Transcript:Critical Role Answers Your Questions at SDCC!

List of Transcripts

MATT: Welcome to the San Diego Comic Con official Critical Role Panel Q&A. Hi, guys! Who in this room has no idea what Critical Role is, or has watched none of it? All righty. You will-- prepare to be very confused.

MARISHA: But enjoy resting your feet with the person who drug you here.

MATT: Critical Role is a show on Twitch on Geek and Sundry where us, a bunch of nerdy ass voice actors play Dungeons & Dragons weekly.

TALIESIN: That was so succinct.

MATT: We live and die by this. Which was gifted by an awesome critter to me earlier today.

TRAVIS: Where were you storing that dice?

MATT: Where I store all my dice. My handy haversack. That's what I call it. So yeah, welcome to our panel. We have-- my name is Matthew Mercer as the paper says. I'm the dungeon master of the show. To my left here is the illustrious--

LAURA: You got a piece of paper?

MARISHA: Why did you get a piece of paper?

MATT: Why did I get a piece of paper?

TRAVIS: This is some bullshit.

MATT: He who holds the podium.

SAM: Ladies and gentlemen, Ashley Johnson!

MARISHA: Ashley!

SAM: Surprise guest!

MATT: We were somehow able to get her on loan from Blind Spot, so thank you, Blind Spot. So we have Sam Riegel! The illustrious bard Scanlan Shorthalt. Marisha Ray plays Keyleth. Laura Bailey, who performs Vex'ahlia. Travis Willingham as Grog Strongjaw. Taliesin Jaffe as Percival de Rolo the third. Ashley Johnson as Pike Trickfoot. And Liam O'Brien is the rogue-ingly dashing Vax'ildan. Well, awesome. I guess let's go ahead get this Q&A started off. We have a microphone in the center of the room, there. If you have a question, go ahead and line up at that microphone. Be respectful.

LAURA: But when you're in the line, if you're waiting, it might be smart to sit on the ground so everybody around you can see.

MATT: Indeed. So to begin with this, we have a fantastic armored critter at the microphone. What is your name and what is your question?

BECCA: Hi, I'm Becca.

MATT: Hello, Becca.

BECCA: I started watching only two months ago, and I started playing D&D since then, and I'm making all my friends play, so... And I'm the DM, unfortunately.

MATT: Not unfortunate. That's awesome.

BECCA: I know, but it's a lot of responsibility. So I was wondering, how do you balance what you tell the players like afterward. Like if they've gone another direction, I've been asked, "What would have happened if we went down that way? And if we'd have chosen to fight that guy instead of to let him go?" Stuff like that.

MATT: I have one answer and it's a very strong answer, and I think it helps facilitate the storytelling and is really the secret to being a Dungeon Master when a player comes to you with those questions. And it goes like this. "I dunno." Because who knows at the end I'm going back there, and it leaves the mystery alive.

LAURA: He does do that. He really, really does.

TRAVIS: We try to get him drunk and try and squeeze that out of him. We get him super liquored up and go like, "Oh, man, remember that time with that skull? Like if I had knocked that out of his hand, what would have happened?" He's like, "You don't know."

MARISHA: It's super frustrating.

MATT: It's awesome. Hello, what's your name?

GARRETT: Hi, my name is Garrett. I've been playing D&D for about two years now. I've been DMing a bunch of groups on Roll20.

MATT: Fantastic. Good on ya, man.

GARRETT: And my question-- first, Sam, I still love your shirt.

SAM: Available for sale in my own imagination.

LAURA: He keeps trying to convince me to (unintelligible) dinosaur.

SAM: We would sell at least 35 shirts right here.

GARRETT: But my question is-- it's for the entire group. If your character were to die...

SAM: You shut your mouth.

GARRETT: I know this is sometimes a hard question for some players and for some it's an easier question, but what would you be thinking about class-wise or just character-wise, playing next?

SAM: Go for it, Taliesin.

TALIESIN: That's the thing. I have lots of possibilities. I don't know.

MARISHA: Yeah, exactly. We get reticent about saying what characters we might want to play next because we might want to play them next. So... yeah.

LIAM: Yeah, we don't want to tell you what's going to happen in Book Two.

TALIESIN: We've thought about it, though.

MARISHA: We have thought about it, yeah.

LIAM: At our extensive rehearsals where we work out all our lines.

MARISHA: Most of them are all polar opposites of the characters we're playing now.

SAM: Is there anything shorter than a gnome, Matt, that I could play?

MATT: We can talk.

SAM: Okay. A (unintelligible) perhaps?

MATT: You'd make a great pseudo-dragon, I think.

SAM: I like that.

MATT: It's like a dragon. It's like a tiny little dragon.

LAURA: Really?

MATT: Yeah.

LAURA: Wait, do they have those in (unintelligible)?

MATT: Possibly. Chris Hardwick has one as his pet in Force Grey--

LAURA: Oh, good, I can--

MATT: -- named Mrs. Don't-fire, which attacks by going (slide whistle sound) because Hardwick.

TALIESIN: There's an easy way to get a new animal familiar. I'm just saying.

AUDIENCE: Ohhh.

MATT: Next open. Hi, what's your name?

ANOZ: I had a question, and it was for Taliesin, but then my brother sent another one, so I'll be texting you or tweeting it. So. Since the (unintelligible) has been escalating, and you guys will start doing more live shows, since those are pretty popular with the live audience, are you planning at some point, once it reaches climax, to bring back your guest stars to the show? And Matt, how would you deal with 15-plus people?

TALIESIN: Yeah, man.

MATT: I mean, well--

MARISHA: I mean, it's not like seven's not a lot.

MATT: I guess, one thing-- the live show we had recently in LA was a great success and we're doing a live show at Gen Con shortly. We're not going to do live shows often because we want to make them special. They're very time intensive and expensive to do, and three--you know, we prefer the intimacy of playing most of our game inside the room, but it's a really cool opportunity to occasionally meet critters and do something special for you guys across the country. As to the possibility of a climax with other guest stars, that largely depends on what the players want to do, as they build toward that climax, and two, who's available, and three, I've already had to think about this and I have ideas as to different ways that type of event might transpire. So we'll have to see. I can guarantee you my survival is not guaranteed, my sanity is not guaranteed, but epicness will be guaranteed. So there you go.

I actually got some huge Pokemon go you all better name all your friends now I'm telling you never right now I can see and it's like that gettin dark that could be siliceous Corinne and grabbing grabbing hands he totally named another Pokemon that was awesome good question thinking yeah I would say also try the best you can to present a challenge without the presenting character as an immediate opportunity for younger kids or people that are just introduced to the system absolutely need sort of like learning disability you want to make sure that they feel like it's a welcoming and comfortable place where the challenges are difficult and success is really fulfilling but nothing is worse than thanking somebody freshman experience is going okay that's great you're a wonderful adventure hero and now you're dead they can do one can alienate very quickly so I'd say you know definitely traduce challenge and dangers but be perceptive to let things slide more than you would with like a more casual or hardcore gamer that universe definitely I am actually your favorite character ever voice we're too late Indy

what class and race with a it's hard to say favorite character but like let's say a character that way that we're familiar with that we like the logic so smart favorite per se I'd say one of the easiest thing to my mind would be Leon Kennedy from Resident Evil would totally play a paladin this is a big old boy scout goody two-shoes awful good dude and I play human because that's not very creative you know miss standpoints and he probably end up getting killed with procession by doing stupid like that goes all the time the same people they can't be yeah Laura Laura what would Excel maybe in the space kind of sort of Firefly star wars universe I kind of think I kind of think he would be like a droid maybe yeah but she's kind of robotic in nature so I think I would probably wish she were really but she would really be Sigourney Weaver's nurturing galaxy was Percy would kind of lean towards more of like somewhere between like an optin heimer crazy crazy terrible person like a little bit of like somewhere between mr. fantastic and dr. I mission personal almost like a brad dourif an Alien Resurrection I think it's great movie but I can show you I have to see however that is an awesome question thank you my husband the spinning just got really awkward talking with you no hands no fan fiction I have not seen a man of your size suddenly what's so tiny when she when she flashed you that look we questioned a lot actually oh no the coach today no I don't I don't care that much we like the Sun tree thing in him like hanging all of our bodies on the Sun tree I would like some deep seeded that wasn't mad though the dungeon master somewhere ins nope nope doing five separate entities Haley I just started throwing together one shots and homerooms for me my friend says so I'm torn between running the homebrew okay first off don't do that anymore that like if I drop the pink beam on their asses they probably white so like okay I I recommend if you want to play like a fun one shot just to get a feel for monster ballets and such you can throw in some crazy monsters and some characters they made some fun and see if how well they laughs did you try to keep people engaged to D&D I recommend doing more the first one where you develop you know safe still dangerous but like a fun way to introduce you to the world that keeps them engaged in the story and then you can kind of ramp up the difficulty as they get better or invested no more pits beats not for like oh yeah Hicks don't give me the drugs rise and up until that point you know if he's safe when we shame to myself it's fake it didn't even consider writing character backstories which is had to be fiction about the characters and for some of them before the first session really and for some of them two years in session was developing the characters sex it depends on people's penchant for creative writing and you know I am to have the free time to flesh that out you know it can it can vary from player player some people was before the procession they could okay with the pages backstory history was allowed me to ingrain that into the story like like hey you should discover the come talk to me later questions thank you try making the game as a dungeon master but my question is do you think someone should experience maintenance and - practices they are reporting I don't think it's necessary especially nowadays where you have more opportunities to have examples of dungeon master and done whether it be like our show or I rollers or real roleplay or they're all really really great actual play podcast about that show different styles dungeon mastering the storytelling so you get to watch those gonna handpick what elements you like and would like to kind of emulate or incorporate to your storytelling methods and then you can just create from there it helps the player standpoint because you can understand you know how the game mechanics work and how it is being think in that moment but thanks to videos like live play and our show you have an example of that experience already so I wouldn't say it's necessary as it used to be if you're feeling confident we have a good story to tell just get a decent grip of the rules does have to be perfect but just enough where you feel like you could pretend like you're you know you're doing when the players ask you to like oh just throw little dexterity checks it may not be what most people would do but the players don't know that and just I just have fun going with it you know that have something that you master is just bullshitting and do great through it anyway that's happened what I do with these guys so so as long as you're confident with that but don't show that you're bullshitting you're fine it's also no computers man my whole maybe none of us are aware your hint I artists in your spare time she's gonna publish like a 400 page book she's been working on for the past five years do we have any moment something that we want to see drawn that we haven't yet seen I don't think there was a banner that came out of keepeth choking the magician at the Winter Festival yeah you're disclosed to me I will send for one thing you guys kind of inspired me to keep going like it but no it's the positive feedback from the community is so overwhelming on a consistent basis and watching these guys faces light up every week okay play it it's that's enough to keep pushing but but but you know there can be times where we have where it gets hard and and if you have the opportunity of not having a weekly show that people are like when's the next episode bad if you feel in that blog take a break like find a point in the story where you can have a high it's like though you resolve one storyline and then tell players will come back in a few months the old Billy at six months or a year time jump and you need to write stories during that time of what they do in the internment and in that meantime have somebody else trying to Jim maybe trying to insist them for a few game sessions to just kind of cleanse your palate get back to be inspired again everyone has their own techniques and I can't really tell you what works for you whose each person's method is different but but if you need to take a break and step away and try something else for a change go for it not tonight that might be just enough to kind of shake you free of that that's that point let's just clarify our advice was not to kill his friends drugs are thank God for liquid courage it's amazing it's fantastic I won't pretend that I don't occasionally miss being able to do to do that I've got like 20 years of comic-con down somewhere around 20 years probably the one I was a vendor for a while it's exhausting it's crazy like yesterday was the first time I walked on the floor and it was just thank all right already have one or two more questions here so let's try to make this happen I mean if the story were to ask for forgiveness the players were like no we don't want to prepare this week than maybe but it's but also at the same time this this is the story of Watts machina I don't want to attract too much from that you know maybe when they finish their I mean first and foremost know that it's nerve-racking to the stage when I still get nervous before every session you know that's good that kinda nervous energies what gets into it don't want to over prepare because that's the image and earlier while with children it's not that different with adults sometimes you prepare this much and you only get to make it that much of it often so you want to prepare enough to where you feel comfortable at least you know slightly fleshed out many things as opposed to really fleshing out one thing isn't made of bird to be lost and anymore in that space you kind of prepare at least you can kind of you know go with it and make up stuff and that brought me your su go prepared for it and all and all have fun and ensure the players have a good time you know but unless people wants to play that hardcore too befores like game looks like no woman don't do with it your turn then you want to make sure that you know the players are feeling fulfilled but they're having heroic moments that they're you know having heroic failures and that was the story itself is engaging and honestly the only way you can prepare for that is just watching their faces and being ready to adjust it based on their reaction it's a lot of unit taking you in the players so best advice I could have this just jumping in with those nerves and trying it out and then from that learn it's good it's gonna be harsh the first time but man it's gonna be really really invigorating it's really just like sex anyway we're okay then then you partially answered your question already you want to find some some story thread that lets you separate character eSport ring from yours while still living inherently it's a copy of character whether they be by a possession the story arc or that there is some sort of a rigid a burden swear to Virgin C created one that's more of it but the endure the essence of their negative emotions or you can have it be a doppelganger than ends up taking the form and somehow through some sort of arcane's in a process table the memories or have some heavy Bibles yeah I my biggest suggestion would be to find a way to separate it from your character because as soon as you get to the point where somebody else is playing a character you were really in really involved with and they do it differently than you would expect then you feel like it's do me the service to something you've already people of ever into so I would recommend like making a separation between their version and yours we just got to make centimeters thank you guys so much for coming thank you so much for watching and being a part of our show bigger room next year a bigger room a comic-con bigger range do you know anybody who didn't get in here give them a hug from us please