With Vox Machina, Critical Role introduced a lot of people to what real role-playing was, but it also caused problems

The third season of The Legend of Vox Machina arrives next week. The series comes to an end after a journey full of many things, but above all role-playing games. If you came here knowing only the series of Amazon Prime, You should know that it is based on a tabletop role-playing game campaign, using dice and paper.

Critical Role and the success of the role on Twitch

It’s called the team behind the animated series Critical rolea group of American voice actors who gathered to perform role-playing games and broadcast them Contraction Yes YouTube. When they were halfway through their first season in 2015, they decided to start broadcasting their games. Since then, they have not stopped growing in popularity and fame, reaching statistics that very few channels know about Contraction I am able to achieve. Vox Machina It was the group of characters from their first campaign, they are currently on their third.

Their success is so great that they have even organized games with a live audience. Not to mention the amount of merchandise, books or comic books that sell. If you’re curious, watch some of his matches and you’ll understand his success. Many believe that part of the role’s resurgence is due to Critical role.

Part of their success, besides the fact that they are people with years of experience in the industry Dungeons and dragons and other games, it is due to their profession, voice actors. Given their original profession, they give their characters unique and very charismatic voices, making it not very difficult for the viewer to imagine the situation. Furthermore, thanks to their good chemistry and knowledge, it is not very difficult for them to improvise all kinds of situations, generating very comical moments.

Another of its keys is the Dungeon Master of his three campaigns, Matthew Mercera man well known for his professional career as an actor, but also known in the world of role-playing games for his great knowledge. The campaigns of Critical role were planned by Mercer and gives voice to many characters. The performance of Mercer AS DMthe staging, the material used and, of course, the rest of the cast, make for some impressive role-playing.

Many believe that part of the role’s resurgence is due to Critical rolebut there are also many others who feel that this has brought a big problem to this popularly called little world “Matt Mercer Syndrome”.

What is Matthew Mercer syndrome?

This syndrome refers to the belief that all tabletop role-playing game players (especially new ones, but also veterans) expect an experience with the same level of narrative and immersiveness as games directed by the Critical Role DM. With such high expectations, many players are disappointed to see that the vast majority of tables are not like this. This problem can be very common among those people who have just entered the world after watching the series. The legend of Vox Machina, or when you watch broadcasts of CR. Even after playing Bring Baldur III.

What many seem to forget is that Critical Role is an entertainment business. No one can deny the great work he does, but his games are neither the exception nor the norm. First and foremost they are an entertainment production, His job is to entertain his viewers, but even they fail sometimes, as all campaigns have had ups and downs.

Part of this entertainment is also the staging they havewith tables, figures and many other objects that they use in their games that are the envy of many players. But they succeed thanks to the large budget they manage, which is unattainable for many RPG groups. Manuals and other role-playing game items aren’t exactly cheap. Many people play with basic manuals, dice, pen and paper.

Another point to keep in mind is this We are faced with veterans of the game and voice actors, a perfect combination to realistically interpret their characters and capable of generating any type of situation in an improvised way and making it look good.. Nobody denies the great talent he has. Matt Mercer AS DMbut it is not something that corresponds to reality, for this reason and for being the most recognized face Critical rolemany who see cynically CRthey baptize the problem with their name.

What can be done to avoid Matthew Mercer syndrome?

For those entering the role for the first time, it is better to lower expectations. Explain the games you saw Critical role They are very different from what they really are and, like many things in life, when you start something new you are not so comfortable, but over time you can learn and improve. It is also advisable to explain how many things work and invite them to ask all kinds of questions. Obviously it would also be advisable to give you a start-up manual, so that you can consult it.

While many of the new “recruits” will want to go on long campaigns and start slaying dragons, it might be for the best start with much smaller games, one or a couple of sessions to familiarize yourself with the genre. It is also advisable to carry out a Zero Session, explain everything mentioned above and more, how to create a character or discuss limits, scenarios and get to know the rest of the group so that the beginning of the game is not so cold.

But undoubtedly the best thing to avoid this problem is patience. If you have a friend or acquaintance who wants to start playing role-playing games, remember that you also started without much knowledge and that it is always appreciated to have someone by your side to help you.