Update from Brian:
I want to thank each and every person who summoned the courage and took the time to make and send us these videos. Viewing them as they came in was a daily roller coaster ride of emotions, one that ended with me crying into a bucket of cheese balls for many nights in a row. As I watched and listened to your stories, I felt a mutual appreciation as a fan of Critical Role, but also the overwhelming love and positivity that surround each of you, traits that have been branded on this community since its inception. Way way back in time before there was a Talks Machina every week, I wanted to put this video together. I’ve done my best to keep in the shadows, but a few of you know I’ve been around for many years, and I’ve had occasion to meet many of you at Comic Con or other meet-ups. I’ve heard stories, read letters Ashley brought home, and read countless Tweets, Reddit posts, etc. I’ve seen some of the impact from this show, and I wanted to “signal boost” your stories to the rest of this community. Bottom line: this stuff gets me in the places, it reminds me of the good in the world and the sense of humor you have, and I wanted everyone else to feel that same love.
So thank you for being kind, and for knowing this wasn’t about giving everyone an ego-stroke, but about giving you a voice.
One note to anyone that sent in a video but didn’t see it in the montage: As you can imagine we received a ton of videos. Unfortunately, many of them were not usable due to format issues, audio/video issues, or we flat out didn’t receive or weren’t able to download it. We tried not to put too much strain on our post team here, and they did an incredible job putting these two videos together, but I apologize if your video didn’t make it into the cut. I promise you there wasn’t a single video we watched and said “That one isn’t good enough for this”, except for the one Glenn sent in.
All that being said, this is the first of many opportunities you’ll have to send in videos and be a part of a fun segment like this, so don’t worry!
-The Host
Original Copy:
Recently, we asked fans of Critical Role, Critters, to tell us “What Critical Role Means to Me” in under one minute. The responses we received we awe-inspiring, moving, and really pulls at the heartstrings.
Each Critter spent one minute, and occasionally had to start over multiple times because they couldn’t say it all in just a minute, to extol joy, excitement, inspiration, and thankfulness overall for these “relatable nerdy-ass voice actors” who let us into their lives one night per week.
Each week, Critters from all over the world stay up late to watch the live feed simply because of the live, imaginative forms of storytelling. They deal with sleepless nights and exhausted days just to be able to finish watching the adventure with the cast. They set alarms to be awake in time to watch the live feed from another country.
These devoted Critters love the show so much because, as one Critter explains, “What I see on screen is the exact same game I play with my friends, except I get to experience this one game with tens of thousands of other people.”
Critical Role is an inspiration to men and women. As one female Critter explains she is inspired by “three badass women doing badass stuff every week.” Another is inspired because she doesn’t feel limited by her age to be her nerdy self. One man has used his skills creating the artwork for the Critical Role merch to parlay that into a Graphic Design degree and career. Another man has been able to introduce D&D into the curriculum for his patients dealing with depression. Many Critters proclaim their achievements from DMing their first campaign and starting a regular group D&D game, to simply being able to ask the Critical Role cast a question at a Con, overcoming a fear of public speaking.
To many Critical Role fans, this show gives them a sense of belonging and brings out the creative side in everyone.“It was a light in the darkness for me.” says one Critter. “It gave me hope.” says another. These inspiring stories prove that when you have drive and passion for something as strategic and fun as Dungeons & Dragons, even the smallest amount of despair can be quashed with a single roll of the dice.
Thank you, Critical Role. We can’t wait to see what you come up with next.
Feature Image Credit: Critical Role
Video Credit: Geek & Sundry