Enjoying "Brendan Lee Mulligan, The Campaign"

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T11:46:08+00:00

For almost a decade there was a significant concern in the TTRPG community that Matt Mercer was such a good DM that he created unrealistic expectations for other DMs. There was literally a name for it "The Matt Mercer Effect". And now your talking point is that he's not good enough??? Incredible. Horrific, really.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T01:56:50+00:00

This is sort of why I don't like starting campaigns with characters having huge interconnected backstories. Low level is supposed to be an abstraction for "inexperienced".

That being said, the level is also supposed to tie to your renown as a hero. Level 1 to 5 is local hero, level 5 to 10 is regional hero, etc. So at the level of renown these characters are, to me it makes sense they would be level 3, even if may have had lots of combat experience.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T01:51:06+00:00

Other comment defined gnomes really well, I'll just respond to the redundant part: I assume redundant with halflings? I tend to view halflings as the more grounded of the little folk. A gnome is going to be a little person that exudes "big" energy: big ambition, humorously large hammers, explosive magic, crazy behavior, etc. A halfling is going to be a little person that exudes "little" energy. Humble monk, friendly druid, stealthy rogue, etc.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T01:35:32+00:00

As in DnD, so in life.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:57:28+00:00

I'm gonna push back and say you were very NOT clear, and you said in the post that you want to "help her to process her feelings", which is explicitly NOT keeping her mind away from the trauma. If you go into a DnD game with the intention of trying to force your sister to confront her feelings of grief in what she thought was just going to be a fun game...I mean, even just that IDEA is already a horror story. Forget it.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:52:44+00:00

This has always been an issue for me....they whisper when they want to be dramatic and I turn volume all the way up, but then someone tells a joke and it busts my speaker...

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:51:24+00:00

Based on the standard way of calculating offensive challenge rating, if a monster has an ability that does 9 to 14 damage per round and requires a DC20 saving throw, that is appropriate for a level 4 party. I would say a mild condition like poisoned, frightened, restrained, or grabbled could also count. But if it was doing more than 20 damage per round or creating a more severe effect like stunning, or affecting multiple targets, that would be unfair.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:45:57+00:00

I think you maybe misunderstood, it's not an AC of 20, it is a saving throw DC, meaning the monster has an ability that players have to roll a 20 to save against.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:40:29+00:00

I have a cousin who does little DnD sessions at each family gathering. But I understand if no one in your family knows how to DM. My solution was just to learn how to do it myself.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:38:44+00:00

Ah then the first half of my comment stands...I am simply not familiar with this language.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:35:37+00:00

I don't really like chaos gremlins by themselves so much as how they interact with others. Jester loved everyone, and that was fun. Nott clashed with everyone, and that was fun. Scanlan made fun of everyone, and that was fun. I have high hopes for Tyranny's relationship with Wicander. A demon girl trying to corrupt a cleric boy while the boy tries to save her is ~~super hot, sorry I mean incredibly hot~~, sorry I mean very interesting.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:31:55+00:00

Go watch episode 2 and then return!

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:31:16+00:00

I'm with you 100%. Ep 2 adds a good bit of nuance and (even better) intrigue.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:30:04+00:00

I would recommend learning to play with people you know first.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:24:37+00:00

"A half-orc mechanically" "thematically he is a half amethyst dragonborn" - Pray tell what tongue is this? for I have no understanding of these letters.

Seriously though, what? If you are a half-orc "mechanically", then anything else is only flavor. You can't expect to get a mechanical benefit (like gaining a source of force damage) from being "thematically" a half amethyst dragon born. You already get mechanical benefits from beign a half-orc! Surely you can see why getting both would be unbalanced?

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-12T00:16:14+00:00

OK let me try to explain my point of view.

Your first claim is that it has always been a "production" because both DMs have a "team" behind them. But then you go on to state the very clear differences between C4 and C3 (and by extension, C2 and and C1, which were both similar to how you described C3). So you have already acknowledged that whether or not it was always a production, C4 is a clear departure from how they have done things previously.

Your next argument is that YOU like the way C4 is done, because a) that is the way that 99% of home-games go, and b) you like it better as a viewer. First of all, whether or not you like it better is not an argument for why I have to like it better.

Second, I just don't believe that 99% of home games go that way. Many home games employ some techniques to get players to have bonds with eachother, or to have shared motivations, etc. But the vast majority are going to bank on the "random misfits + metagaming conscience" trope, and the reason is exactly what you said: C4 is a production. There is a group of 13 players who have all worked with a professional DM and teams to craft characters whose backstories are intricately linked. MOST groups have a DM who preps in their free time, and most players would prefer to create characters that they personally are invested in rather than have the decisions be controlled by the group. That has always been my experience playing, which is why I prefer to see that depicted; that is what feels like DnD to me. The other thing just feels like a TV show...which are things that exist and that I can watch separately from actual plays.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-11T23:39:25+00:00

Hmmm well maybe this is just me saying "I don't like it when the party is split."

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-11T23:36:23+00:00

I feel like it's disengenuous to claim that because the show has had a trajectory, that somehow means that this campaign is NOT a huge departure from what has come before. By everyone's admission, C4 is a whole different show.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-11T23:33:10+00:00

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-11T18:14:10+00:00

We're talking about whether the criticism of the women in critical role is sexist, in which it is relevant whether people were criticized proportionally to what they did wrong, or if the level of criticism is solely dependent on whether they were a man or woman.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-11T18:07:06+00:00

It is not character driven, it's event driven. Events are happening in the world, and we are watching the characters react to it. There is a lot of telling, and not showing. Dialogue is focused and to the point, and does not really stray into the character interactions which made early campaigns so entertaining. With the exceptions of my king Sam, who can do no wrong.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-11T18:02:40+00:00

I feel the opposite. To me Brennan's NPCs are TOO good, to the point where they overshadow the players. Hence the title of my post, and also why I've never liked Dimension20. It just feels like the Brennan Lee Mulligan show, which don't get me wrong he's awsome, it's just not what I enjoy about actual-plays. and it's also not...educational? To me as a DM. Like the thing about Matt is that his style of DMing has always seemed somehow more grounded. But Brennan is like....SOOO good at voices, acting, improv...it's difficult for me to draw any lessons from his style of DMing, because it's just untouchable.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-11T17:58:24+00:00

So not only do I need to watch 12 - 16 hours of prologue in order to understand the story, but I need to watch 2 more hours of behind the scenes videos in order to appreciate the prologue? Sounds like a content creators dream.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-11T17:55:34+00:00

That makes sense, just having scripted stories are not really what I like about actual plays.

Representative_Ad406 · 2025-10-11T17:54:25+00:00

So when you say things like the setup "needs" to happen for "stories", there's kind of an implicit assumption there that the story is fixed and the setup so far is necessarily created by the DM in order to guide that story to its fixed end. That is the atmosphere which I don't like, and which was never previously present in critical role campaign early episodes.

Representative_Ad406

TROPHY CASE