Sam's ads

The ads by Sam Riegel are pre-show segments advertising a sponsor of the night's episode. Written by Sam, the segments usually take the form of a monologue, skit, or comedy bit that he performs, often with the participation of other cast members. Despite being advertisements and incorporating provided marketing copy, the narrative or joke at the center of many segments has little to do with the sponsor's service or product. With rare exceptions, when there are two sponsors, Sam's ad is for the first sponsor, followed by Matthew Mercer reading marketing copy in a standard fashion for the second sponsor.

Most ads are self-contained, but some form a series and have a narrative continuity sustained over multiple episodes. The most notable series are the D&D Beyond Presidential Campaign, a political race between Sam and Liam O'Brien for president of the sponsoring D&D Beyond, and NordVerse, a parody of cyberpunk and techno-thrillers that follows the cast's "hackersonas" in episodes sponsored by NordVPN. NordVerse is the longest running series, with twenty-two installments as of, and eventually included a prequel one-shot,.

Campaign 2: The Mighty Nein
Over Campaign 2, the ad segments grew more complicated and increasingly featured more heavily produced segments, apparently enabled by D&D Beyond's heavily recurrent sponsorship. Ad segments during Campaign 1 had sporadically recurring elements, but these segments grew into lengthy narrative series. This campaign featured the eight-month-long D&D Beyond Presidential Campaign, the longest series in this campaign, and introduced the NordVerse and You've Got Gale.

Campaign 2 suspended production after to enact COVID-19 social distancing precautions, resulting in the COVID-19 hiatus. When the campaign resumed, it was in a pre-recorded live-to-tape format. Some NordVerse sketches in the post-hiatus involved heavier visual effects, as exemplified by.

Campaign 3: Bells Hells
Critical Role continued to be pre-recorded live-to-tape in Campaign 3. Some ad segments involve significant and complex post-production and production time; examples include producing a highly involved musical number with Mary Elizabeth McGlynn in, recording a segment at the table for a subsequent week as with and , transposing Sam's face and scanlines onto Laura's in.

NordVerse continued into this campaign with a new story arc surrounding Setty, a virus infecting the new set. The campaign also saw the introduction of two major series: Quip Public Domain Lounge, where Ludo McGillicutty sings a medley of public domain songs to Matt's increasing annoyance, and the Finger Championship Games, in which finger wrestler Marisha struggles to receive her prize money. With another nine installments as of, NordVerse is so far the longest running series of the campaign.

Campaign 3 is also the first time a guest player was involved in the ad skit. Robbie Daymond is involved in multiple ads, including some NordVerse sketches.

Similar "Cozy Matt" ads
The pre-show to Exandria Unlimited did not have ads by Sam because he was not a cast member. The campaign instead featured Matt, accompanied by his dog Omar (often wearing a sweater), reading the marketing copy in a segment taped weeks after the episode and inserted in post-production. The segment incorporated something that Aabria Iyengar (or Marisha in the campaign wrap-up) "observed" about Matt after the segment was played in the final episode but before the segment was actually recorded, forcing Matt to conform to her statement while later filming.

What she decided to make Matt do was usually a moment of improv, though she remembered that she had to ask the producers beforehand about a segment in an episode "towards the end" (presumably the involved Dorian Storm cosplay). After the first episode, the segments became known as "Cozy Matt" and he wore a velvet robe in most episodes. The other "observations" were:
 * : Looking "cozy and calm and collected"
 * : Glitter beard
 * : Braids
 * : Asymmetrical facial hair pattern
 * : Stiletto manicure
 * : Matching manicure, makeup, and outfit (a pink bathrobe)
 * : Playing "Hot Cross Buns" on a recorder
 * : Dorian Storm cosplay
 * : Wearing only the robe