Why the Matt Mercer Effect is a Good Thing for DMs and Players 

To be fair, as a player, if you expect Mercer from your DM; don’t be surprised if your DM asks you to live up to the rest of the cast of CR.

Forever DM here, I definitely have felt the effects of the Matt Mercer effect. The funny thing is, it’s me that was effected, not my players. As a DM, it’s hard to find five people who all want to be as invested in dnd as the CR team, and I had to step back and realize why my expectations were so high coming back the summer after I discovered CR. Once I knew how to have that conversation I was all set.

To be fair: the Matt Mercer effect was happening even when Matt was just drawing maps on graphing paper and marking off combatant positions with cheap minis. While the current set has elevated the show's presentation, the improvisational and acting talents of the cast and the DM, as well as their passion for storytelling, has always been there, even in the days of dinky microphones and iPhone-quality video feeds. It was like watching NBA all stars in a game of pick-up, and still hustling like it's game 7 of the finals.

I've DM'd two groups. One we play at my house with a chessex map and minis for things I have minis for and tokens for everything else. It's everyone's first time. The other I take some of my stuff to another DM's house and use his fancy table, with the inset TV and mix of terrain, virtual environments, surround sound, way more minis and experienced players... I love both my groups and neither needs what the other has.

To me, it's like watching professional athletes and expecting your company softball league to be the same kind of experience. These are professional actors who are highly trained to tell stories, to react to other actors to keep stories going for hundreds of hours. Few tables will be like CR's table, and that is not the right kind of table for all games, or what everyone wants. It's also very different to be running a game in a world invented by someone else, and running a game in a world you've invented and spent hundreds of hours to create. Matt is also highly interested in political intrigue. Not everyone likes this. Not everyone will react to a story built around politics like the CR players. And your comments on style is totally on-point. And as for equipment, I think if I had the new set, it would actually make my game worse, as it would be so distracting to me to try and keep track of. I think the biggest impact CR has had is that it has engaged tons more people and showed them what playing DnD looks like, even if it's at a very high level. It's like watching a sport will get more people engaged in trying that sport much more than someone explaining it or trying to read how to play it in a book. The wide exposure of DnD thanks to CR has done more to lower the bar for new players. Thanks for your analysis.

As a podcast version listener, I like critical role entirely independent from the sets. He creates scenes through words that are immersive and easy to create a picture of in my mind.

I went through a Matt Mercer effect as the forever DM - putting all that unnecessary pressure on myself and being inevitably disappointed. Now, I’ve realised what I CAN take from Matt: his absolute, stone-cold poker face in tandem with his humbleness. DMs are people and people like boasting and when you are literally god (especially in a homebrew setting), every story pay off, every awesome session that you completely improvised you will want validation and you’ll want to spill all the awesome secrets you have. But Matt… just doesn’t do that… and my god does it pay off.

For me, personally, the Matt Mercer Effect has been a blessing. If players tell me upfront they like Critical Role, chances are good that they'll be a good fit for my game. For those who have always preferred a more role-play and character focused game it's just awesome to get so many new people into the hobby who want a game like that! =)

I have been playing RPGs since 1979 and as a DM have largely done theater of the mind for most combats. I have not really had the Matt Mercer Effect hit me, but have seen a resurgence of interest in RPGs that has made it much easier to find a table you might like to play/DM/GM/Storytell with. The one thing that I wish I had that Matt has in spades is patience. He has waited for years for storyline payoffs. That is a lesson that I really want to apply.

I think the only time I've complained about a DM not being "like Matt Mercer"--and I never actually made that complaint to anyone--was because the DM I was playing with wasn't actually a good DM, in terms of making sure his players are actually having fun and okay with what's going on. You can actually see Matt checking in with the rest of the CR cast constantly, verbally and nonverbally. The DM I had was not like that. He didn't care that I was getting frustrated and upset because I felt unheard by everyone at the table. I stuck with it to the end of the campaign, but I wasn't satisfied with what I got, because of the issue I just mentioned. Luckily, the DM I play with now is much more consistent about making sure his players are actually enjoying the game, and by extension so is the rest of my party.

Mercer's effect on me, was that I realized that as a DM, and a s a player, I could have put more effort into backstory and details. Not to the extent he does, but more than I did. I wonder how much of a difference it would have made. You probably don't notice it as much at a smaller table, and with players that are less concerned with the "role playing " aspect. But if you have players who really like to get into role, it's like an additional reward for them.

I'm of the firm opinion that the Critical Role effect is more due to the players than it is to Matt Mercer. It's how they get so invested in their own characters, how they go out of their way to say or do something without any prompt from the DM because "it's what the character would do", it's those sessions when Matt barely has to do anything because the players have the characters roleplay and simply talk expressing themselves and reflecting on recent events. Matt Mercer's dming simply enables that. This is not to say that Matt Mercer is without merit, far from that. But I usually get the feeling that people think that CR's success is maybe like 70-90% Matt's part and 10-30% the players', and I actually think it is the complete opposite! As you and other people have said in the comments, many one-shots that Matt has dmed have been completely unremarkable. Conversely, I found Aabria's Exandria Unlimited very much a CritRole experience even though her dming style is completely different; because the players were playing it the "CR style", taking their time to let the characters talk and act as they felt like and do their thing

I run my games with legos, no voice acting, and players with little to no experience, and I still have so much fun every session.

I realized that I never wanted to end up with a wall full of minis I had to sort through to find out I only have 3 skeletons when I want 6. So, I took all of 20 minutes to make a 3D print of a 1" square token I can slide a picture into and printed like 8 of those in various colors. Now, all I need is to print out images, cut them up, assemble, and tell my party "The red zombie is going to attack you, Jane". Much cheaper than printing minis, and I can make a catalogue of cut-out squares much easier than a fleet of minis.

One thing is greatly overlooked when it comes to the Matt Mercer Effect: The other players. The best moments of CR are not Matts villain monologues or one of his thousand toothy maws. The best moments are interactions between the characters. Scanlan accusing his party of not being interested in him as a person. The aftermath of Mollymauk's death. The reveal that Laudna was one of the victims for the Briarwoods' welcome display. Matt is completely secondary in these moments. Of course, there are also great solo moments when Matt is playing a bigger role. One example is Fjord destroying his falchion and cutting his ties to Uk'otoa. But Matt is not the only one making the show great. I'm not playing with any professional voice actors or entertainers. I do a bit of voice acting, but mainly by recording audios as a hobby. I try to learn from Matt and the rest of the cast of CR, but I will not immitate his style. I just try to motivate my players to try acting out their characters, even if it feels a bit strange at first. And when I'm a player, I often ask the others if I am overdoing it because I really enjoy excessive roleplaying and method acting. But I also don't want to just hog the spotlight all the time. Long story short: I communicate what I like to do and see with the others at my table. I try to create an environment where everyone feels safe and can try intense roleplaying. Honestly? Many people are great once they overcome the initial hesitation of roleplaying emotions. And I absolutely love to see these moments.

As someone who loves CR and has played in a few campaigns after being introduced to D&D by CR: I do not want to play in the style of CR. I certainly tried when I started but as a player. But I do not have the concentration to roleplay that deep an entire session, I do not want DMs to explain the environment as detailed as Mercer does, except if it is specifically necessary for an encounter, I love to bent the rules more than Mercer allows (and encourage players to do so now that I've started DMing myself) I have realised my style of D&D is different than CR's, and that's OK :D

14:00 What people tend to forget is that CR had it's fair share of "crappy equipment" at the start of their "streaming journey". I'm talking not only about their "microphone dropouts" during their G&S days, but more so about their "play tools" during aforementioned days. Maps hand drawn on paper with grey 3D printed figurines that bearly (pun intended for Trinkett) resembled their characters.... All of these things, these 3D models from Dwarvenforge, all those detailed stuff, is just to "boost" the imagination and has nothing to do with Matt Mercer or his style. Of course, our campaigns on stream would look TOTALLY different (and to be honest, we had a huge technical malfunction during our stream yesterday, caused by switching from Roll20 to foundry, and real....crappy preparation on my side). But there is also one thing people tend to forget, and that is how Critical Role started. During the early days, they had a very strict policy, and that is: the money they earned through donations would entirely be forwarded to their charity partners. Only the money they would get through subscription to the channel would - partly - be used for new models and set pieces and stuff. "Critical Role" was just one of many shows on Geek & Sundry (albeit one of the more successful ones). They didn't have the creative liberty to do stuff. They had to use an already built set to run their first games that was technologically not fitted for so much people on set. It was not until Ep. 37 that they had a "custom" set build to optically fit the "style" of the show, and not the "living room charme" they "had to deal with" until then. And it was not until the very end of campaign one (around ... I don't know, Ep. 102 or so), that they even had a custom built table.... So does equipment define "Critical Role"? Or was it awesome because the people really trusted each other?

When they talk about equipment, people should look at the first episodes in campaign one. I can remember Butcher's paper and hand drawn terrain being involved during the battles and encounters.

Something I feel is not mentioned enough is that a key difference between the CR cast and many other home D&D games is that apart from the deep focus on player interaction, their style is very much "story-centric". You will see this in how they role play, in the decisions they make and how they take it - a good story takes precedence. Not everyone plays like that. Many play very much a "player-centric" game where - if you are a player - your own decisions, journey and growth takes precedence in your mind. It is mostly visible when Matt is able to pull off things that are sometimes referred to as "red-flags". Something like denying the warlock his powers because of his defiance towards the patron. Many players after a session like that would go screaming in reddit threads about how the unfair and bad DM treated them. And they would find sympathy with neverending line of people agreeing that it's a red flag and that they would never have done such a thing at their table. Matt can do that. First, because his players trust him. And second, because they collectively like choices that lead to an interesting story. A player is not interested in getting more powerful and doesn't mind if a choice cripples him if the choice leads to an epic moment in the story. Travis has this mentality and so does Sam when he embraces failures and flat out says that he likes to fail. Liam tries it too but I think sometimes the tactical powergamer surfaces for a moment or two if he's not careful :D

I love your channel! I came back to DnD after being exposed to it in the late 70s. There was no one close enough to me that played so I didn't get hooked. Now, decades later and two grown children at home because of the pandemic, this family of geeks decided to learn DnD and to play. It's been a journey! We are hooked on critical role and love Matt and everyone (we're halfway through the second campaign). I learn constantly from watching him and the players in many ways: how to run a game (ie, make them roll for it), how to drop hints (even as a writer, I'm notoriously bad at this), how to move the story along, how to be patient when they get into an RP situation and are running with it and how to pace the game. I learn from the players, too, just as much if not more: how to take bad rolls with a smile, how to attend to other folks' story lines, how to be a team in battle, how to draw out players who may be shy about RP, and how to celebrate other's victories and comfort their defeats. We play with each other, taking turns DMing, and I am now running Call of the Netherdeep for my two best friends, a newer online very experienced friend, and my daughter. I also play in two games. I would not have this outlet or at least this much fun playing and DMing if not for Critical Role. To me, that's the REAL Matt Mercer effect :-)

as a DM, who started in 1982, with a solid knowledge of my own style and what I enjoy, I find in my interviews for new players that too many people are looking for an experience that doesn't match what I plan to run. I turn them away, and explain that to them. I know what I can give to my players. I have been doing these types of interviews for my home games ever since I had a player who totally ruined the game for a group because he had a different idea of the game than I had. In the past I would turn away one or two people who didn't seem to fit my playstyle and/or group and these days I seem to be turning away more people than I run for, because the style they want is just something I don't want to run. As someone who utterly dislikes in-character 'voices' and such in my games, and everyone wanting to be like critical roll with that level of role-playing, I am finding it harder and harder to find a solid group of players to game regularly with. That's my version of the Matt Mercer Effect. I'm the DM that sees too many people trying to be like critical roll.

I use to say “I will never DM” until I watched Critical Role and watched Matt do it and decided I want to do what he’s doing.

The larger and more important part that was glossed over: chemistry. A game you can play with people you know as friends and peers for 2, 6, 10 years is going to be leagues better than any pick-up randos on roll20 or the LGS that wants the CritRole experience. That whole experience comes from trial and error, and a willingness to work with people as DM and player. Sometimes, this just doesn't mesh. D&D horror stories exist because of this disconnect, and there are channels aplenty dedicated to that. In that vein, the best sessions of tabletop, regardless of system, come with 1) players and GMs I understand and can communicate with 2) the ability to talk things through above and below table without bleed 3) the willingness to give and take. It's not perfect, and even with my troupe of 5 years, we still butt heads on occasion, but we can talk about it as adults, and we all met online.

As I DM I ran into the exact opposite problem, I was trying to be more detailed in the world and incorporate everyone's back story into the game we were playing, but half my players only wanted combat and the other half wanted a well-rounded game of RP and Combat, eventually my DMing drove those combat players away. I wasn't trying to, just one day they said they didn't want to play anymore and eventually they said my world felt like history class that they had to study to play. In my defense you didn't actually need to know anything, I was just trying to add flavor to the world to make it feel more real, but they didn't like it, which is totally fine.

It's also interesting to note, that everyone has a different idea of what it means to "DM like Matt Mercer" I reacently found out, that me and my best friend both have Matt as their leading influence on our DM-style. But both us were really surprised by that and went "you don't DM like Matt...?!" because it means something totally different for both of us.

I only got into Critical Role's content recently, as in the last year. It took some multiple views but I enjoy it. It's a prime example of how a cast blends on a show. Remember that these folks are all friends. Liam and Sam are basically brothers. You have 2 married couples. A man with a literal family in the theater. A woman who grew up on television. I think the part I enjoy the most is that after every session, on the drive home, Matt turns to Marisha and asks: "Did you have fun tonight?" That speaks volumes to how he views the game.

I honestly believe Critical Role and the subsequent Mercer Effect has done more good than harm to the hobby. It's showed the world that what was considered a dorky, niece hobby can be "elevated" to a higher level of entertainment and produce some really engaging content. While it's unfair, obviously, to show up at a table and expect elaborate sets and pro voice actors, I feel it's inspired a lot of people to take their game to the next level and get more invested in making the best game possible. While the people with stupidly high expectations are real, there's and equally high number of people who are disorganized, rude, and downright lazy with their DMing/play, who when pressed go "I don't know why you take this game seriously, this isn't Critical Role". Even if you don't expect to become super famous from it, if you're not trying to put on the best game possible for your friends, why are you even playing?

I have learned a lot about being a DM from watching Critical Role. The 3 things you pointed out are exactly what I took from him. I think if a player has a problem with the DM not being good enough, the player has way to high of expectations. Its like if you asked your friends to play basketball after watching a few NBA games, and expecting them to play as good as the pros. As long as the DM is doing their best, and everyone is having fun, that's all that matters.

I'll be honest, I found critical role because of a friend recommendation years ago (we're both DMs). After watching for a while, I really wanted to incorporate Matt's "How do you want to do it?" for the final blow on what is considered Big Bads or boss monsters. I absolutely love the agency it gives to the players and I feel it helps not only to build their creativity, but really feel like their characters are a force to be reckoned with. My players absolutely have loved it as well and I think it's a fun thing to throw in there. I think Matt has done a lot to inspire DMs (or GMs as well), and I love the fact that the show is bringing in new players even now.

I think we often tend to call upon the 'Matt Mercer effect' when trying to explain something that has existed in internet culture way before Critical Role first emerged. Something that was prevalent in MMORPGs long before the prevalance of Roll20, The Foundry, Dndbeyond (2012 and onwards) and so many other online media that enabled people to play with eachother online. But because these two not necessarily overlap, it came as a shock to people in the D&D community. Matt Mercer or CR is just another popular type of consumerist focal point that people decided to look into - There was a GoT (2011) expanding in MMORPG roleplay, around the time of the first seasons, where people tried to immulate the writing and clever characters playing this throne'ish kind of political scheme (Similar to @AAAndrew 's comment of how intrigue might not be everyone's cup of tea). And while people were not good at it, let's be honest the characters written in GoT far supercedes the average player's ability, it does not stop us from wanting to be that and make characters like that, dream of participating in stories like that. To be something awesome that we have found inspiration in. (Naturally - the CR characters came after 2015) And the mimicry of CR is not a bad thing - it is just what it is, mimicry. The amount of Legolas and Gimli impersonators were also high at the prime of Lord of the Rings in local games (at least from my experience). Some people want something familiar, some people want something unique. And who knows, maybe it instills the little bit of bravery into players and DMs, to sing like Scanlan when they are Bard'ing - or immitate a myriad of voices that the cast of CR does. Let them be an inspiration, rather than the set of rules, we must follow. I am glad someone finally tackled the other side of this coin - In the way that we often hear that the effect either does not exists or is the fault of bad/toxic community people. My thanks for (like with the Tiberius video) to giving us a much more pleasant and less 'outragey' sort of perspective that allows us to talk about something that just 'is' in many ways. And how to move on from that, rather to stew in it forever.

The Mighty Nein is one of my favorite stories ever, with one of my favorite casts of all. It's almost X-men level for me. I can see how people loving Critical Role can be frustrating for people who don't like their style, or don't like how their presence affects others' expectations. But Critical Role has pushed me to actually play D&D. It has influenced or reinvigorated friends' passions for the game. And most of us don't expect our own games to be a 1:1 experience. But in my opinion, its infiuence is a resounding net good.

I've always said the Matt Mercer effect is an excuse to boring DM's use to blame someone else. Sure sometimes it's players being entitled but usually it's not the players

I'm not a critrole fan but I agree. The blame lands squarely on these ultra fans of the show unfairly putting up their expectations as gospel. And the blame also lands with critics who blame Matt.

only the negative stories are being whispered around. the good stories of people being inspired by Matt are silent.

"I hope you understand the point I'm trying to get at. And if you don't, that's okay, let's discuss it below." I admire this so much. This is such a good energy to bring into these videos. (lol I commented Mike's quote on the wrong video bc I let the playlist keep going, my bad!!)

i also think the music analogy can work in another way: Playing and listening to music is completly different. I love listening to jazz being played at a level i doubt i will ever reach, yet i absolutely love playing jazz with friends, at a much more mediocre level. These are two completely different experiences, and both are very enjoyable in different ways. This is also my experience with watching critical role vs playing dnd, i love watching the improvisation, the voices, the complex stories being told by Critical Role, but being with friends at the table, discussing and laughing about what happened during the session, being there with people you know, is so rewarding. So my point is yes, its good that people that want to play dnd have a point of reference to draw from, but its important to acknowledge that it doesnt need to be the same to be fun, and that its a good thing if it ends up being different from what you were expecting!

I would like to bring up any of the "one shot" campaigns that have been ran by other CR cast members, and how vastly different their DM style is. Each DM in any game will bring their own flair and play style.

Just last year I started my friends’ and mine’s first ever dnd game… and also my first time dming. No one in my friend group wanted to do it so I took it upon myself since I write as a hobby. Just around when we began, I also started watching CR (super late, ik). The CR effect that’s happened to me personally is trying to incorporate my players’ stories into the game since many of them are similar to the CR players who are invested into their and other PCs stories. I also noticed that my normal writing/storytelling style is similar to Matt’s which is why I ended up becoming a fan of the show. As someone just starting out, CR rly helped me get more comfortable with RPing and immersing the players in the story, but also because their style of play was compatible w/ how I liked running the game. Also feel like watching them play rly helped me learn the rules for Dnd without reading all the books (I’m in college and barely have time for that). But I think I’ve benefitted sm from CR and Matt is because my friends and I ended up having a playing style similar to the show’s but in an online game with none of fancy stuff, but just the RP and them giving me feedback and us keeping in touch about what they have fun with, and what both sides can work on. I think as long as players and DM communicate their needs and you check in if they’re having fun, that’s enough for me. I don’t know all the rules, our sessions end up short because of school and timezones, but I think what matters is everyone having fun, and being excited enough to look forward to the next game. CR is a good introduction to dnd and can help you learn some of the rules for people who might not be able to read the PHB and DMG, but the show shouldn’t be your bible of how Dnd should look like. idk just some thoughts from someone who’s been playing for less than 6 months because I was only able to find other dnd fans in college lol

For a RU-vidr that just started, I love your format & the fact you use the Chapter feature. Well done.

I’m about to run my first game. CR is what interested them in D&D. They know it’s my first time and we will be strictly using theater if the mind. They’re hyped, I’m stressed prepping, and I can’t wait to get started. I’m thankful for the Mercer effect. I may never get a chance to step out of the player role and try my hand at running a game

I've seen a couple of your vids and I like your discourse. SUBed.

way back, when I started playing (Haven't played in over 20 years since I moved) my dm used several map types 1) graph paper maps for the dungeons that he handed out to the players and he had the master map. At the end of the night, he marked how far we got on his map and then take all of ours to fill in where we had been, traps we tripped or disarmed, doors we unlocked or found and couldn't unlock, and so on omitting what we would miss. 2) as far as outdoor maps everything from cardboard boxes, popsicle sticks, cardboard tubes, clay, gravel, rocks, twigs sand, and tons of glue, toothpicks, and imagination. were used to make the buildings, paths, and such 3) lego maps, these were reserved for silly or fun things like a small side quest that may take a very short amount of time, carnival settings, or just something to break the tension and game stress. He would also cut up old shirts for tents and use pipe cleaners or dowel rods for tent poles and string for the ropes. So to me, all this fancy stuff they have now is taking away from the fun a bit. As far as minis went we used minis, lego people and monsters, or whatever his sick demented DM mind would think of! another thing that happened often is things got literally burnt, blown up, and so on, in a controlled manner outside of course. we were a destructive bunch in and out of the game lol That would leave pieces that could be used in the future for places that were attacked such as villages by those pesky kobolds (Back when they were thought to be kangaroo foxes) I think I would still use these methods instead of all the fancy stuff they have now, lord knows my son has enough legos, I have access to tons of cardboard , pallets, rocks etc to do all this. I even have a bunch of plywood that I can make a table just to set maps up on. Sure Matt Mercer has a lot of fancy things, but that is not why I watch. I watch to see people have fun and play, and the stories. Matt has taught me quite a lot with the 5th edition rules, rule of cool and so much more that can be implemented in my games. He is like you said an example to get inspiration from, just as much as Matt Coville, Monty Martin, Kelly McLaughlin, and many others are.

loven your work here, keep up the good work

There is a table for everyone but communication is how you find your table

Matt Mercer and Brennan Lee Mulligan are the reason why I wanted to become a DM. They made it look so fun, so I wanted to try running games like they do

Looking forward to this series on this channel! My introduction to d&d was through Fantasy High and the Oxventurers, and didn't start watching Critical Role until I had been playing for almost a year. The groups and DMs are very different and I like picking and choosing my favorite aspects. My own DMing style is s mix of those two and early VM era of CR with the hand drawn maps. My playstyle is more Oxventurers, with some serious backstory elements like CR.

Every single time I've heard a player say they want to be in a game like CR, they weren't talking about the DM's style or the lore or the story. They were talking about the closeness and fun that is super obvious and apparent between the cast of CR. They're looking for a group of best friends to build & tell a story with. Of course, building relationships like those takes time and a lot of trial & error, but it's 100% possible to achieve. Unfortunately, a lot of those players fail to realize this (about what they're *really* after AND that it's not an overnight process), and it becomes very difficult for them to enjoy games until they do

Just stumbled into your content and can I just say, you are so charismatic. At least twice I actually burst out laughing, which I rarely do when watching videos. Informative, great takes, and just generally nice to listen to, take +1 subscriber c:

look at the one shots for example Travis's oneshot, or Liam's, or Ashlie's. same group of people were at the table BUT it wasn't the same, any time there are guests on the show the flow is off, it's not the same. The first few sessions of campaign 3 were off, but after a few sessions Robbi started to fit in more and it started to feel like critrole. and then there is like you were saying, Matt DMing for a completely different group. Matt is DMing like Matt, but the players don't have the feel. so does that mean Matt is also affected by the Matt Mercer Effect? "Hey Matt, why this game not like crit role? DND should be like critrole Matt. You suck!"

The things I respect Matt most for as a DM is his story planning/writing and descriptive abilities. I find story hooks and climaxes to be easy to write up, but the middle parts are where I struggle the most to come up with cohesive and interesting structure for holding onto their focus and give them hints as to the ending. The voices he can do are just icing on the cake and entertainment energy, and I know they are beyond the abilities of my partially damaged vocal cords, so i dont even try to minic that fully

I appreciate that you brought up the dwarven forge thing. People don't realize how expensive that stuff is and Matt has been a advocate from before they were big. It wouldn't surprise me if they send him promos because everytime he uses it on set that's free advertising and because of the "Matt Mercer effect" People will want to replicate it and purchase them.

Whenever I think about what people call “the Matt mercer effect” I have two anecdotes that come to mind. In the 90s I played a lot of soccer, at an amateur level, and for most of us that’s all there was to it, fun times with friends, kicking some ball. But we always had to deal with those guys who joined expecting FC Barcelona, or telling people to be Maradona. Not apples to apples, but the same basic concept. The next one is, back in 2004, I joined the marine core, and something that I always struggled with during that year, was dealing with Those Guys, who you instantly knew loved war movies just a little too much. I know there are slightly different circumstances, but the basic principle is the same, misaligned expectations.

Similar effect in the martial arts community when people go into a a new school expecting their teacher to be a young Jean Claude Van Dam.

Between Matt Mercer and Griffin McElroy (both WILDLY different kinds of DMs on the surface), I feel like I was prepped to be the best DM I can be. Because the things that they taught me was stuff like "have fun with random NPCs", and "tell stories that matter to the characters and the players bc they'll get even more invested", and "try to give your players a voice in shaping the world". Maybe I played fast and loose with combat, maybe I let my players make a case for things they shouldn't be able to do and go "you know what fuck yeah that sounds dope and vaguely plausible!", but I still learned from Matt. My players got pitched the game they got and we loved it from tip to toe. If someone had been expecting Mercer or Mulligan from me, I would've disappointed. But when I pitched it, I pitched it as "casual, rules-wise, and taking a LOT of inspiration from The Adventure Zone", so if they ended up in my game and didn't like it, that would've been on them.

I am very excited for this journey.

I discovered CR almost 2 years before I played my very 1st game of dnd and only started playing because it looked so fun! My DM has some similarities to Mercer but not completely, we do A LOT LESS role playing than on CR which I actually like! But... I think it should be called the CR Effect because they are all top notch players and I think what they have done is what Tiger Woods did for golf, you had a bunch of fat old men who drank beer and played golf "professionally" and then Tiger came in and said "I'm actually going to take this seriously, train like other professional athletes train, and raise my level of gameplay!" Sure he dominated everyone for a long time but now everyone has raised their level of gameplay and it's an overall better experience. And I think that is what CR is doing. Look, I will never be able to RP my Dwarf Barbarian to the level that Travis RP's Grog or now Chetney... But I can be a better player for my DM!

I have had a very interesting entrance into the actual play podcasts. I found The Adventure Zone first. Griffin McElroy was the first DM I listened to in an actual play podcast. I still love and listen to The Adventure Zone, but I listened to them and found Greetings Adventurers early in it's life. I listened to episode 1 and boy was that different. Michael DiMauro was not what I would have considered a good DM, but I stuck with the podcast and quickly learned that DM's grow with their players. I think that it is unfair to say "this is not the table for you". In some, maybe even most, this may be true, but the relationship between the DM and the Players seems to make the biggest difference in how the DM runs campaigns. They learn what is fun for their players or what makes a good story for everyone involved. I can appreciate what Matt does for CR, with the sounds and the voice acting, however, that is not what I learned to love the in the actual play world. I think he is a skilled DM, and adds a lot for his players, but I think the other DMs I mentioned deserve credit for the worlds they have created and stories they have told. They may not have the voices and sound effects Matt can bring, but they show that those are not what makes a good game, a good game. (from someone who has never played DND, not because he isn't interested, but because he is too introverted to try something with people he doesn't know!)

I agree that the "Matt Mercer Effect" is used too often to reverse gatekeep D&D. It's been odd to me to hear people complain about that type of game not being accessible, because I DO run Critical Role style games, and it takes a little work and a fair amount of preparation, sure, but it's not that hard. Now I'm NOT saying I'm anything like Matt Mercer, I'm not as experienced as he is, but I do all right. I really appreciate your point at the end that the Matt Mercer effect gives people new rhetoric to help them find the game they're looking for. It reminded me of what Matt Coleville's been saying for years: that if you want to be successful as a DM, you have to communicate with your players. For anyone who wants to make their tabletop experience feel like CR, here's how I do it. My method might not work for you, but maybe my list will give you some insight. 1: Communicate! tell everyone you intend to run a more RP heavy type game BEFORE they make their characters, before they even agree to be part of the table! And make sure that if they're not interested in that type of game you're not going to make them feel bad for turning down the invitation. Also FYI, you should do this for EVERY type of game you DM, let everyone know how you intend to run the game, and be VERY clear about it. 2: Know the rules, know your players characters, know the world. It takes a lot of work. I spend 3 to 6 months figuring all that out before I'll even run a session 0 for a longterm campaign. It's hard to know what information you're going to need to know and what you won't, that that understanding will come with experience. You don't need to have every spell memorized, but you should know all the basic mechanics of the game. You don't need to have a name and back story for every NPC who will appear in the world, but you do need that for at least 10 NPC's, 20 would be better. You don't need to know every step the party will take along the way as they explore your world and your story, but you do need to have an idea of where it's gong to end and how stuff outside of your party's control is going to factor into it. You don't have to be perfect at it right away either, I wasn't. It took me a couple campaigns to figure out what I needed to know and how much I needed planned. I guarantee it was the same for Mercer, it'll be the same for you too. 3: Play your NPC's as if you weren't the DM, play them like they're your PC's and you're just another player at the table. If you treat your NPC's like nothing more than a video game quest start point or a nameless shopkeep with only 3 lines of preprogramed dialogue, your players will too. If you want your players to become invested in the world (the biggest factor that makes a CR style game IMO) then you will have to get them invested in the PEOPLE of that world. 4: Make sure EVERYONE gets time in the spotlight. If crosstalk is a problem, you're the DM, you're allowed to call people out on that. Don't let that power gamer at your table interrupt or talk over anyone else, and don't let the rules lawyer waste everyone's time with arguments, make a ruling, remind them that you as the DM aren't the oposing lawyer, you're the judge, and your ruling stands. And when someone has a big moment, make sure they get the chance to get everything they want out of it. Matt's "How do you want to do this" is a really great starting point for that, but make sure it happens out of combat too. That's really it. Everything else is literally just set dressing.

Hi! Great video! ❤️ My first experience with D&D was watching Exandria Unlimited as I was preparing for my first game. Then I started to watch Campaign 3 also. So when I went to a few games just as an observer so I can get a better idea of the group and the dynamics, i founded myself disappointed because it was far more chaotic and people talking over each other that what I had watched. Then looking for D&D content I found about this effect and everything made sense again. I relaxed, and understand that is unjust to compare both groups. We are a bunch of 30’s regular people with regular jobs just trying to have a fun night.

Excellent take! Putting more effort into good communication improves the quality of most games.

watching critical role gave me insight of what to expect as a DM, particularly in terms of the wild agency DnD has. I didn't expect the characters to spare the assassin NPC! But they did, and because I had experience watching a good DM handle what could have been extreme derailing in a way that progressed the story in a beautiful way. I got a lot of help by watching Matt Mercer not because I wanted to be just like him, but because it familiarized me with what its like playing behind the screen.

As many have said in the comments, sometimes it's not Mercer but the players that give the show that intense sense of, "I wish my game was like this." As several people also pointed out, it's bc they care so much for their characters. Our table had a realization about how much both those factors matter when our DM had us do three sessions fighting in a war our characters were participating in. However, it played like a grand strategy game with us commanding units of soldiers, turns were 3 min instead of 6 seconds and our characters would have a turn within the 3 min if they were in that unit. Problem was that most of a character's features go away in a minute so stuff like rage or concentration magic was less efficient than just racking up as much damage. Distance was also a factor. By the end of the second session, both the players and the DM wanted the battle to be over as we were just crunching numbers and barely role-playing. Our DM gave us an immediate level up for going through it and said never again. If he had handled it differently, like make the players fight in a small but critical to the war battle or have special features for players to use within the grand battle that would let them shine as a character, then it wouldn't have been as bad of a time. He learned from it and I wouldn't mind another large battle like that, but players need to be able to play their characters and have moments instead of being quick rolls for a small amount of damage in a battle that could've happened in the background. I'm curious, let me know if y'all have had a neat large scale battle system that fixes the issue we had.

One thing that has worked great in my group is making the table from a big screen and making animated maps with unity with sounds effects, fog of war and all. Very inmersive and way cheaper than actual terrain in the long term.

I enjoyed being a player in Pathfinder back in the day. There was some stuff stylistically I didn't enjoy from the DM, but mostly good. The system as I tried to prep a session myself required too much precision. I saw CR and got back into the hobby. I thought "I can do this." Or sometimes "he could have done this instead ." It showed me what a game could be, and the 5e rules intrigued me. Advantage/Disadvantage and Bounded Accuracy made it easier to prep, so I could spend less of my time calculating monster AC and hit chance to make the foes relevant. I had missteps. I struggled with the stealth, sneak attack, and surprise rules so bad I frustrated the rogue for the first 3 or 4 sessions. But I run 2 groups now, plus my kids game and a solo game. 8 people that wouldn't have a DM right now without the dreaded Mercer effect.

I really liked this video, especially the star wars crack at like 6:30. Well said as a whole I think. I've not ran into this with my players as of yet, but I've caught myself on more than one occasion trying to make my game measure up to CR when it's not CR. Like you said, CR isn't the be all, end all for everyone but it is what works good for that group. I really appreciate your thoughts and I look forward to watching more.

I just started playing and I'm a first time DM. I like to use Matt mercer style to know what can be done helps broaden my mind.

I definitely think the Matt Mercer Effect is a good thing. I played one dnd campaign to leve l 7 some years ago, as a player for about 6 months or something like that. That was my only experience of DnD. However, I got into Critical Role in the past few years and started listening to it all the time while commuting, and during lockdown I powered through all of campaign 1. I started feeling like playing DnD again, but didn't have anyone to play with who could DM. So I decided I would DM! And I can tell you, if I hadn't listened to so much CR and paid attention to how Matt conducts himself I don't think I would have been able to deliver nearly as good a campaign as I have so far. Apart from learning so much about the rules from listening to CR, I picked up the ideas such as describing character actions in combat to make it feel epic, giving lively descriptions of the world you're trying to create, managing player expectations and asserting yourself as the arbiter of the game, being fair and trying to allow people to do what they're asking to do, as long as they can justify it, and many more. They may seem like obvious things to some DMs, but it would be easy to just mechanically describe actions and results, which wouldn't feel as interesting to me. I don't do voices, I don't narrate every single sound in the environment and I would certainly say that my world isn't as extensive as Matt's, but he has definitely made me a better DM than I would've been. If I would have even DM'd in the first place without that exposure! I think the Matt Mercer Effect is a pretty unfair name to be honest. The phenomena it describes should really be called the Critical Role Effect. Matt is a great DM, but as you said, in other games outside of CR, the games just look like an 'average' dnd game. What makes CR so great as entertainment is the players and their interactions with Matt. They are so engrossed and engaged in his world, and they try to become their characters. It creates a positive feedback loop that accentuates the effect on both sides. I started off my current campaign trying to push some space in for social interaction and players RPing with each other, but my players didn't seem to respond to that with much enthusiasm besides sort of mechanical matter-of-fact conversations about what to do next / in a certain situation. I realised this and so I've modified how the game plays to have less emphasis on that sort of thing (though still allowing for it.) If they had been really into that part of the game, then I would've given it more emphasis. The point that I'm trying to get at is that the deep character development, the interactions that genuinely ellicit emotional responses in some of the audience - that's from Matt + the Players. Which is why if I were to ever be compared to Matt Mercer, I would say the increasingly common adage, 'I'll DM like Matt Mercer, if you play like the cast of Critical Role.' Also, final point on equipment: I was enchanted by CR while listening to it only as a podcast, and even when I listen to it now it sits on my tablet to the side of my computer and I only glance at it now and then. It's not the visuals that do it for me. My favourite parts are actually the theatre of the mind bits in fact.

Played D&D in the middle 80's as a high schooler. It was a fun time. All "theatre of mind" for the majority of it, some pictures. All we had was our dice, some graph paper, regular paper and the basic rule books. My group was the 'nerdy" intellectual group. It really was a way for us nerds to escape the "real" world of being excluded from all the other activities and things that the "regular" kids did. When it comes down to it......you make your own fun. Seeing the "regular" people play D&D amuses me a bit.....I guess us nerds were ahead of our time.

I've had two DMs before finally watching CR. They were both fantastic; I saw elements of them in Matt (which I'm sure they've picked up from him) and I cannot wait to start another campaign with them. The one I'm starting up again with soon takes Mercer's leniency to a level that's great for our group of theater kids who are more interested in the story than the numbers. Watching CR made me appreciate my DMs so much more. Love you John and Henry :)

One of Matt’s best responses to the MME involved him actually challenging players to bring it like his if they wish to emulate the arc they have. He doesn’t essentialize his success to himself. He has a deep respect for his players as essential components and sees focusing on him as missing the bigger picture. This is probably because of their profession. He knows what it takes to make a creative project and is aware of what others contribute to the whole. I think we all need that perspective.

Great video and analogies

Over the years my table has gone from no voices, very "by the book" play. And leaned more and more towards actual play like Critical Role and Glass Cannon. What I've found is my players are more excited about the story and their characters development over "dude at lvl 10 I get ______". I get ideas thrown at me for backgrounds and motivations much more often. It's really cool. Imo as a DM you are the story teller, not just the rules lawyer.

Heh, I have to say that Critical Role has more influenced my skills as a player than it has as a DM. I used to do voicework many, many moons ago for student animation shorts (we're talking back in the 80s) and have been rather shy at using voice acting skills at any games where I've been a player or a DM. Now, I'm not shy at all about it. And the great thing is, several other players at the game I'm currently playing (as a player) enjoy it a lot. I find that encouraging. As for GMing/DMing, many years ago, I ran a game where I lost two players because I was more focused on the story and characters involved, not the dice rolls or the battles...the majority of the players stayed on board and told me they liked the exploring and finding out information to further their goals in the game and less about the hard numbers or who had the best stats. We had a very touching moment when one player's character died and another strange plot where several characters in the party conspired to kill off one of their number for reasons. There was a party at a Dwarven Inn called "The Red Dwarf" where an elven party member bragged about how tasty his pancakes were and was told to prove it (they were a hit), the joy of the party taking down a dragon without anyone dying and when they finally made their final goal, we celebrated as a group as well as in game. I've started playing regularly again and I continue to take some inspiration from Critical Role, but definitely do not expect any of the games to be the same.

When I realized setting expectations for my 4-8 year Olds before entering a restaurant was life changing

I don't have minis. I have colored cardstock cut-outs (I literally cut up the cardboard from soda 12-packs and cereal boxes), with numbers and letters on them, and my niece had fun drawing the characters or symbols for the characters on the (green) cut-outs. Red is enemies, yellow is NPC companions, and blue is innocent bystanders. Sometimes, the red is more of a maroon, and sometimes the yellow is more of an orange, but you know what? It gets the job done. I don't have an expensive tower to keep track of initiative. I have wooden clothespins with PC names, and numbers/letters for the enemies and NPC companions. That's it. I clip them to the top of the DM screen, and it shows me who's up next, and the players can see it, too, so it's good for everyone, especially someone who wants to coordinate moves with another player. I spent, like, a hundred dollars on books of maps I can use for my game, and I've used a random forest scene once. For the rest, I have drawn my own maps, because I like the specificity of it, but I'll use those maps soon, just because I BOUGHT THEM, DARNIT! But I have to PLAN to use them, rather than just saying, "Hmmm, I need such and such. I'll just draw something simple on the graph paper. Done." Background music? Sometimes I use it, and sometimes I don't. Usually I forget all about it, until the playlist moves on to BATTLE MUSIC, while I'm pouring drinks in the tavern. However, I DO love using my laptop, because I found some cool story-time videos on RU-vid (Widogast's Web of Words, for example) and some cool songs, and "The bards will tell you a story, or sing you a song for a gold piece. I put it on the laptop, and show it to the group, and they agreed they want more of that. It's fun, and immersive, and high quality (higher than me singing a capella or reading the story off a script). After the story/song, I ask the bard to make a Performance check, and if she rolls medium, she learns the chorus, or can give a very basic retelling of the story (which I have typed out to give her), or if the rolls high, she gets the entire lyrics, or a link to the story video, and she "has learned the story/song, and can perform it again, whenever she wants to." She really seemed to like that for her character, and it cost me NOTHING. I DO record my sessions, just so that I can go back and listen later, when I inevitably forget stuff. However, even that is iffy, because about half of them failed to record properly, so ... SIGH. I can only relive The Chocopocalypse in my memories. But now, the cleric has paid the bards 50 gp to write an epic ballad about The Chocolateers and Barthen's Chocolate (which he can then use to advertise his goods), and my niece is going to write it and I LOOK FORWARD TO IT, SO MUCH! I may be the DM, but I have no instrument, so I'm not writing a song for them. She wants it so much. SHE can write it. And she's OK with that. In fact, she had ALREADY STARTED TO WRITE ONE, before it came up in game! I believe that a good DM doesn't take on EVERYTHING, and allows the players to contribute. In fact, I have THEM take the notes. I take my own (simple hour-by-hour spells run out at X o'clock) but they have a party journal, and it's something else. My niece draws pictures of stuff, along the way, and it's AWESOME! This is a cooperative game, and half the time, it's completely off-the-track of what I had prepared that week, because my players throw me for a loop, so preparing pricy stuff is just a waste, anyway. Sometimes, it's just Theater of the Mind, because "I can't do a map that big," or "You wanna go WHERE?! TODAY?! OK." I'm not that good at it, yet, but I'm getting better. My brother was able to just improvise NEVERWINTER (yes, the entire city), and we spent days just shopping, because we were having a blast with all the improvised shops. My favorite was "What's the latest location of The House of Bam-Boom apothecary?" and my second favorite was when he sent us to a brothel to buy the gear my character wanted to restrain a wizard, when we finally tracked him down. "It's the best place to buy bondage gear. But take the back entrance, if you're looking to buy STUFF. The front entrance is for ... other things." All of that off the top of his head. He's so good! And there were no maps or minis. Just Theater of the Mind. In short, you can have an ABSOLUTE BLAST with just one Player's Handbook, one Dungeon Master Guide, one Monster Manual (or the internet, actually, to look up the stat blocs you need, or just make them up, yourself!), some dice, a lot of paper, and pencils for everyone. The set that CR has is great! But the set is not what makes the game. The early episodes, where he drew out the maps, and they had their paper character sheets and passed around the Player's Handbook, were LOADS of fun! Just as much fun! The new set and gear and lighting and sound effects add to the immersion, but the FUN is all in the GAME and the people playing it.

So I run fairly story heavy campaigns with a lot of roleplay, I am writer by trade so people know what to expect from me as a DM, but one of the biggest effects I found from Critcal Role is people actually wanting to be DM's. It's people actually coming up to me and asking to learn how to DM. Of course, there has been more problem players, but genuinely, the biggest effect I see is people actually wanting to DM

I do occasionally bring in some effects and other things, especially when using Roll20. However, many times it just goes by the wayside and my players still love it! Two of our group started because of critical role, but went in with the mindset that it was like top tier and it wouldn’t necessarily be like that.

How do u not have more subs? U deserve more, ur videos are great and informative

I wish I could send this video to my 2017 self, so I wouldn't feel like crap when my players started saying that I should be more like Matthew Mercer. On the other hand, that was precisely what led me to develop my own style, occasionally implementing something I liked from Matt's (with my own twists), but mostly not, from my second-ever campaign and forth. I still play with the same group to this very day, and have managed to hook them up to every one of my following campaigns.

Good take. Earned a sub. 👍

I wanted to be a dm before seeing Matt but being a huge fan of his before knowing that I started my campaigns after watching critical role I love trying to reach Matt Mercer levels of amazing but I also love acting and have a brain that focuses on the details that make that easy. Matt inspired me to try and copy him and realize I can't and refine and define a style that I enjoy and so far I have had nothing but happy players. In the end passion trumps all and it will shine thru.

I got incredibly lucky with the party I’ve been a part of for the last 2 years. We’ve done 2.5 campaigns together (one of our campaigns is on pause). We’re all involved in the same capacities and we just mesh beautifully as a party. It’s homely amazing that the 6 of us are all on such similar pages. It’s honestly so amazing and I’m so grateful for them. We completely avoided the negative aspects of the Matt Mercer effect and that’s really freaking cool. It might be because we’re all Mcelroy people, TAZ balance meant a lot to all of us. And because of the Mcelroy’s we’re actually thinking of starting a dnd podcast in the upcoming years.

about the "If I had his equipment" argument, im just picturing Aladdin imprisoning Jafar in the lamp. You want his power well now your group have to sit not just across the table from eacother but like 15 feet apart, with 8 cameras in a hot studio. Keeping snacking to a minimum. Yeah sure that will make your home game better

It is already hard enough to BE a DM then add the weight of someone attempting to compare you to Mercer, the DM God, himself. I personally do mostly homebrew and like to ramp up the chaos as much as possible. My group loves it, for the most part. We had a Campaign called the Fighters Guild where we did basic stuff that ramped into a world ending crisis fueled by a vampire court and a mysterious Time Leaper who is linked to an ancient knighthood of the main hub city. Then we had an incident where I got burnt out because there was far more expected than I could deliver so I took a break. Recently, I rebooted the campaign as a sequel to the original which hosts a dimensional break that causes three worlds to collide and I have been having fun. Sometimes, running a goofy campaign that is as whacky and chaotic as can be is what's best. You don't have to be Matt and be grounded. I am also super crazy and lenient with my gameplay and have no bans on literally anything. If DND has it then you can get it, along with homebrew stuff that is very op. I love DND, I love being whacky, and I love keeping that as far away from my love of Critical Role as humanly possible.

The entire cast of CR motivated me to get back into D&D. My DM is definitely not the same but I feel inspired often to play like the cast plays. Also, my DM loves Matt Mercer so that probably helps. Lol

I really like how you've explained this, you do it so well! I have a rather unusual history with Critical Role as a DM. For many years, my players were telling me about Critical Role, but I always brushed it off and privately refused to engage with it: because I had only siezed on the idea that it was "a bunch of american celebrities playing D&D" (yea I missed that they were a bunch of VA nerds). I assumed, with no justification, that it would be a really shallow, lighthearted show playing D&D for laughs like many games I'd tried to join but didn't fit with. Finally I had a long time with nothing to do and thought I'd give it a try. And it blew my mind: not because it was so much better than the D&D I knew, but because it was _almost identical_ to the D&D I knew and loved. And I began to realise that the reason I had in the last few years finally started finding an abundance of players who liked my style of D&D was because Matt Mercer was out there pushing the brand in the way I'd always wanted. Now, I gollow Critical Role very closely and very much enjoy it. I think it's great, but not perfect; but while I chuckle at Matt's bizzare/corny naming conventions and compulive malaproprisms; and some of his maximalist setting gets an eyeroll from the writer in me; I really admire his dedication and identify with him Which is all to say - to me the "Matt Mercer effect" has only ever been a positive. It has brought me more players who understand the style I am comfortable in. He's been an overwhelmingly positive force for my kind of D&D.

Well said Sir!!!!! ❤

amazing channel! it is indeed a problematic thing in campaigns I've played but I agree its so wrong to blame Mercer for the expectations one might have of our DMs, I've played with good rookie DMs and with BAD experienced DMs and even though it were different experiences and nothing like CR, I had quite a lot of fun and helped me understand things of the game in different aspects! amazing content handsome keep it up!

Once again, the answer is, "TALK TO YOUR PLAYERS!"

I've been introduced to DnD by Critical Role and started to play with some of my friends. When I started DMing I definitely thought that I had to do everything to a standard as high as Matt, but the more I play, the more I realise that this was a terrible mindset. If you get together with the right group of people, you can craft a fun and engaging experience for everyone and you don't need any kind of expensive equipment or acting expertise to do so.

Gilmore, Pumat, Henry Crabgrass; these are wonderful NPCs that Matt has created and struck a chord with the players and Critters. This is an ability that every DM can learn. I don't do voices very well, but; I can improvise well. This skill was forced on me by my players who, being somewhat Chaotic in real life, would choose to divert the adventure in a direction I hadn't anticipated (like this is unique to my campaign, right?). My planning was not wasted (maybe postponed to later) but the base for my plans was still sound since I had a fully developed world in which to play. I had picked Kingdoms of Kalmar (v3.0, with online adaptations to v3.5) which is very rich in detail. This gave me a safety net against which I could improvise to provide my players with interesting "consequences" to thwarting my plans (MWAH-HA-Ha-ha!). I didn't plan any TPK, although it came close a few times, and some characters managed to find themselves "waking up dead" due to unfortunate choices or situations (necklace of fireballs failing saving throws for EACH gem - I tried but the dice gods were determined). I would try to balance the play for challenges and fun and hopefully memorable events, but not everything will get the "10" rating. I see Matt having a similar setup where he has a fully developed world, pantheons, NPCs, cities, and rich and deep history. He is superb at swinging with the punches when his players thwart his Boss battle crowning spell or get into the weeds with a character he probably sketched together on the spot (Henry Crabgrass, perhaps?). My takeaway for the Matt Mercer effect is not focused on his voice acting and chameleon-like mannerisms (he really becomes the character, with facial and body affectations), but on the preparedness that is evident in how he can react and improvise to the flow of the scenes. This to me is the real basis of the Matt Mercer effect; anyone can learn these skills. The voice acting and mannerisms take dedication and training and are not essential to a great campaign. Yes; it does add to the flair of the streaming show and can be seen in the early short videos Liam posted, but the Theater of the Mind can be affected by any group willing to make-believe. Let us not forget the players at the table have a great deal to do with making Matt shine; he is not operating in a vacuum. It is a joint effort to create characters that are memorable and lovable. That the gang have re-invented themselves completely 3 times in the world of Taldore and drawn the viewers in without alienating the Critters is amazing. Again this is a group effort that any table of players can achieve with intent. Yes; this is a group of talented voice actors, with all the skills and work experience to back them up. They are real people who are enjoying being together; isn't that what we are seeking as well? Party on and forward!

This video has helped me greatly so! And that is because I am one of those "CR fans" that is still looking for a game akin to the style I prefer, if with a more intricate story. I started developing a passion for stories, and particularly writing, at a young age and it's been more of a decade now that I've been doing so. I did lots of worldbuilding, created and impersonated many characters and such, and eventually, this passion of mine brought me to stumble in CR a few years ago. And mind you, this happened after I already started playing D&D, if only slightly so. Now, being a writer and having played in GDR forums for years at that point, I knew D&D would be cool, but CR showed me the absolute potential it could achieve. So whilst I turned into a big fan of theirs, my D&D group disbanded and I went looking for something that would in some capacity emulate CR online. Needless to say, I was basically barrated left and right by daring to request such "unplausible standards", but what people failed to understand, and maybe too, what I failed to express correctly, was that I wasn't asking for a newfound Matthew Mercer to DM me, but just somebody that would be akin to his style. As a storyteller I wasn't interested as much in "KILL SHIT, TAKE LOOT, GAIN EXPERIENCE" but more in having a collective story with other people with the same desire. Even more, now that I've sidestepped my career in voice acting, I crave to satisfy that itch to develop a story together with people. But nowadays I may be right out wasted if I dared mention the name "Matt Mercer" when looking for a D&D group. But Mike, you explained it perfectly: use character voices + take into account the character's backstory + strategic combat. I could also swap out combat for "world description", because I like to be immersed in a scene, instead of receiving 5 words for the description of an entire capital city. It's not only about skills it's about how people are gonna DM. Thank you for enlightening me!

I like your star trek / Star Wars comparison. GG

Decently new DM here, and before I started DMing, the only experience I had of DnD was with a friend from college where she ran a one-shot. It was a quirky non-serious game where it was all about the laughs and the journey more so than the goal or quest. I had fun, but just felt like it didn't satisfy that itch that I had. I had started watching critical role shortly after playing in that one-shot at the behest of my DM friend. Instantly fell in love with that style of game where it was role-play heavy and combat was very tactical and in game decisions had in game consequences. (Keyleth jumping off a cliff for example) Fast forward a few months and my friends and I all wanted to try doing a campaign, but no one wanted to DM, so I decided to try it. I very much enjoyed it, and honestly, a lot of my inspiration came from Critical role. Though I don't have the budget, experience, nor skills of Matt Mercer, there are still many things that I have learned from him and have been introduced to because of Critical Role. My friends and I, who previously had zero Role-play experience, dove in head first and it has been seriously fun, and other times, seriously challenging. A group that started with 5 players turned into 4, which then gained 2 more members, then dropped down a member again because of differences of ideas. There was no session zero, and one of the people that joined later was a die-hard Critter, who was new to roleplaying but had watched every episode of CR to date. The difference in style was very apparent between that member and some of the other members. Thanks to some other video's that I had seen on other youtube channels, and some of the interviews of Matt and his interactions outside of the game with his players, a lot of that was able to be ironed out pretty early on, and our almost 8 months long campaign is still trucking along. Thankful for CR, and for your channel of which I watch frequently, in allowing me to learn more about the game, and about DMing to make the game the best I can for those at my table!

This is always how I've looked at it, Matt isn't some unobtainable goal he's an inspiration and he's human just like everyone else so if you and your players want to strive for exactly that or something very similar you can and it'll be very similar if everyone wants that. Perfect video!

I learned more about playing and embracing my impulses as a player from CR than I actually did about DMing, though my style - if not my skill - already had some similarities.

My DM style is 'combat and chill'. I give them a fight, then silly roleplaying downtime, then another fight. And I don't take it very seriously. Plenty of opportunity for shitposting along the way, cause I know that's what my players like.

I have another comparison/analogy I think is always good to consider and it's my go-to answer to the Matt Mercer Effect complaints: a few years ago a certain masked magician started broadcasting and revealing all of the famous magic tricks in TV and showing how all of them were done. I was always into trying to understand these tricks and I found it an interesting show but I had a friend back then who was learning magic and saw his tricks blown by the fact that now a lot of people knew how they were done. Yes he got angry, yes he complained, but eventually he told me something interesting: the Masked Magician forced all of the stage magicians worldwide to create and develop new tricks to keep their shows going on. Yes the Matt Mercer Effect may be an unfair comparison, but as one of its victims, I realized that watching Matt Mercer actually gave me a lot of awesome tools to improve my DMing skills and I managed to improve a lot by watching him, Matt Coleville, the Dungeon Dudes, Dungeon Craft and a whole bunch of awesome streamers and youtube D&D content creators.

I got into DnD after watching CR and jumped into a game that my friend was in. It was very different than CR, it was driven by combat and going from one point to the next I added a little bit of my characters "backstory" into how she interacted with the situations but ultimately that was not the game the DM was running or the game the other players wanted either. I still had an awesome time, it was fun as fuck, I just needed to shift my perspective from what it wasn't to what it was and that's not on the DM. I also learned that the thing I like about CR is not the sole emphasis on role playing but that character backgrounds effected the direction of the plot so you can feel more invested in the story being told. Now I know what to look for the next time.

I am a”forever” DM I have made module style games, mini-games (one shots), and have DM’ed official modules. However, what brings me and my players the most fun is to play as a true open world game. I’m there with them at character creation. I understand what they’re looking for in a session. Our games come alive as the characters in them gain awareness. Once my players begin their adventuring lives the world is unfurled before them. They are free to move about and pursue whatever interests they might desire. If there should happen to be a BBEG in their future they are totally free to say “F that guy! I want to be a fish merchant.” There are plot hooks and mysteries to follow but it is truly a choose your own adventure for my players.