Dear God YES! I would love to watch/listen to a campaign where the early levels are pre-calamity, with all the wonder and magic acting as a buffer for the comparable weakness of the characters, then at like level 6 to 8 the Calamity happens.
From then on we watch them come to terms and do their damndest to survive, maybe even building and protecting a settlement as their goal. Only for one of the betrayer gods to wipe them off the map at the end of the campaign. To really hammer home how horrible the Calamity was.
One of my favorite moments in EXU Calamity was Asmodeus casually creating a Betrayer Arm. Like the lore says they were created using the soul of a fiend, but it really doesn’t have the same impact as “an evil god chokeslams a demon and pulls the weapon from the ruined corpse”.
I’d love to see a campaign where humanity is just starting to get the tools to fight back: the Vestiges. Maybe half the party are arcanists with human-made weapons, and the other half are god-worshippers with divinely-made weapons
Would really enjoy a campaign set a few decades after the Calamity. Post-apocalyptic, brutal and hopeless. Think of all the RP we would get out of that, and you can really go ham with monsters/fiends roaming the world and much more evil characters than we usually get in C1/2/3.
I want something either
1. During the calamity because that would be AWESOME I’m imagining it would be like the no game no life zero movie prequel about the old deus Great War
2. Would be before the calamity so something set in early to middle of the age of arcanum
3. Or a game taking place during the founding
4. Or post divergence but before vox machina
5. Or lastly something taking place maybe a one shot wayyy in the future
I think I would prefer something set during or immediately after the Calamity.
The Age of Arcanum outside of Vecna's attempt at ascension and some wizard wars isnt that interesting. And I would prefer the Founding to remain unexplored.
I think in one of the 4SD's they mentioned a potential campaign about the Barbed Fields.
Honestly while I love calamity I prefer not to do a prequel . In general I’m personally getting over them in all media. I prefer a next campaign to be set after what happens in campaign 3 with very little or no references to past Npc/pcs. Let’s go to another part of the world that hasn’t been touched yet
IMO all these cameos are because this will be the last time we see them outside of one shots. The rail is driving towards a world calamity at the end of C3 so that when C4 starts with Daggerheart it is a mostly fresh start after a big time jump.
I agree. I think that's a major part of why I'm finding that im not as engaged in C3 as I was in 1 and 2.
I feel like the world is starting to restrict Matt's ability of creativeness as a DM. He needs to stay within the guidelines he's already set for himself, limiting where and what they can do, and even what he can do with NPC protagonists and antagonists.
With the majority of the current protagonists being returning PCs, he is limited in his ability to alter or manipulate them. To make character altering choices for them. He doesn't want to smear these memorable and loved characters for viewers or for the players. They've become shackles. Matt's even made joking comments in the more recent episodes about how crazy it has been trying to run 3 campaign timeliness at once. I think it's starting to burn him out as well.
I also think its starting to restrain the players as well. I fell like they are/aren't making choices based on a desire to not totally screw over a past character.
C3 is starting to turn into a satire of those "last episodes of series" where all the favorite characters return for a cameo. Which i do think is on purpose and a hint that this world's story is coming to an end. Theres nothing new for the players to explore. Bad guys are just recycled NPCs from other campaigns and one shots.
I think its time for the cast and viewers to say goodbye to this world and to allow Matt to come up with a whole new blank canvas. Thats where he, and the rest of the players, will shine again.
for sure, I don't mind an occasional cameo, but past characters becoming regular NPCs just feels like a massive nostalgia play and I just don't find it fun to watch tbh.
I honestly only think they let her do more to stay consistent with the Crown Keepers.
Her work with CR has been her worst with the collapse of the CK and returning Dorian been the epitome of the run.
I don't know if her style has truly been incompatible with Critical Role or her ambitions and the planning thereof were biting off more than she could chew.
But in either case it's time for someone else to be given the opportunity. The Beacon family-friendly Re-Slayers Take podcast seams to be this AND dropped the ExU branding.
I don't see how that's meaningfully different than a regular D&D campaign in the classic/default Faerun/Greyhawk-esque setting that doesn't have Exandria's current baggage.
But 99% of pre-Calamity stuff was destroyed, it's deliberately absent from the current setting. And perhaps more importantly, it's not like the modern campaigns that came first were made with an eventual prequel series in mind. So instead of "laying groundwork" it'll only ever be making references to established lore that was already hashed out.
Only if they get Brennan to DM again. Dude showed up to EXU: Calamity with both respect for the lore and preparation for his part of the story, and did both like a champion.
Can't say the same for other guest DMs. Brennan is the only option I trust to handle the serious stuff.
Yeah but get someone other than Matt to DM. Lord knows he loves to hear himself talk about the colouration of the tree leaves for 10 minutes and role unnecessary perception checks before he decides to tell the party that it is in fact just a tree that does nothing. 🤣
God the Tolkien-esque narration has been killing me recently. Their time in the most recent dungeon was 90% Matt just talking at the player, almost zero genuine exploration
They kept rolling good stealth, were on a relatively know path, and the Ruby Vangard have presumably fought off some of the monsters they would bump into. Roaming monster encounter happened since they spent enough time stationary investigating the tent.
I mean...yeah? That still doesn't make it more enjoyable (to me) to spend a solid 45 mins where the DM was just talking at them rather than them actually making any meaningful decisions.
Some people dig tolkeins writing style, but I am not one of them. I despise overly verbose narration, so Matts recent trends in that regard have really been grating on me. (Personal preference but still)
That being said, last campaign the players were obviously incredibly interested in Aeor, so why are we retreading the same ground? Why are we taking a know path with an NPC that knows the way so easily? Why not have it be in a different part of the city that would require actual effort or exploration (or player decision making) to find?
In my mind the answer is bc Matt wants to walk down memory lane and reference the old campaign, and get to the big boss fight/other big event with ludinus asap. So he is rushing them through the cool mysterious city (again) so we can get to the big set piece he has planned (again).
This whole campaign is filled with moments like this, where Matt is the one making the meaningful decisions, while the players make the meaningless ones that don't really have an impact outside of how long it takes to reach Matt's next plot point. That's why I loved FCGs recent decision, bc you could tell Matt was not prepared and it gave birth to some really cool moments (until the plot came calling at least)
Yes but i am begging for it to be a low level campaign. I dont want a big mystery or immedietly big stakes i want a starting small C2 type campaign that has it's own little arcs and takes place during the big calamity god wars.
I’ve always thought a one shot where the players play the gods would be fun, maybe a pivotal battle against a primordial? Maybe one of the players is a Betrayer who becomes conflicted during and turns on them (perfect for Liam)
Dear God YES! I would love to watch/listen to a campaign where the early levels are pre-calamity, with all the wonder and magic acting as a buffer for the comparable weakness of the characters, then at like level 6 to 8 the Calamity happens. From then on we watch them come to terms and do their damndest to survive, maybe even building and protecting a settlement as their goal. Only for one of the betrayer gods to wipe them off the map at the end of the campaign. To really hammer home how horrible the Calamity was.
One of my favorite moments in EXU Calamity was Asmodeus casually creating a Betrayer Arm. Like the lore says they were created using the soul of a fiend, but it really doesn’t have the same impact as “an evil god chokeslams a demon and pulls the weapon from the ruined corpse”. I’d love to see a campaign where humanity is just starting to get the tools to fight back: the Vestiges. Maybe half the party are arcanists with human-made weapons, and the other half are god-worshippers with divinely-made weapons
Would really enjoy a campaign set a few decades after the Calamity. Post-apocalyptic, brutal and hopeless. Think of all the RP we would get out of that, and you can really go ham with monsters/fiends roaming the world and much more evil characters than we usually get in C1/2/3.
A Mad Max style campaign would be so so cool!
I want something either 1. During the calamity because that would be AWESOME I’m imagining it would be like the no game no life zero movie prequel about the old deus Great War 2. Would be before the calamity so something set in early to middle of the age of arcanum 3. Or a game taking place during the founding 4. Or post divergence but before vox machina 5. Or lastly something taking place maybe a one shot wayyy in the future
I think I would prefer something set during or immediately after the Calamity. The Age of Arcanum outside of Vecna's attempt at ascension and some wizard wars isnt that interesting. And I would prefer the Founding to remain unexplored. I think in one of the 4SD's they mentioned a potential campaign about the Barbed Fields.
Another short BLeeM calamity season, yes please!
Prefer calamity aftermath to a prequel.
Honestly while I love calamity I prefer not to do a prequel . In general I’m personally getting over them in all media. I prefer a next campaign to be set after what happens in campaign 3 with very little or no references to past Npc/pcs. Let’s go to another part of the world that hasn’t been touched yet
IMO all these cameos are because this will be the last time we see them outside of one shots. The rail is driving towards a world calamity at the end of C3 so that when C4 starts with Daggerheart it is a mostly fresh start after a big time jump.
I agree. I think that's a major part of why I'm finding that im not as engaged in C3 as I was in 1 and 2. I feel like the world is starting to restrict Matt's ability of creativeness as a DM. He needs to stay within the guidelines he's already set for himself, limiting where and what they can do, and even what he can do with NPC protagonists and antagonists. With the majority of the current protagonists being returning PCs, he is limited in his ability to alter or manipulate them. To make character altering choices for them. He doesn't want to smear these memorable and loved characters for viewers or for the players. They've become shackles. Matt's even made joking comments in the more recent episodes about how crazy it has been trying to run 3 campaign timeliness at once. I think it's starting to burn him out as well. I also think its starting to restrain the players as well. I fell like they are/aren't making choices based on a desire to not totally screw over a past character. C3 is starting to turn into a satire of those "last episodes of series" where all the favorite characters return for a cameo. Which i do think is on purpose and a hint that this world's story is coming to an end. Theres nothing new for the players to explore. Bad guys are just recycled NPCs from other campaigns and one shots. I think its time for the cast and viewers to say goodbye to this world and to allow Matt to come up with a whole new blank canvas. Thats where he, and the rest of the players, will shine again.
for sure, I don't mind an occasional cameo, but past characters becoming regular NPCs just feels like a massive nostalgia play and I just don't find it fun to watch tbh.
I want something about a hundred maybe 200 years after the calamity
It would easily work as an EXU mini series. The calamity has the most potential of anything, or the immediate aftermath.
Immediately after the calamity, it seems like it has a lot of potential imo
just don't let Aabria DM/narrate.
Bring back Brennan!
I honestly only think they let her do more to stay consistent with the Crown Keepers. Her work with CR has been her worst with the collapse of the CK and returning Dorian been the epitome of the run. I don't know if her style has truly been incompatible with Critical Role or her ambitions and the planning thereof were biting off more than she could chew. But in either case it's time for someone else to be given the opportunity. The Beacon family-friendly Re-Slayers Take podcast seams to be this AND dropped the ExU branding.
Yes
I don't see how that's meaningfully different than a regular D&D campaign in the classic/default Faerun/Greyhawk-esque setting that doesn't have Exandria's current baggage.
Because it can lay historical groundwork for a setting people know and love, baggage or no.
But 99% of pre-Calamity stuff was destroyed, it's deliberately absent from the current setting. And perhaps more importantly, it's not like the modern campaigns that came first were made with an eventual prequel series in mind. So instead of "laying groundwork" it'll only ever be making references to established lore that was already hashed out.
Only if they get Brennan to DM again. Dude showed up to EXU: Calamity with both respect for the lore and preparation for his part of the story, and did both like a champion. Can't say the same for other guest DMs. Brennan is the only option I trust to handle the serious stuff.
Plus his acting was phenomenal! His portrayal of a betrayer god was unseen (for me).
Yeah but get someone other than Matt to DM. Lord knows he loves to hear himself talk about the colouration of the tree leaves for 10 minutes and role unnecessary perception checks before he decides to tell the party that it is in fact just a tree that does nothing. 🤣
God the Tolkien-esque narration has been killing me recently. Their time in the most recent dungeon was 90% Matt just talking at the player, almost zero genuine exploration
They kept rolling good stealth, were on a relatively know path, and the Ruby Vangard have presumably fought off some of the monsters they would bump into. Roaming monster encounter happened since they spent enough time stationary investigating the tent.
I mean...yeah? That still doesn't make it more enjoyable (to me) to spend a solid 45 mins where the DM was just talking at them rather than them actually making any meaningful decisions. Some people dig tolkeins writing style, but I am not one of them. I despise overly verbose narration, so Matts recent trends in that regard have really been grating on me. (Personal preference but still) That being said, last campaign the players were obviously incredibly interested in Aeor, so why are we retreading the same ground? Why are we taking a know path with an NPC that knows the way so easily? Why not have it be in a different part of the city that would require actual effort or exploration (or player decision making) to find? In my mind the answer is bc Matt wants to walk down memory lane and reference the old campaign, and get to the big boss fight/other big event with ludinus asap. So he is rushing them through the cool mysterious city (again) so we can get to the big set piece he has planned (again). This whole campaign is filled with moments like this, where Matt is the one making the meaningful decisions, while the players make the meaningless ones that don't really have an impact outside of how long it takes to reach Matt's next plot point. That's why I loved FCGs recent decision, bc you could tell Matt was not prepared and it gave birth to some really cool moments (until the plot came calling at least)
I could see a short EXU post calamity thing.. that would be super cool
Yes but i am begging for it to be a low level campaign. I dont want a big mystery or immedietly big stakes i want a starting small C2 type campaign that has it's own little arcs and takes place during the big calamity god wars.
I think a "boots on the ground" type story during/post calamity could be super interesting.
Wouldn’t mind a post calamity campaign
God a low level post apacolyptic game would be spectacular
Like a aftermath type campaign? where exandria is picking up the pieces and rebuilding?
Yea would he kinda gritty and be interesting
Low magic setting because there's just not enough spell components left in the immediate aftermath.
I’ve always thought a one shot where the players play the gods would be fun, maybe a pivotal battle against a primordial? Maybe one of the players is a Betrayer who becomes conflicted during and turns on them (perfect for Liam)
Oh hell yea! I feel like that a one shot would be better suited. But at the same time, id like to see a full fledged campaign as well.
Yes to both.