Four years after Campaign 3 began, Matt Mercer’s response to fans who felt the cast should apologize for focusing on side content has become one of the most fitting slogans for Dungeons & Dragons.
The actual-play show Critical Role has been a standout among D&D programs for over a decade, praised for its cast of professional voice actors and their chemistry. After more than 10 years of adventures with the cast, fans have witnessed many memorable moments of dialogue.
While in-character quotations from Critical Role are legendary, none quite match Mercer’s measured response to naysayers during Campaign 3.
Mercer’s quote captures the essence of D&D
During episode 42 of Campaign 3, the cast arrives at the city of Yios and becomes drawn to its lake-top gambling parlor, where Mercer introduces several dice-based games. At one point, Laura Bailey apologizes to the table and audience for keeping them focused on these games rather than rushing toward their original objective.
Mercer makes clear that Bailey doesn’t need to apologize, delivering a line every critic of the show should consider.
“It’s our game to have fun.” Here, Mercer shrugs at the audience at home. “Glad you guys are here to watch, but we’re going to play our game, like we always have.”
Critical Role
Though perhaps not as iconic as his “How do you want to do this?” line, Mercer’s quote captures what makes Critical Role special: a group of friends wanting to tell their own story without outside interference.
Concerns about external influence
Some believe that as Critical Role has grown, companies have interfered in various ways—namely Amazon, which helps produce animated adaptations of its campaigns with The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein.
Critical Role’s CEO Travis Willingham has clearly stated that this isn’t the case.
The fanbase debate over how to play D&D
Mercer’s quote also speaks to a segment of the fanbase with strong opinions about how Mercer and the cast should play Dungeons & Dragons. Once in the online spotlight, people will always have an opinion—a reality especially expected for a company like Critical Role.
The author notes having watched Critical Role for several years, observing some D&D fans become so fixated on following “the book” that they struggle when the show does things differently. For example, when Mercer made resurrection harder early in Campaign 2, there was an uproar about him not abiding by the rules as written. Similarly, Marisha Ray’s character Laudna in Campaign 3 didn’t fully follow her Hollowed One lineage traits, choosing instead to add personal flavor.
The author is clear that criticizing the cast’s choices within their games isn’t inherently wrong. The publication admits it hasn’t been “completely sold on” Campaign 4’s West Marches format and sometimes feels it hurts narrative potential for certain characters.
However, the beauty of actual-play is that it puts narrative choices and tension directly in the hands of players and Game Master—not something to be taken lightly. Millions watch Critical Role’s campaigns, and people beyond creators Mercer and Brennan Lee Mulligan have touched the worlds of Exandria and Aramán.
Join the conversation