There, I’ve said it. Like many gamers of my generation, the fascination with, and success of, Critical Role leaves me cold. Or rather, if I’m honest – it leaves me disappointed, fruitlessly flailing at something that I should really enjoy, but don’t. If we’d had recordings of games available in the 1990s, I’m certain we’d have evolved roleplaying into a more interesting direction quicker than we did – and maybe we’re starting to see that evolution now – but often, streamed shows leave me wanting more.

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Don’t get me wrong, I think the streaming revolution is overall a massive positive for the hobby – we can watch games played easily now, and access different styles of play and learn and improve our own games. Or can we? I think there are three things that can spoil actual plays for me.

They’re Too Slow

I like a bit of pace as much as the next gamer, and while I can deal with some slow-burn investigating, a bunch of D&D PCs sitting around in a pub (which is what most of Critical Role seems to consist of) isn’t my kind of fun. I’d cut all those scenes in my game – or at least trim them down to some short interactions to add flavour and stakes to character interaction – so I’m going to tolerate them even less as a viewer.

There Aren’t Enough Rules

I like a decent bit of game in my RPGs – whether they’re narrative-driven or more traditionally minded. I want to roll dice within the first half hour of a game, or I’m wondering why I’m there, so if I’m a viewer I’m even less interested. Even worse, some APs fall into the worst kind of “rulings not rules” nonsense which actively irritates me – “just roll a 1d20 and get high” – which is just lazy GMing. If I’m watching a game played, I want the table to make a decent bash at playing the game, because I’m watching, in part, to get an idea of how to run the game myself.

They’re Too Long

Most AP streams go on interminably long, and we’re often looking at 3-4 hour online sessions repeated up to 10-20 times for a campaign. As a player, 3 hours is an absolute maximum I can tolerate online – and I’m happier with 2 – 2.5 hours as a rule. Online play, in particular, should focus play so there’s less dead time, and so more stuff can be covered in it. So, I’d like some punchy 2 hour sessions – or even less, if they can be trimmed down and I’m looking to see how a game plays.

They Don’t Help Me Be A Better GM

In fact, there’s a fair bit of internet discourse that CR might be making DMs worse as they try and imitate Matt Mercer’s style – to be clear, I don’t think it’s fair to blame CR for this, but there’s an opportunity missed that we never get to see players review the sessions with stars and wishes, or the GMs discuss the decisions they made, prep they did, or what they thought went well or poorly. There’s a wasted opportunity here, and it’d be brilliant if when we read about, e.g. giving players narrative control, there were a set of videos of different GMs demonstrating this.

Is It All Rubbish Though?

Well, of course it isn’t. I’ve learned a lot about running Carved from Brindlewood games from Jason Cordova’s youtube channel, the One Shot podcast does a great job of showcasing games. I’ve been in a few APs too, so I’d hope they aren’t (check out me running 13th Age in Glorantha for some context around a lot of the content on here). But overwhelmingly, the most popular channels seem to exist as a parallel to what happens at my table.

So What To Do About It?

Well, this is what I’ve been leading up to (and, readers, part of the reason why it’s been a bit quiet here for a couple of weeks). In the next month or two, I’m launching a new project – Unconventional GMs – with Gaz from The Smart Party and a star-studded array of TTRPG talent. We’ll be looking at short-form campaigns, and one-shots, and trying to showcase punchy, rules-engaged play supported by blog posts (on here) and podcast discussions (over on The Smart Party) about what worked and what didn’t.

We’re currently at the stage of getting sorted with the tech required for this endeavour, and making sure we can get a quality product out – but the first session has been recorded and will be ready for release when we’ve got a few more in the bag and our OBS skills are sorted. Stay tuned and follow me (@milnermaths) and Gaz (@the_smart_party) on twitter for further announcements! And if there’s any requests or games you’d like to see, send them in.