‘Tis the season to be a more giving gamer. The Critical Role Foundation has put together the Battle of the Bards, an actual play one-shot to fill the coffers for this holiday season. The Critical Role Foundation partners with outstanding charitable organizations that help change the world for the better. After all, their mission statement is simple: “To leave the world better than we found it.” For example, they’ve teamed up with 826LA, a charity that strives to unlock creative opportunities for underprivileged children in under-resourced communities. They’ve also worked with Comic Relief, which focuses on relieving childhood poverty. And also Outright Action International, which works to protect LGBTQIA+ folks all over the world.
The one-shot will, of course, be set in Exandria. The plot? Scanlan Shorthalt (reprised by Sam Riegel) is hosting the concert of the era. Five performers will compete to find out who is the best bard in all the land. Well, the best aside from Scanlan, anyway. Prepare for your favorite celebrities to meet on the bardly battlefield to prove who has what it takes to earn the opening spot on his next tour. Naturally, things are going to go sideway. And when they do, the five artists will have to ‘band’ together (get it?) to save the day. Or maybe just the tour, we’ll have to see.
You can catch Battle of the Bards on Beacon, Twitch, and YouTube. It’ll air live on Tuesday, November 17, 2026, at 7PM PST. Matt Mercer will be in his typical seat as Game Master. Sam is on hand for Scanlan’s antics, as well as Critical Role Foundation president Ashley Johnson. As for the musical talent, there’s Tom Morello, K. Flay, Wayne Brady, Blake Roman, and THOT Squad.
Fans will have a chance to influence the events of the evening, so make sure to tune in and donate! Or, you know, just donate because it’s a good cause. That works too! You don’t have to wait until the night of this charity event to do so. As of November 10, you can head over to Stream Labs and get started on donating ahead of time, influencing the game before the bards even take the stage!