On March 3, 2015, a group of professional voice actors rolled for initiative with a livestreamed broadcast of their ongoing Dungeons & Dragons campaign on Geek & Sundry’s Twitch channel. The show was called Critical Role and like a natural 20 after a called shot to the head, it was a critical hit. The weekly D&D series–which stars popular voice actors Matthew Mercer, Marisha Ray, Taliesin Jaffe, Travis Willingham, Sam Riegel, Laura Bailey, Ashley Johnson, and Liam O’Brien–amassed a massive cult following in the days and weeks that followed, and now some two years later, Critical Role is about to celebrate its 100th episode. While 100 episodes of anything isn’t something to sneeze at, it is particularly momentous for Critical Role considering that it has produced enough video to fill 19 seasons worth of television.
[brightcove video_id=”5368696435001″ brightcove_account_id=”3653334524001″ brightcove_player_id=“rJs2ZD8x”]The visceral pleasure of Dungeons & Dragons can be difficult to explain to the uninitiated, but few do a better job at communicating its thrills than Critical Role. Set in the world of Exandria, a fantasy setting created by Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer, the show attracts hundreds of thousands of weekly viewers, both on its live broadcast and for on-demand video. In addition to its talented cast, the show has featured guest stars like Chris Hardwick, Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, Mary McGlynn, and many more. To celebrate it’s 100th episode, Critical Role is welcoming special guest Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) for a role-playing extravaganza filled with special announcements, news about the newly launched (and oft-requested) Critical Role podcast, a collectible poster by artist David Mack, and much more.
To help get yourself psyched up for tonight’s episode, as well as give you a sense of its epic scope, let’s break down Critical Role by the numbers.
You can catch Critical Role every Thursday night at 7PM PDT on Geek & Sundry’s Twitch channel and Alpha. Are you a Critical Role fan? What’s your favorite moment from the show? Let us know in the comments below.
Images: Geek & Sundry
