Critical Role Campaign 4’s West Marches-style approach split the 13-player cast into three tables. While that gave us three different parties and stories to follow, it also meant losing the abundance of anarchy and chaotic fun that was such a key part of the previous campaigns. The latest Critical Role episode, however, brings all three tables together, and the result made me realize just how much I missed the show’s trademark chaos.
[Ed. note: This article contains minor spoilers for Critical Role Campaign 4 episode 26, “Council of Heroes.”]
Previous Critical Role campaigns have made it clear: In the best Dungeons & Dragons tradition, you never know what you’re going to get from each session. One episode may be almost non-stop shopping; the next may involve foiling an assassination attempt, and the one after that may involve using a piece of magical rope to kill a big bad boss monster.
In Campaign 4, however, led by Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan, the players split into groups (Soldiers, Seekers, and Schemers). This was entirely necessary to make the campaign easier to manage, but it also led to a change in the campaign style. Each table focuses on one or more specific tasks and pursues them efficiently, each leveraging a different play style. The Soldiers are far more likely to handle problems in combat scenarios; we expect big lore questions to be answered by the Seekers; the Schemers’ role is to deal with skullduggery and sinister plots.
When you put all three of the tables together, however, what you get is guaranteed giggles and peak Dungeons & Dragons shenanigans as players pump the brakes on rushing to the next narrative arc and objective, and instead play catch-up, sharing the information that each table collected during its dedicated episodes.
The Soldiers have to restore the petrified body of Cyd Pridesire, the brother of Teor (Travis Willingham). The Seekers have plenty of knowledge to share about House Tachonis’s goings-on and their plans for Occtis (Alexander Ward). The Schemers have just witnessed a false resurrection that only they are aware of because of Murray (Marisha Ray) accidentally uncovering it via her portent dice feature as a divination wizard. After 20 or so episodes where the three tables have been separate, there’s plenty to catch up on.
For viewers who are either interested in reaching the next objective in the story or feel that the players should have leaned further into the West Marches style by sharing this information outside the game, episode 26 may feel like an unnecessary slog.
However, for me, the convergence of the tables feels like peak D&D as we watch three different adventures (or, as Mulligan says throughout the episode, “the crossing of genres”) mixing before our very eyes. One moment we have Kattigan Vale (Robbie Daymond) badly lying about being a businessman selling appleless apple pies at the market; next is Julien Davinos (Matthew Mercer) getting a very firm Game of Thrones-esque lecture from his mother; and last but not least, Wicander Halovar (Sam Riegel) getting a kid to steal a sandwich from another student because he’s hungry. Pure ludicrousness. I want more of it.
But it isn’t just the players and characters who create a stark yet humorous contrast; the differences among the three adventures also contribute to the chaotic atmosphere at the table. While the Seekers uncovered the horrifying ramifications of House Tachonis’s diabolical plot and the Schemers were left to hold down the fort amid the growing political tension in the city of Dol-Makjar, the Soldiers went out on a revenge quest for Thjazi.
Yet for all the giggling and shenanigans among players in episode 26, it also set up an arc that looks as though it will challenge all three tables. The Sundered Houses are set to have an important meeting; the play produced by Halandil Fang (Liam O’Brien), which may or may not be a secret ritual cooked up by Thjazi Fang, is also happening on that day. With so much on the line, the upcoming Campaign 4 arc of Critical Role appears to promise more chaos — albeit of a different kind — that will carry on into the next chapter.
Campaign 4 feels a lot more focused and “serious” than previous Critical Role arcs, and that’s surely by design. While I understand the motivations, it is a welcome break to have one episode where the players just talked, caught up, cleared misunderstandings, and goofed around the city in classic D&D style.
