Why Matt Mercer’s Famous Critical Role Quote Remains the Ultimate D&D Slogan

Throughout our time enjoying the many different actual-play Dungeons & Dragons shows over the years, one has always stood out: Critical Role. Whether it is because of the cast of professional voice actors or their seamless chemistry, D&D fans have adored Critical Role for over a decade.

After more than 10 years of adventure with the cast, Critters have witnessed some epic moments of dialogue. These moments are remarkable largely because of the improvisational storytelling required in a game of D&D. While in-character quotations in Critical Role have been legendary, none quite match the soft-spoken verbal annihilation Matthew Mercer delivered to naysayers during Campaign 3.

Matthew Mercer’s best Critical Role quote sums up the beauty of D&D

During episode 42 of Campaign 3, the cast heads to the city of Yios and quickly finds themselves enchanted by the lake-top metropolis gambling parlor, where Mercer reveals many dice-based gambling games. At one point, Laura Bailey apologizes to the table and audience for keeping them focused on these games instead of rushing to the table original objective.

Mercer makes it clear Bailey does not need to apologize and says something every Critical Role hater out there needs to sit with.

It’s our game to have fun. Glad you guys are here to watch, but we’re going to play our game, like we always have.

Mercer shrugs at the audience at home while delivering this line. Though perhaps not as memorable as his how do you want to do this line, Mercer quote sums up what makes Critical Role special: a group of friends who want to tell their own story, without outside interference that could muddy the message.

Some believe that as Critical Role has grown over the years, companies have interfered in other ways. Namely, Amazon helps produce animated adaptations of its campaigns with The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein. Critical Role CEO Travis Willingham has clearly stated that is not the case.

More importantly, Mercer quote speaks to a segment of the fanbase that has strong opinions about how Mercer and the rest of the cast play Dungeons & Dragons.

Once you are in the online spotlight, people will have an opinion. Given so many years of D&D shenanigans, that is expected for a cast and company like Critical Role. Having a loyal fan base is a good thing for the most part. Adoration exists, and people know that the more people love something, the more likely they are to talk about it because word of mouth is powerful.

Entitlement is the less fun side of this dynamic. Having watched Critical Role for several years, some D&D fans have become so obsessed with doing everything by the book that they tie themselves in knots when Critical Role does things differently. For example, when Mercer made it harder for a character to be resurrected early in Campaign 2, an uproar occurred over whether he was abiding by the rules as written. Another time, Marisha Ray character in Campaign 3, Laudna, did not fully follow the traits of her lineage as a Hollowed One, choosing instead to add her own flavoring to her character features. The D&D rules lawyers online did not take this lightly either.

Criticizing the Critical Role cast choices within their games is not inherently wrong. The West Marches format of Campaign 4 leaves room for critique, as it at times hurts the narrative potential for some characters.

The beauty of actual-play is that it puts narrative choices and a story tension directly in the hands of the players and Game Master. That is powerful and personal. Millions of people watch Critical Role campaigns, and creators beyond Mercer and Brennan Lee Mulligan have touched the worlds of Exandria and Aramán.

The audience may have plenty of opinions about this story and ways to express them on social media and in Q&A sessions, but they have very little ability to affect it overall. In a media landscape shaped by nostalgia and companies that openly rely on fan opinion, Mercer quote serves as a poignant reminder that they are playing their own game, not the fans game.

Source: Polygon