Ashley's time was split between this and NYC. So i really dont think its about this. I think its about the structure of the campaign itself.
@@mirtos39ya it had some bad setup choices off the bat. They needed a better excuse to stay away from the main plot to develop relationships, instead it felt rushed, forced, and inorganic. Bell’s death, couldn’t get invested because it became clear he was just a plot device. Their rich benefactor almost got out of feeling like a plot device and then went right back once the crew were left his resources. The fact they had an airship immediately meant we didn’t get to travel the land more intimately and get more connected with the region and the characters. This just suffered over all from being rushed. It’s feeling like a commodity and not an experience. Like modern Marvel and Disney projects, don’t think too much, just consume new product and get ready for more.
They’re spread thin, and perhaps getting direction from bad consultants on how they should run the campaign.
I just hate to think Matt setup this world and plot on his own. He’s feels too talented to be making so many bad narrative choices.
C3 started feeling like an intentional slow roll during the party split. The months of pointless side quests (flower hunt, team building games, scouting mission) seemed to be fill for avoiding a campaign conclusion. My hope is the Daggerheart beta is the light at the end of the tunnel. C3 won’t get meaty again until Daggerheart is ready to replace D&D in C4.
For campaign 3, the characters are all so extreme that they never seem to fit with one another. They all seem to be going in different directions and trying to force the rest to go with them.
Isn’t that just like… life?
@@undefined2105well...yeah, and that works for "normal" Campains or...well, real life. But this is a game, and it's a show, and that can get confusing...
My main gripe with this campaign is that the Supposed Moral Choice:tm: is not really a choice: only somebody clinically insane would look at the consequences of killing the gods and go "Yeah, let's totes do it!"
I know what you mean, but at the same time, this a world where the calamity happened. The gods within this world have been characterized as kinda selfish beings, the world is basically a post apocalypse when compared to what we saw pre-calamity. Ludinus especially, he saw firsthand how much people could achieve without the help of the gods
@@mcmann2243 That is true. But then the consequences of killing the gods is an enormous unknown: would clerics, druids and paladins (which, let's keep in mind, have economy and society-altering abilities) retain their powers? (growing crops, healing the sick and wounded, resurrecting the dead, keeping the seas, oceans and skies in good behaviour so trade can happen faster, etc)
Or, in other words, do the folks in the world really want to fuck around to find out? XD
@@talscorner3696There's also the fact from the Greying Lands bit where the God's are the biggest force keeping abyssal incursions from getting too out of hand.
@@323starlight exactly
Absolutely. It drives me nuts how so many of the player characters hold a basically ridiculous position for a world like this. It just doesn't seem honest and seems more like a statement they want to make about organized religion in our world.
I appreciate you putting this out there and I think you have very valid points. For me, it's the characters the players created. C1 had very basic characters that we saw evolve and change with very few mysterious backstories, which worked very well and we felt strong connections to. C2 had that again, but a few characters (IMO Nott, Caleb for example) had these mysterious backstories that got revealed very effectively, but were the minority. Other characters were relatively straightforward (Beau, Yasha, Jester, Fjord to some degree). Sure they have secrets but their existence is not a mystery. C3 it seems that everyone has a secret, everyone has a plot behind them and its' like we're playing catch up. FCG, Chetney, Imogen, Laudna, Fearne, Ashton...essentially everyone except Orym has some sort of mysterious origin story that we may or may not get info about which feels very unsatisfying.
I mean sorry most of M9 had straightforward backstories not steeped in mystery?
That’s a good point
honestly feels like Travis is done with Chetney daddy and is looking for the exit of this character. The disappointment when Imogene made sure he made the trip to the moon, it really felt like he Travis was trying to get left behind….
It feels like each individual is basically a main character instead of the group itself being the main character. Idk if that makes any sense. Think 7 different novellas instead of one epic novel.
Honestly lost interest in campaign 3… mighty nein was best, vox was a close contender, this third campaign isn’t bad where i do enjoy like 3-4 characters to varying degrees… but they just don’t keep me there… fresh cut grass just does literally nothing for me… which is sad since knott and scandlin are soooo dear to me FCG just was a ball drop for me personally.
honestly, i think they just went for the red moon too fast. from the get-go it felt like they were going for the end game, and that just threw everything off. it shouldn't have been introduced until halfway through, at the earliest.
I gave up on Season 3 like 12 episodes in.
And i have so many reasons......
The problen is because is the characters Suck.
Laudna was good in the 8 first episodes after that she became repetive.
Imogen is terrible. OMG i hate Imogen. She is like child of the profecy Naruto vibes.
Fearne is cool, she is the best character of Asheley, maybe because she play it more.
Orym is bland. He lack motivacion.
Chetney is perfect. He is one of the best characters in the shown period.
Ashton is the worst character of Taelesin.
FCG is a coll character. I like Sam interpretecion of him. But he is terrible Cleric. Terrible. And Sam is very good whith play if his backstory and FGC have amnesia. Making Sam lose a big part of his play style.
The double irony is that despite the focus on the "Red Moon"/Apocalypse, it's clearly not all that bad if they can BAMPF! around with obnoxious NPCs(Abriya is enthusiasm cancer in every way) for months on end. Kinda kills the "sense of urgency" and "The End is Neigh" vibe, tbh.
THANK YOU
I noticed at some point that nothing really dangerous can happen with the group. No matter they do, they never really fail. They never really lose. They never really die. After you realised it, it become really difficult to empathize characters. What the difference of any encounters, if they will succeed anyway?
@@Nomorenord The cannot/will not EVER be able to have a major unplanned even, much less a PC death. The "Producers" won't "allow" it, and there's too much money tied up in merch, marketing, etc...Look what happened to Molly, a completely boring, but cooling looking character, that died too so, so they had to Rezz hims 15 times to keep the merch money flowing. It's just a semi-improv, "action show" with no action and no more good improv b/c they're strangled by Political Correctness. They're bored to tears and you can see it on all their faces.
My reasons for stopping watching the series was:
1)Fillers/Known information being regurgitated,the DM should simply say for the the sake of watchability the characters in the game already talked and know this.
2)Story felt really restrictive,unclear if it's Matt's fault 100% or not but it really seems like the players don't have a choice in the matter,the DM will get his way REGARDLESS and that's a problem.When you make the viewer truly believe that choice is an illusion the viewer's imagination just disappears.I want to point out that I also agree imogen's backstory is very intrusive and overshadows everything.
3)Generally bland/bad pacing,personally speaking after episode 29 I couldn't watch it anymore so I went ahead to the wiki and spoiled everything for myself and I am glad I did.On top of everything after a while it felt so predictable and boring and characters felt one dimensional lacking any emotional connection with other characters making the viewer not really give a shit about them either.
It really devolved into "each character has a deep hidden secret,their own agenta and there's no PvP,players can't be aggressive/unpredictable because the DM and the players decided so since day one so their garbage secrets will be revealed when the DM seems fit to do so"
It just becomes so stale but I guess it was good and entertaining for a while but I really regret pushing past episode 18 and just went straight to the spoilers and save myself from bullshit filler episodes and ever more imploding story.
I tried watching it and the best parts were the first 15 -20 episodes after that I just couldn't get into the characters.
I do kinda think the red moon plot maybe should have been the last arc of the campaign or at least been held off from happening for maybe an arc or two of going through everyones backstorys (excluding Imogen’s backstory as hers in tied into the moon arc)
C3 is filled with side characters. None of them are capable/willing to front the group and drive the narrative. Imogen was doing it until Sam threw it in her face as the "main character" and since she is just as meandering as the rest.
That is Sam joking with his good friend about comments he’s seen in the community. Imogen was the main character and party “face” but she didn’t like the idea of that and backed off. Can’t say I blame her when tons of people are criticizing her for doing it. Either Matt didn’t communicate that her backstory would tie in heavy to the main story, or she didn’t think it would be THAT intrinsic.
@@lamardavis688 Nothing you said was different than what I said. ;)
@@mattturner5750 Correct I'm in lockstep
@@lamardavis688except she _is_ the main character but Laura clearly doesn't want to/isn't capable of playing it that way. Just another of many problems with this campaign.
I can honestly say that off all the Campaigns this one feels the most scripted,
I understand where you're coming from with there being too much focus on the Red Moon. If I were to guess, I'd bet they are trying to stay focused on their new RPG system, Daggerheart. Which is set to release sometime early next year. Maybe Critical Role viewed Campaign 3 as the "set up". The time to change everything, before moving forward.
I get that feeling as well
Checked out at about episode 60 and haven't really missed it. Ironically, I think this is around when this video came out, lol. This was after those awful dragging sessions where they plan something for 3 hours and then their plan falls apart around 2 minutes later. I checked out completely when they were going around destroying the malleus keys (or whatever they're called).
It's a shame, too, the first few episodes with Bertrand and up to the big ball, it was really engaging but since they left the initial city, it was tedious to the extreme, apart from a few moments like the Deathwish Run but too sparse to make it worth the time investment. Maybe I'll get back to it but every time I try I feel sorta detached from the whole thing.
They should split the party one go evil the other go good n fight at the end at this point.
I drifted off of CR during C2. Back then i saw that something is not clocking as id did in C1. After about 40? episodes of C2 i still was not sure what is this story supposed to be about. Not in "mysterious" way, just in "what is going on, why is it written like that" way. Plus characters were... bland? To the point i watched most of characters seemed written off of same scheme of "You think you f'd up in your past but noo its actually OTHERS fault, you are good the way you are". I simply found it cheap and harmful, not to mention that its just bland compared to characters from C1. Most of it was simply "oh woe me my poor soul" with rolling dice. So i dropped it after some time.
Then there was non-mercer exandria.... and lets say that it should be shown on some workshops on how not to DM.
Did not even touch C3, as Since C1 CR and its members did some... questionable things and got involved in some... QUESTIONABLE dramas showing too much where their views are instead of focusing on what was good in the "product" itself. Simply cant watch it anymore for prolonged period of time not seeing that rather than story they focused on "sending a message".
Buuut i liked the tv series.
Everything after campaign 1 is lame.
I will love CR regardless, the cast is such an inspiration to me, and I felt sad that I haven't been able to connect with this campaign.
I've seen a video before that completely counter arguments this saying that pretty much there is no consequences for them, they are going anywhere else except the moon like the fey realm when the gods and exandria is on the verge of destruction. Plans take 3 hours and fall apart in two minutes, and finally there are too many jokes and joke characters.
So although two videos completely contradict each other, the final point for both is that it feels less impactful, less emotional and no consequences
People said campaign 2 sucked comparing it to campaign 1, people are saying campaign 3 sucks comparing it to campaign 1&2, people will continue to compare and criticize something not realizing what they're doing
Agreed. People are acting like it's a finished product when its not. Let them cook
Yes, just starting a discussion on how we are feeling thus far.
@@Critter-Talk personally, it feels more like a grabby title that gives more power and voice to a loud minority, but that could just be me
@@snowniel So clickbaity bullshit, thanks, now I don’t need to watch the video lol.
I disagree. I liked 2 more than 1 with the exception of their endings.
The characters in 2 I felt were more compelling. 3 felt goofy and kinda meta... like they're trying to force the same lightning in a bottle and I don't think it lands. Same with the characters being more "special snowflake" if that makes sense. It might be just my taste but I prefer more traditional fantasy.
The problem is the classes suck. Always the way with sorc. It's uninteresting.
I just want to see the main cast, I have nothing against guests but I am invested in Travis marisha Liam talisan Ashley Sam and Laura. Them and their characters interacting with each other to beat the bad guys and save the day. That’s just me personally.
They're literally "too White" and "old" and "straight" and must "showcase diversity at the table" per their orders from their Corporate masters, or they will literally be "canceled" . Heck, the Nu-Fans would never allow C1 to happen at all. Many have still never seen it.
@@KarlKarsnarklol I had this exact thought earlier when I still could stomach the latest campaign. Exandria is apparently California, with every single person going by "they/them"?? I think they've honestly just lived in LA for too long.
@@ao1778 Indeed, Sam even asked Tallisen "You're really gonna do this?!?" when "they" came out during he character intros. C1 is who they truly are and it was great. Every campaign since has become worse and worse. I haven't watched in months.....and neither has anyone else, if the numbers are to be believed. Cheers!
The "adult film shoot" was the jumping the shark moment. It was so forced, so nonsensical, so desperate. Matt should have shut that down.
It’s a game and they’re playing.
They can do whatever they want. It’s never fun to tell someone to stop having fun…
To sum up, no emotional connection by the players to the world, the plot, or each other, and a meandering, disconnected, tedious plot. This group would have moved on to another game in real life.
i personally liked critical role for the world building, the comedy and the interactions between players.
unfortunately, in campaign 2:
the interactions and character moments felt unnatural, like they were scripted (for example characters would be doing the dumbest thing possible even tho they should know about the consequences).
the comedy became stale rather quick as it boiled down to "let's insult Fjord's (or any white man's for that matter) masculinity" until basically the end of the campaign.
world building took a major hit too because, SOMEHOW, every straight white male was either dumb, evil or both, all major factions were ruled by "strong independent women that need no man" (or any other LGBT member).
in all honesty i didn't even bother starting C3 (nor i watched the "the mighty Nein reunited" specials)
Thank you for your points of concern for campaign 3 and I completely agree wjth them. I think what really started the concern was when they began to pre record the sessions. Now while i totally understand the practicality of that move, it removes the element of being "live" with the players. Half the time watching them play for real on the spot made it exciting. Nowadays it sorta feels hollow because they're not there on Thursday 😢.
Another point to consider is how big Critical Role has become. Let's face it: they're no longer a struggling little company, they've become a media kingdom which in some ways makes it worse for us fans. They're not focused on the game anymore, they have other projects that take their time and so the gameplay can seem stale.
Now in regards to the actual campaign, i agree that this has been a aort of railroaded campaign. And from i could tell from earlier comments is that Bells Hells is STILL trying to find their Avengers moment to become a cohesive fighting unit, which is a problem, especially 80 episodes in. Don't get me wrong, i actually thought CR trying new types of characters was pretty cool, but their personalities are all over the place which can really the synergy of the party. And i get that in real life we are chaotic, but when placed in a group situation there has be am eventual intro to unity.
And another thing! Make Robbie Daymond a full cast member dang it! I love the cast, but they be stale sometimes, he was a breath of fresh air in the gameplay 🎉.
I tell you what the problem with CR is. It’s no longer a game of D&D between friends, it’s a business.
It no longer targets its players, it focuses solely on an outside audience - us, in order to get views, likes, subs and money.
CR has become a scripted show full of fake drama created to raise the hype and retain the viewership. Is it still entertaining? Of course it is, just like Star Trek, X-Files or Umbrella Academy are - even though all of those are dramatic stories enacted by actors. CR has shifted into the the same category. While entertaining, it no longer is real D&D. For a complete noob, the show still looks amazing. But anyone with a few years of D&D experience starts seeing the truth.
I’m afraid CR is never going to get better. The only way it could happen is if they just played a campaign and didn’t give a fluff about the views and subs, ideally if they were not making any money off it. But that will never happen, they got used to the finances and they won’t do that even if it was for charity. One-shot, likited series, maybe… But a whole campaign? No, that will never happen, even though they’re all working and very successful voice actors with plenty of jobs and don’t need a penny from CR to make ends meet… Power of greed is unstoppable.
For me it was the time absolutely wasted after the teleportation happened on the first party, it was episode after episode of Frida this Frida that i was so tired of it I almost didn't make it to the other party, and then they wrap that up in what two or three episodes? I genuinely don't remember. AND they kill the best, THE BEST guest they've ever had imo Utkarsh Ambudkar playing Bor'Dor Dog'Son an absolutely useless Sorcerer with so much character and charm I fell in love with everything he did and then they just off him.. Great... Haven't bothered trying to watch more of it so I just relisten to the second campaign for the 8th time in three years.
I'll take the chic who plays prism over Ashley any day. I'm like 3 episodes behind when normally I stayed up to listen live, so something is off that isn't keeping my attention. Could be me, idk, but the emotions of campaign 1 felt genuine, and now it feels like acting.
I love this campaign. Its different because starting off they were groups of people who knew each other joinig up. I dont think the play is rushed, I feel the urgency of figuring things out. As this has probably been the biggest baddest thing to happen
I mean in C2 Caleb and nott knew each other for a few weeks, beau jester and fjord knew each other for maybe a week or two, and Molly and Yasha knew each other for like a year or something.
I tried to get into C3 of course but I think everyone just gets very attached to their first CR campaign they watch and since this scifi ish genre is so different to the political intrigue of C2 or the high fantasy of C1, folks that know CR for those other campaigns aren't getting into it as much.
Yeah didnt care of any of male characters so that killed it for me
1. Tone. I noticed that Matthew Mercer tends to run his games with some amount of seriousness more like in Tolkien or Star Wars. Meanwhile, his players generally play their characters silly like Marvel characters or Rick and Morty characters. I do not like my goofy shit in D&D.
2. The players made boring characters (to me anyway). I think all his players made shite characters for campaign 3, and I tapped out somewhere around episode 6. I especially hated Laudna and considered resuming watching when I heard she died. That was very exciting for me.
The big reason that the third season seems to suck is that it is suffering from the success of the first two seasons. The first season was new and interesting something we had not seen before. The second season was different even as it was set in the same world. The third season is not really different from the previous seasons and most importantly the viewers are jaded and expecting to much of the cast. This is atmiditly my own view of the situation.
Expecting too much, certainly.
Percy Had the most back story that is why his my favourite
I mean, it's a game, not a scripted show. Matt has a story to tell that's vital to the growth of the gaming world. But the players are not along for the ride, WE are. I watch this game because of the players and because Matt is a damned genius. If more than 1 or two of these people play in a game, I'll watch it.
Is the story as compelling as S1 or S2? Maybe not (although I find the religious conflict, arguments regarding freedom of choice, and the dark side of power are VERY weighty and fascinating story beats). But we need to remember we are watching a game, not critiquing Rothfuss livestreaming attempts to write that 3rd novel (which... hey. 1st book took 15 years to write. Man has the right to take as long as he needs to write the 3rd book). It's a game. Not a novel. We are PRIVILEGED to watch these Voice Actors do their thing. If you're not as big a fan of the story, take some lessons back for your own game. Punch up the pace, do a TPK or two. OR go the Gygax route, have time pass in-game while it passes in real life, have players collect taxes and grow crops. The roots of the game should be a reminder that pacing and story are not solely up to the DM/GM. This is collaborative storytelling, with a framework in place that makes some things clunky. That's it. Otherwise, we've got a great world-builder at the helm, with some seriously impressive Players that most DMs/GMs would give their right arm to have the privilege of running a game for. Let's cut them a bit of slack, ok? And if you really don't like this season as much, you can watch Dimension 20, or Midst, or Candela Obscura, or hell, reruns of Acq Inc or B Team or DCA. It's a game, folks. Sometimes the mechanics and the ground laying and the collaborative nature of the endeavor takes time.
I agree especially on the religious part. But I would like to see more of that above table banter I find that when those moments are happening I’m enjoying it the most.
"...not a scripted show.".....Riiight ;) I got a bridge to Exandria to sell ya too, Kid ;)
@KarlKarsnark there's a difference between "scripted" as in "here are your lines" and "scripted" as in, Matt's got a general concept of where this is going, and he may warn the players that it's gonna get dark, or he may tell the guest PCs that he wants them to behave a certain way, or he incorporates their backstories into the game in such a way that they'll end up doing roughly what he's planned for. OR... they steal a pirate ship and Matt has to plan several sessions around that before they come back to his notes as written. Yeah, it's a general plot line, but I guarantee that it's not a script they're reading from. Individual PCs could absolutely come into the game with plans, one-liners, even monologues. It's not a stage play, though. Maybe we can agree on that?
@@KarlKarsnark also I love your UA-cam name, nice reference to the Karstarks.
My biggest issue is their trying to tell a Burning Wheel story using 5e. What they do in game that is the entertainment part has next to no mechanical support so Matt and the players have to do all the heavy lifting and making it good despite 5e rather than because of it. All 5e brings to the table is the combat, and then they end up doing way too much combat because that's what D&D needs. If they played a game like Burning Wheel combat could be a narrative tool like in a novel, and a GM response rather than a requirement of the system.
On top of that the beliefs and instincts will let them bring backstory easier into the game because there are specifics for the GM to target rather than generalisations. It also gives a stance to the characters beyond "this is a thing" so Matt has something to challenge and tie into other events.
He does all that already but this way the game is doing all the heavy lifting so he can spend less time worrying about it.
Maybe the RPG system that they are developing will help in this matter.
@@Critter-Talk hopefully. We'll see. I just hope they don't make a D&D style combat sim.
Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. read the following as opinion and not fact, because it is not fact. It's just easier to make direct affirmative statements. I happen to like this one the most, and disagree with a lot of your points. These character have all developed quite a lot. Were some parts rushed? No more than the players chose to rush them with only a handful of exceptions. I guess I have different expectations of what to get out of it, though. I think the pacing is excellent for the most part, with only a few parts to take issue with. You aren't actually wrong here, I just don't agree with your opinion. I've seen this opinion a bit here and there, but also a bunch of dissenting opinion as well. Also, on the emotion thing: Their current characters all express emotion differently (not less) than their older characters. If anything, there is a lot more emotion going on, and it is often more intense, it's just directed toward different things. I would agree if you said the characters typically are sharing less inter-party emotional reaction, though, but it's not a huge amount less. They all have very deep issues they are dealing with in their own ways that are frequently getting in the way of that, and it would make less sense for them to behave otherwise. They all have different and in many cases more impactful connections to the major plot, and that plot is substantially more dour and consistently more of a pressing issue, as well. It would feel awkward if they reacted like their older characters to the happenings in this one. Are there big differences? Sure. I just don't agree they are bad, and in fact think most are good. I'm getting a lot more enjoyment out of this campaign than campaign two. I wont say more than campaign one, and the difference isn't actually all that much. I did kinda get bored of campaign two and waited and skipped ahead, though. I'm not sure but I think the lull for me began around the arc where they were first dealing with the pirates a bunch, and I just got kinda bored for some reason I don't really remember. I haven't been bored yet this season at all. Quite the opposite. I love all these characters and their stories and interactions, and I especially love the worldbuilding that is happening here.
Im glad that you are enjoying this campaign and the emotions are definitely there but more muted. And you are right that it’s in part due to the fact that the way these characters deal with situations is a lot more inward facing.
Side thing too: FCG's romance with the other warforged felt very weird and forced. They try to represent genders and identities bc woke but why wouldn't they create an asexual relationship from that? It feels like they put him there FOR FCG, I don't get it, it feels so ingenuine.
I see that repeatedly and it it drove me more each time. Now I'm done
It doesn't suck, man. It's pretty damn good.
Interesting points. I'd be curious how campaign 2 stacks up through this many episodes. I recall a lot of Beau's character development coming late while Fjord and Yasha dominates the early part of the campaign. I thought the guest stars recently really helped the above board banter.
Yea the guest definitely helped in terms of table banter and the latest episode with laudna was great and want to see more of that’s. As for campaign two and us seeing the the red moon arc it’s hard for me to see where it could go from here!
I kept moving the goal post in my head. I remember pushing through the slog in Basurras because I told myself E 25-28 was the tipping point where M9 became amazing (When Cad joined and the arc Avantika arc soon followed)
Then I told myself E34 would be when it would pick up because that aligns with the Chroma Conclave arc.
I think this isn't a good way to compare campaigns. I do think C3's structure is too different for any comparisons to be made. It's simply a different taste which works for some but perhaps not for me
bro yasha was barely even in campaign 2. Matt has more play time as yasha then even ashley does. Ashley has to learn how to play her character multiple times during the campaign. it got so bad i just call her "critical roles longest running guest"
as the old addage goes, "ya can't please everyone." I love the Ruidis story but i feel like it has a lot more to do with JUST Imogen and her backstory. Chetney, Fearne, and Laudna are all connected to its flares. the implications of it's destruction or whatever has large enough ramifications to involve EVERYONE. this ruidis thing has been a thing since campaign 1. im rewatching campaign 2 and the second episode he reminds them, "yes there's 2 moons we just didn't have much reason to focus on it during the first campaign." if the first campaign would've happened around an apogee solstice, it would've been more centered around Ruidis IMO. but he waited until the third to where much of the world was established for a reason. i love it and can't wait to see where it goes. maybe the cataclysm that "birthed" ashton in his new form ALSO happened during a solstice, just not an apogee? maybe that's why it failed? also the teleportation took him CLOSER to where the catastrophe happened. i've been emotionally invested since the beginning idk what's keeping yall from connecting
I have connected with it but because of everything the characters whose story I have connected with have been but on the sidelines or just not explored as deeply. My hope is that the campaign does not end with the red moon arch. And we could explore this stories deeper.
people were saying the same things towards c1 and c2. "it will never go anywhere, the characters are blah, etc". LET MATT COOK. This campaign has been a rollercoaster and I'm not getting off anytime soon
Big part for me is the show is no longer live, but also not really edited much, so it feels VERY different than it did when it was live but also VERY different than more edited shows like the Dimension20 shows.
I would like them to either go back to live, or go with a more edited format like D20 style.
Also the characters all feel like chaos gremlins. There is no leader, no structure, and because of that they just stumble from point to point until Matt railroads them to the next chapter. Then you have a certain character who seems to intentionally disrupt the progress of the campaign and go entirely against the spirit of "yes, and" that the show has always ran on. I won't say who, but if you've watched you already know who I mean.
So now we’re gonna act like this is a tv show and we should critique it’s pacing?? They should go feed chickens when the world is about to end? (I appreciate your opinions though, always good to hear other points of view)
It has similar budget of a tv show..... Just saying
Yet the other campaigns had good pacing with a few exactions?
Pacing is important for all stories. As a GM you should try and having good pacing in your own personal campaigns, it will make them better.
It is scripted and it has had much better pacing in the past. They've done if before and they can do it again. They're just too bored to bother.
@@Critter-Talk You have a good point and I just enjoy watching these dorks play with dice, I’m a simple man haha
I stopped watching 20min into the first episode, which was 5min after all the intro stuff. The fanbase took too much hold over things and they started using pronouns for no reason. I could take the joke of Talisin’s Frankenstein monster being “they”, but the robot? No. That was the last second I watched. The cringey, overzealous fans ruined what was supposed to be just a group of friends playing D&D and I hate them for it. Not the cast, but those toxic fans.
I found the insecure voter of Trump
@@Walthanar lol. Nothing insecure about me fam. And nope, I voted for Jorgensen (libertarian). But I found the crybaby that voted for the walking houseplant currently “in charge”.
Yup, the "Nu-CR" would cancel the cast and characters of C1 in a heartbeat. Many have never even seen it despite being, "totally the biggest fan ever".
@@KarlKarsnark god…CR1 was soooo good.
Minor gripe but Caduceus basically keeps his arc in his pocket an it only comes into focus as it resolves itself.
Yes he demonstrates many intentions of being mostly their for the support of others.
But his actual arc spotlight time is less than any character including C3 to the point that the resolution felt like whiplash to me.
Not that your arguments are wrong per se but it invalidates what you are trying to put out as evidence.
Yeah, I agree. Good luck with some of the critters who find this video. I salute you
It is what it is, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. Not sure if making my first on camera appearance a controversial topic was a good idea but it’s what was on my mind 🤷♂️
@@Critter-Talk can’t hide that face from the world!
To say that it "sucks" is a bit too much, but I'll admit that I struggle to get attached to the characters and...to get inversted in the story...
I still love it but now I have to focus on it, almost force myself to get into it (not force myself to like it, it's just like I have to get myself into the story BEFORE watching an episode, be it on stream or afterward).
And I hate to be this guy, but I feel like the first two campaigns were easier to be inversted in (especially the second one for me at least) and the main reason being the characters...
I said way before campaign 3 started that they had caught lightening in a bottle with the campaign 2 characters, they were all superb and had incredible dynamics with each other. Very, very difficult to recreate that.
@@0saintclark0 I don't think it's about "recreating" the same thing. C1 and C2 charcaters were very different both in character and in their interactions to one another and yet as intresting/compelling.
I don't think there's a problem with C3 charcaters quality, but rather that they're not compatible with the whole "entertainment" part of CR (That's just a feeling tho, I could very well be wrong)
SPOILER
Look how they treated FCG's death. They took Bordor's death harder than FCG's, and they're the ones that killed him. I've been saying it for a while;
Campaign 1 was a group of friends playing a game on camera.
Campaign 2 was people starting a business while playing a game on camera.
Campaign 3 is a bunch of business owners that HAVE to play a game on camera to keep that business going.
To add to your last point. I remember Marisha saying that in this campaign "all bets are off" and "anything can happen". Ironic, considering Laudna's 'death' early in the campaign. C3 is long, boring, and very low-stakes which kind of contradicts the apocalyptic vibe they are going for.
The problem with this this campaign is that Matt has removed hope from the world. It feels like he wants to tie up lose ends which is why they went to Molaesmyr and have to kill off Ludinus so they can close the chapter with as many questions answered as possible in time for Daggerhearts release and eventual takeover. I am all for the new systems release, however I signed up for D&D. Candela and Daggerheart may be interesting new games but I have no plans to change my play style to fit these new systems.
I don't feel like it is any slower paced than C1 or C2. I do feel like C1 still holds up the best but I feel like it's because they were playing the game now they are making a production so the added pressure of "We gotta make this right." Has an affect. I also feel like the characters in C3 conflict more with their player. I live Ashley as an actress but I don't see Fern there, same with Laura, Marisha, Travis, and Sam.
Granted this is likely a personal view but the fact that I became more invested in the guest PCs and through them slightly more into the core cast makes me wonder. The irony to that is I didn't like Dorian in the main cast either.
C1 was the cast being themselves. Everything since then has only gotten more and more predictable and pedantic. The amount of Woke, Leftie, California politics don't help either (muh pronouns). Nu-CR "fans" would literally cancel the cast of C1, if it aired today. That's how twisted the show has become.
You're spot-on here, man. But I've made the decision to try not to get sour about it in this instance, or let it bother me too much.
Unlike original properties being infected and transformed by the leftist ideology of new owners (like Dr. Who, Skullgirls, the current state of comics, 'sensitivity readers' censoring and rewriting Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, or a thousand other examples), Critical Role is their own thing.
In this instance, it's the original creators who have decided to inject this stuff into their own work. It's theirs to do with as they please, and if I choose to keep watching, that's on me. ...still causes me to cringe sometimes though.
And yes, 100%, the life and raw joy that was present in Campaign One is mostly gone now, replaced by this corporate, manufactured feeling. I'm pretty sure this will be the last campaign with the original cast, and they're trying to prepare and 'train' the audience to accept a new cast and DM for the next campaign, so they can keep running CR as a business without being trapped in this hellscape of performing forever.
Yeah it got so brutal with the “I’d rather side with the evil gods because what have the good ones ever done for me” bullshit. Just so blatant what they are doing. And the slaughtering of the church people and lying to the other half of the party about what they did. And no repercussions!
You nailed it. C1 was full of dark and edgy shit that would get the current fans to cancel them. They are utterly gutless now.
Calm down lol
@@stripedpolkadots8692 No
I dont like character bacsktories in my campaigns. Of course when my players want to I encourage it, but keep it minimal. Not everyone is the same or has the same passion for writing. If you got one guy at the table who kills it and writes out a whole life story and another who doesnt. Suddenly someone is pulling the spitlight toward them like a black hole and someone is gonna get neglected.
I am sorry others are not enjoying this campaign as much as the prior two... I have to say that I am enjoying it quite as much as the first two... I hope those who are not enjoying the overall experience can find enough of those joyous interludes that abound...
I remember lying in my bed at night for the release of episode 1, and the reveal of the characters instantly made me worried. Half of them felt too absurd for me to get attached to. FCG especially was just too strange for me to like. The other half just didn't interest me much.
Bertrand's death made me feel nothing, even though the party acted like they lost a lifelong friend. It just felt like they were doing Molly's death all over again.
I liked Laudna's reveal, but it was also kind of annoying to see Delilah Briarwood AGAIN!
Lastly, Matt's utter disgust at Chetney's tattoo, and his subsequent lecture on alpha males was not fun to watch. Not saying I disagree, but the utter contempt was just uncomfortable to me. I don't need morality lectures in my silly tabletop game, and I don't enjoy seeing grown adults act so foul.
I mean it's only 63 episodes in... While there are 141 of campaign 1 and 2 each...
My feeling is that you're comparing campaign 32 the feelings you had at the end of campaign 1 and 2.
Not remembering how long it took to get there and how there would be big chunks that were focused on each individual's backstory I mean campaign two with the guitar thing that was the exact same thing as the red moon in campaign 3.
How many times did the Ottawa overtake the story up characters that weren't even connected?
I ver much remember my watching both campaigns. campaign 2 around this time started ramping up. For me it was a slow start. Campaign 1 we had briarwood arch and middle of croma conclave.
The fact that it’s only 63 episodes and we are at what feels like the end of the campaign is partly the problem. This arc began with the luminous twins!!! Around episode 10 that’s 50+ episode on essentially one arc.
@@Critter-Talk well you know Matt Mercer knows how to create a story and to constantly be moving up until the end. Yes it may feel like the end of the story to someone who doesn't understand where the story is going however to someone who has a better concept of what will come after well to them it probably seems like the middle of the story. If you've noticed they've made a lot of references to the matron of rate as of late and I bet you by the end of this campaign at least one of the cast and probably what's your name who died for 200 years will become gods themselves. If you didn't get that that's where the story is going already then I'm sorry to have most likely have spoiled it for you however there have been plenty of clues that this campaign is going further than the campaign's where they met the gods and instead this campaign will have at least some of the gods die off and some of the characters that they created will fill that power vacuum.
@@Critter-Talk ok well look at the number of pages in the Harry Potter series... Some of the stories require more attention to one aspect or another. Heck this campaign may have 329eps, you might assume it has the same number as before although that is not guaranteed and only reference the number of episodes in previous campaigns in order to give you the idea that hey there still a decent chunk left.
So any campaign you’ve been in has always covered every single person’s backstory? Sometimes that’s just how the story goes, but EXPERIENCE will tell us that Matt doesn’t leave anyone out. He is always keeping these things in mind and working towards it. Stop comparing like this is scripted or planned by everyone involved.
It’s not scripted, but the direction of the events moved it towards this situation.
Weird. Campaign 3 is the first watchable campaign they've played for me. It's the first one that had good pacing. I find the filler episodes a little bit of slag and back to the previous campaigns pacing.
I can see that, the shopping episodes are definitely not for everyone (that’s what I think your referencing)
Then make your own successful D&D show and you make deals with Amazon among others. You go ahead and do that. R.I.P F.C.G
So, I can agree that this isn’t the best season so far. Do I believe that it has to be? No. Exponential improvement isn’t possible and I’m just enjoying the filler campaign. It’s not done but I think we’ll get a calamity event to mess the world up now that all continents are explored.
I like campaign 3 more then campaign 2!
I know this is months old now, but I ended up here and just want to say it seems we're in a good stint of the campaign now nearing the end of 2023.
Damn... I even forgot Marisha died 😂 and I watched this recently
Honestly I lost interest in watching entire episodes of CR way back in campaign 1, tried to get in to campaign 2 but it was just more of the same roadblocks that kept me from enjoying it, at most I now watch highlight clips that way I get all of the fun without having to sit through 3 or 4 hours of nothing, I much rather just spend that time actually playing an RPG instead of watching others play.
I don't think live-plays are my cup of tea beyond highlight clips.
(I also despise watching people play videogames for essentially the same reason)
well someone's desperate for views
Saying this story is too stuck on the red moon is like saying C2 was to big on Ukotoa.
I don’t understand the Ukotoa arc was not resolve till after the campaign ended, how was it too focused on it?
I swear ppl just HAVE to bitch about something all the time. They can't just enjoy it for what it is
Cheap engagement bait, try harder
Bells Hells is more entertaining than M9!
That campaign was boring af
Clickbait titles are so fucking cringe.