It's almost impossible to imagine a critical role without Matt Mercer, but he's right - it would be for the best

When you think about it Dungeons and Dragons real games, A critical role it's the first thing that comes to mind and it's hard to think about A critical role without Matthew Mercer. A prolific voice actor and Dungeon Master extraordinaire, he is responsible for directing livestreams over thousands of hours and hundreds of sessions across three campaigns. Led by Mercer, A critical role recreated from a handful of famous voice actors playing Dungeons and Dragons to the cornerstone of the entire genre of entertainment.

More than 10 years have passed since then A critical role started and for most of that time Mercer was the Dungeon Master. However, A critical role Campaign 4 saw him cede this position to Brennan Lee Mulligan from Dimension 20. Although he currently has no plans to leave A critical rolethere is a world where that can happen. It's hard to imagine A critical role without Mercer, but the actual game wouldn't just survive without him – it could flourish.

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There may be a critical role without Matt Mercer

Mercer and Mulligan recently appeared in a video for Variety talking about A critical roletheir D&D the ways and nature of being a master of the game. Mercer told the story of being asked what was “next” after building a “media empire,” ie. A critical role in the last interview. “I have nothing,” he replied. “Maybe I'm just not ambitious enough, and I'm fine with that. But I've done it all, man. I've far surpassed anything I thought I'd ever be able to accomplish in my life, so everything else is gravy.”

What began as a group of admittedly famous friends with a dream became more than Mercer could have imagined. However, the pressure to create a titan from the TTRPG scene comes with a fair amount of stress, which led to him almost experiencing burnout as a DM. A critical role. Stepping down from the Dungeon Master's chair allowed him to “fill his cup”, even if it meant that fans were now experiencing A critical role with far less Mercer than ever before.

Considering how essential Mercer is A critical roleit was hard to imagine an actual game without him as DM, let alone the idea of him one day leaving entirely. Mercer's fame as a video game voice actor and in the TTRPG scene also contributes greatly to this A critical rolepopularity, raising concerns that the absence of a celebrity would negatively affect viewership.

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But A critical role has outgrown her addiction to big names like Matt Mercer, Liam O'Brien, Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham. Indeed, the popularity that Mercer has cultivated allows him to tap into the creative minds of his friends and peers. “For me, the responsibility of this platform is to best allow it to showcase other people's passions,” Mercer said, which is exactly what he did when he allowed Mulligan to helm. A critical role Campaign 4. Taking a back seat allows other people to thrive in the real game industry, and his eventual wasteful return to the DM's chair is even more exciting.

Mercer wasn't even in critical roles on every show

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While Mercer clearly played in the majority A critical role shows, he wasn't in all of them. Campaign 4 is the most obvious example; brand new A critical role The story follows 13 different characters divided into three different groups: Soldiers, Seekers and Schemers. Mercer's character, Sir Julien Davinos, is a member of the Seekers, who have only just started their first arc after the Soldiers finished theirs. Like most of the other players, this means that Mercer will only be in one-third of the episodes.

Besides, there were several others A critical role productions that Mercer was not in at all. Incredible multi-part A critical role side stories like Exandria Unlimited: Fall, Exandria Unlimited: Calamitiesand Wildemount Wildlings did not play Mercer as a player or GM. Additionally, while Mercer ran or appeared in many one-shots, he was not in all of them, including video game promotions such as The Elder Scrolls Online, Tiny's Wonderlandand Mortal Kombat 1.

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Although not all of these shows have achieved epic viewership numbers A critical role campaign finale, all were successful in their own right. Weekly broadcast from A critical role Campaign 4 has thousands of viewers on Twitch, even in episodes where Mercer only appears briefly for announcements. Mercer helped produce A critical role what it is today, but it is the collective effort of many faces, in front of and behind the camera, that makes it shine.

The future of the critical role looks bright

The unique narrative and mechanics used in Campaign 4 have already breathed life into it A critical role in a refreshing way. Mulligan brings a special sauce to the table that not only livens things up, but also exposes people to different styles of DMing than Mercer's. This broadens horizons and offsets the infamous Mercer effect Dungeons and Dragonsand serves as a great advertisement for Dropout's Size 20 real game series at once.

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For me, the responsibility of this platform is to best enable it to showcase other people's passions.

A critical role also recently released its own TTRPG system called Daggerheartwhich is massively expanding, Hope and fearthis summer. It has also used its Beacon streaming service as a platform for other creators, including the new Viva La Dirt League Daggerheart: Azerim campaign. Apart from the actual games, the first season The mighty Nein recently finished airing, another season The Legend of Vox Machina will drop later this year and Send developer AdHoc Studios is working on a A critical role video game.

Needless to say, Mercer isn't going anywhere anytime soon. A critical role has five live shows scheduled for the Echoes of Exandria tour in 2026, four of which Mercer himself directs. In fact, rather than “passing the torch,” Mercer is instead using his to shine a light on others, both among his peers and fans. That is, if he ever decides to leave A critical rolehe can rest easy knowing he will be in good hands.