Critical Role Models

**Episode is out a little late due to some technical difficulties and travel. Due to the delay, our next and final episode of the season is planned to air the first Thursday in August (if the technology gods will it so). Thank you for your patience!** The Campaign 4 conversation continues in this episode! In part two, we dive into the new faces joining the table: Luis Carazo, Alex Ward, Aabria Iye...

Critical Role Campaign 4 is here, and everything has changed. In this episode, we break down the first arc of Campaign 4 and dive into the bold new direction for the show. From Brennan Lee Mulligan stepping in as Dungeon Master, to the new world of Araman, to the West Marches-inspired playstyle, there’s a lot to unpack—and we are here for it. We also explore the campaign’s new table structure: See...

Join us for part two of “I Knew You’d Be Little Sht*s,” our on-going celebration of the Critical Role cast being their most chaotic (or, as Matt Mercer would say, being “little sh*ts”). Because let’s be honest—there are moments that only happen at a D&D table. Where else do you hear a sentence like, “We superglued the golden phallus to her hand!”? In this episode, we dive into standout moments...

Grab your dice, loosen your cloak, and prepare to laugh until you roll a nat 1 — because this episode of Critical Role Models is gonna be chaos (the fun kind). Join us with special guest Spencer as we dive headfirst into the funniest and most unhinged moments from Critical Role Campaign 1. From Grog's shopping trip gone wrong to confusing cows, this highlight reel has everything we love about...

We’ve conquered the Dungeons … now it’s time for the Dragons . In this high-flying episode of Critical Role Models, we break down what makes dragons the ultimate fantasy icon—and how you can make them unforgettable at your table. Whether you’re a Dungeon Master looking to craft a legendary wyrm or a player determined to claim that hoard, this episode is packed with actionable tips and epic inspira...

Want to design dungeons like Matt Mercer? We'll help by breaking down the fundamentals of dungeons. We analyze two famous dungeons from Critical Role Campaign 2—the Happy Fun Ball and the Crawling King's Cage—to show you how Matt connects story threads, creates memorable challenges, and builds a great experience for his players. Whether you're a DM preparing your first dungeon or a pla...

You need to nerd out…on The Mighty Nein! Welcome to our season 3 premiere. While watching the new animated show, we were amazed at how the campaign was adapted and we are excited for what the future holds. The show also left us wondering what we could bring back to our home games. Whether you’re new to Critical Role and D&D or you’re a long-time critter, this show can cast bardic inspiration o...

Listeners old and new, come hear what we have in store for you!

We are spilling the tea in a bonus episode all about what has been happening this summer with Critical Role! We have reports from Comic Con and Gen Con, as well as tips for going to other cons this summer. We answer questions like: What’s it really like to go to a live show? Is the VIP package really worth it? and Should you wait in line for merch? These and other hard-hitting questions are covere...

For the final episode of our second season, Josh sits down with special guest Scott Mayfield to discuss Brennan Lee Mulligan, one of Critical Role's most famous guest stars. We discuss how Brennan helps his players create rich, compelling PCs, how he manages rapid shifts in tone and how his understanding of the PCs motivations lets him guide them through his campaigns. **We also announce the w...

**We've been nominated for Best Podcast Host for this year's CRIT Awards. Please help us turn this award-nominated podcast into an award-winning podcast by going to critawards.org and voting for us now. You have until June 30 so don't delay. Thanks for your consideration!** Ever wonder how you can make your own Cosplay? Or how about how to attend a Con and meet the cast of Critical Rol...

Villains beware cause you're bout to be dead! Bwahaha! We are covering several different aspects of villainry (see our timestamps below for the different topics) and we hope they give you some useful tricks when writing or designing your next BBEG! Villains are not just for DMs! We discuss how players can create compelling villains in their backstory like Caleb's Trent Ikathon or Percy's Briarwood...

Before the stream started, the party known as Vox Machina, was called The Sh*ts. Regardless of the name change, over the past ten years they have proven that they are still The Sh*ts (and we love that for them). A chaotic bunch of weirdos who somehow manage to save the world. The first half of this episode we cover how far Critical Role has come, highlighting our favorite moments and some of the m...

Want to know how you can raise the stakes at your gaming table? Well you've come to the right place. Join us and our guest Spencer Wight as we dive into a discussion of what kinds of stakes we see in TTRPGs and the best examples we could find from Critical Role. We'll cover risking our lives, protecting the people we care about, losing our reputations and more! Since the ep is pretty long,...

Are you ready to unlock the power of your dreams? We are! Today we explore the potential of dreams & visions in Critical Role, showing examples that deal with the past, present and future. As always, we cover tips for players & DMs for how you can include this in your games. Since it's a longer episode, here are timestamps: 13:00 intro to topic 25:00 commune with a deity 48:00 commune...

Merry Critmas! This month's episode is a deep dive into a handful of heists across Critical Role's three campaigns. We talk about the naughty and the nice. We break down the five elements of every heist and offer examples of how you can pull off burglaries and break-ins at your own table (in fiction of course). This episode features the announcement of the winners of our holiday giveaway....

In honor of International Games Month and the holiday season, we decided to focus on the games the cast plays as their characters. From 'Bolder, Parchment, Shears' to 'Spin the Bottle' to the classic 'Rollies' we cover games from across the campaigns. This episode has the most clips yet. Grab a set of dice and a friend while you listen, cause you're gonna want to play!

Boo! In this special Halloween episode we take one of Critical Role's scariest monsters: Hags! In this very fun and spooky episode we discuss the origins of hags, how to roleplay a hag, how to make a deal, and how to survive your encounter with these dangerous fey. We draw mostly on Campaign 2 with Dashilla, The Sea Fury and Isharnai, The Prism Sage, but also have an honorable mention of Nana Morr...

We're back! Our season premiere is coming at you with back-to-back episodes on Daggerheart, Critical Role's new gaming system. In this first episode, we play version 1.5 with a few of our friends who are also podcast contributors: Scott (guest star), Sarah (composer), and Spencer (future guest star). Our one-shot explores the rules of Daggerheart and to try out the mechanics. Be prepared f...

Our second episode in our Season 2 premiere is a debrief on Daggerheart. We invite Scott Mayfield back to discuss what we thought of this new gaming system. Topics include character creation, combat, and mechanics we'd adopt into other systems. As always, we include lots of clips from Critical Role! Let us know in the comments if you'd like us to do a part 2 of our actual play. Follow us o...

Check out this short trailer to learn the changes we have for this upcoming season, our production schedule and refresh on who we are. Enjoy!

In the final episode of our season, we talk about rebuilding trust and improving teamwork. After the tumult of conflicts and betrayals, the resolution we want to see is a party who can overcome their differences and work as a team. We highlight some of Critical Role's best examples of teamwork across all three campaigns and showcase how Critical Role brings vulnerability and trust to their sto...

In our penultimate episode of the season we are stabbing you in the back with betrayal! We focus on the betrayals in Campaign 3, specifically in two categories: guest character betrayal and player character betrayal. We will cover up to episode 81 for anyone concerned about spoilers. We chose Campaign 3 because every character has the potential to betray the party, making it extra juicy for us to...

Do you remember when Grog attacked Percy over a skull? How about the infamous bowlgate? This week we start our three-episode series on player character conflict and resolution, and we kick it off with a bang with Conflict! We have lots of great content and clips from all three campaigns, so you are in for a longer episode, but boy is it chock full of goodness! We break down the elements that drive...

This is the last part in our Religion and Deities series with Ryan McLaughlin from D&D for the Deconstructed. We consider and discuss a world without gods mostly pulling examples from Critical Role's current campaign. SPOILER WARNING: This will spoil up to episode 65 of Campaign 3. You can follow D&D for the Deconstructed on IG at forthedesconstructed and find their podcast episodes on...