The World of Critical Role: The History Behind the Epic Fantasy

by Liz Marsham, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn (Narrator), Felicia Day (Narrator)

Dive deep into the history of the world’s most popular fantasy RPG livestream with the cast of 'Critical Role' in this definitive guide.

From its unassuming beginnings as a casual home game between friends to the role-playing phenomenon it is today, 'Critical Role' has become the stuff of legend. This audiobook chronicles how a circle of friends who all happen to be talented voice actors built the most-watched tabletop role-playing livestream of all time.

Discover richly written insights into the locations, characters, and adventures featured in the hundreds of episodes across 'Critical Role’s' two campaigns, Vox Machina and the Mighty Nein. Go behind the scenes as you listen along to exclusive interviews with Dungeon Master Matt Mercer and the entire 'Critical Role' cast as they explore their characters’ most triumphant moments and darkest hours. And celebrate the massive community of Critters who support and expand the show’s world through a highlighted tour of the crafts, cosplay, and art they create every day.

Featuring a foreword from the cast and the inside story you won’t find anywhere else, this audiobook is your indispensable guide to 'Critical Role'. The adventure begins!




RUNNING TIME => 11hrs. and 8mins.

©2020 Liz Marsham (P)2020 Random House Audio

Genres: Nonfiction, Dungeons and Dragons, Biography, Audiobook, Gaming, Role Playing Games, Pop Culture

Audible Audio

First published October 22, 2020

Reviews

[Jared Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a good dive into Critical Role. A good chunk of the book talks about the specifics of campaign 1 and 2, as well as the characters of those campaigns.

For fans of Critical Role there doesn’t feel like too much new information which disappointed me. Most of the cast bios were what was said on Between the Sheets.

The art was awesome.

The content was good, I just expected a little more information about Critical Role and the cast.

[Evgeniya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, first of all, the art and the photos are stunning, you have to admit that.
As for the actual content of the book... I believe the promised "deep dive" into Critical Role doesn't happen in this book.
This book is not an entry guide for the people that are new to CR, it's way too spoilery - there are sections that basically retell the major events of Campaign 1 and 2 (the best and the worst significant rolls, battle tactics, notable items etc.). The look "behind the curtain", chapters on cast and CR as a show are not extensive either - notable facts about Matt and players sometimes almost word-to-word match the content of Between the Sheets, CR's side-show. And some parts, like the introductory story about CR's successes or the brief overview of their side-shows, could be more elaborative.
Overall, don't expect much from this piece: it's a good item for the collectors of everything CR-related, but it doesn't really offer much insight into the world of Critical Role (pun not intended).

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Everything that we've ever wanted to do in our lives is make characters and stories that people care about. And the end of this campaign was sort of the culmination of realizing that our creative dreams had come true." - Sam Riegel

There's always a risk with these kinds of books that they'll generally just amount to a flowery, cheesy repetition of the wiki page. But this one had a great mix of "oh shit, remember when?" lists, field guide-esque sections, and fascinating insights from the cast on their characters, scenes, and D&D itself. The art is plentiful and stunning.

And now, I'm apparently set on all the spoilers I could ever dream of for Vox Machina, and it just makes me want to finish it more!

"Roleplaying games, you walk away changed. Like a good dream, or a really good nightmare. You walk away with this secret knowledge that if you attempt to explain to anybody, it's impossible to share." - Taliesin Jaffe

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read for any Critical Role fan.

Much of the book is dedicated to the in-fiction goings on in Exandria.I would have liked to see a greater focus on the people and behind the scenes stories surrounded the CR journey.

The art is lovely throughout.

[Shelleyrae at Book'd Out · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a teen my friends and I had a brief obsession with board games, and then graduated to tabletop RPG (role play games). We made an attempt at Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, borrowing bits and pieces from someone’s uncle, but we all found it a little too complicated to make sense of on our own, so we cast around and discovered Heroes Quest, a brand new board game with a fantasy RPG element. We all pitched in to buy it and spent many hours rampaging through dungeons.

When my eldest son was thirteen a local games store began organising a semi regular social night for ages 12-18. They hosted a mix of activities including the chance to participate in Dungeons & Dragons ‘one-shots’. I was certain that my son, who devoured fantasy novels and wrote fan fiction, would love D&D and convinced him to give it a chance. So he’d have an idea of what to expect we watched a bunch of YouTube video’s and read through information online, and when I picked him up that evening he couldn’t wait to play again. Shortly after the Dungeon Master invited him to join a group he hosted every fortnight at his home, and my son, who is now 17, has being playing with them ever since.

All this is to explain why I chose to read The World of Critical Role. D&D is a big part of my son’s life, and I am occasionally able to play a game with him. He loves Critical Role and is one of the estimated 1.5M people who watches each 4-5 hour long episode every week. Every so often I join him, because I enjoy it too.

Critical Role is the name for a group of LA based friends who turned their friendly Dungeons & Dragons home game into a live stream on YouTube/Twitch, originally through Geek & Sundry. The stream proved so popular that eventually Critical Role formed their own company, moved into their own studio space, and launched their own streaming channel with additional content and projects including live tours, merchandise, comic books, campaign handbooks, one-shots, limited campaigns, and an animated Netflix series (coming 2022).

In The World of Critical Role, Marsham shares the history of the group, reveals behind the scenes tidbits, and provides cast and character biographies. Much of the book focuses on elements of Campaign 1: Vox Machina which debuted online in 2015 and ran for 115 episodes, until 2017 but only about a third of Campaign 2: The Mighty Nein which began in 2018 and ran for 141 episodes, (with a hiatus due to the pandemic) finishing mid 2021, taking readers through the many highlights – the creative moves, the biggest mistakes, the fierce battles and the tragic losses. Marsham also explores the Critical Role fandom, and discusses why the game attracts and inspires people.

I thought I might end up skimming through some of the book given I’ve only seen a handful of episodes from the campaigns, but I was completely enthralled by it all. It’s funny, informative and even thought-provoking. Beautifully illustrated with photographs and stunning art, I think The World of Critical Role would serve as a good introduction to the entire Critical Role phenomenon, especially the first and second campaigns, and become a keepsake of sorts for ‘Critters’ (Critical Role fans) who can be reminded of, and relive, some of its best moments.

I’m sincerely considering binging on both campaigns which would take me to close to a year if I watch an episode a day. Critical Role is currently just four episodes into Campaign 3 (as yet unnamed) which began October 2021, and I’ve already made a start on it.

Let the adventure begin….

[Ronie Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gamers just seem to donate to a local charity

[Sandra (LadyGrey Reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

review coming soon

[Walkyrja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am an avid and longtime DnD player but I am not a Critter - I've only watched less than 20 episodes of Critical Role. For all the DnD aspects, this book was comforting and interesting. I learned a lot about Critical Role and it made me love them even more. However, the way the book is written made me think often that "I had to be there" to fully understand/enjoy it? For example, the author refers to events that happened in the campaigns and tries to explain it to the reader, but when you haven't watched the series (like me) it's hard to fully enjoy the inside jokes/epic events described.

For now, I'd give it a 3.5⭐/5, but it has the potential to be way more if you've watched the campaigns.

[Chelsea Callahan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous book for a fabulous conpany and a fabulous community.

[Demi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so wildly charming and wonderful. Marsham is a master observer--she gets at the heart of all of the things I love about Critical Role, the kindness and the thoughtfulness and the play. Collaborative storytelling is magic borne out of trust, and this book is great at pinpointing exactly the way trust between these friends makes up the heart of why CR is enjoyable, and lovely, and fun. Love it. Love them.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who can't get enough of Critical Role and its castmembers, this book was an excellent fix for my addiction.

First of all: the book is gorgeous. The design fits Critical Role perfectly. The fantasy vibes are strong and all artwork is absolutely gorgeous. It looks like a book a shady merchant would ask 30 gold for, but it would totally be worth it.

A fan of the show already knows 90% of the contents of this book. The book does not tell you much news if you've watched both campaigns and the channel's related shows like Talks Machina and Between the sheets. But I'd be lying if I said I did not enjoy reading it all again. Reliving some of my favourite moments and characters was such a joy.

I was still at the start of watching campaign 1 when I started reading, and although there are MANY spoilers in the book for Vox Machina, I didn't mind. I found the first campaign very hard to get into, but the book made me more familiar with the characters and what was going on. And for CR being a show with 3-4 hours of content every week, there's still so much unspoiled things to enjoy, the character interactions and some of the casts greatest jokes, so being spoiled for the overall plot did not affect me much.

As read and watched on though, I skipped some pages about the end of the campaign. It was described in much detail what happened and by now I am so invested in Vox Machina that I want to leave the ending relatively unspoiled.

The book is about Critical Role, but I believe it is an ode to the fans, the critters. Time and time again, the cast expresses their gratitude to the fans, their genirosity and kindness to them, but to charity efforts moreso. It's evident that without the endless support of the fans, this book wouldn't even exist. The cast knows this full well and takes the opportunity to show how thankful they are.

All in all I am a proud fan who will shove this book in anyone's willing hands, because it is so wonderful to be a critter ❤

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE WORLD OF CRITICAL ROLE is a nonfiction book that chronicles the creation of the Critical Role Twitch stream that has since exploded into a massively successful multimedia franchise that includes comics as well as animated cartoons. In a very real way, it contributed to the massive successful of 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons as well as led to a slew of imitators for everything from Call of Cthulhu to Shadowrun.

The origin of Critical Role was Felicia Day convincing Matt Mercer and the other voice actors playing at his home game to air their D&D game on her channel. From there, they proceed to develop a massive Twitch following and that moved on to becoming a marketing juggernaut. The book covers most of the history in a somewhat superficial but, mostly, accurate way.

I say mostly accurate because the book more or less writes out Orion Acada and his character of Tiberius, only mentioning him as a "guest" party member despite his role in the founding of the franchise. It also overlooks some of the smaller controversies that dogged Critical Role. It doesn't mention the backlash that Marish Ray got about her character of Keyleth or the controversy of "broomgate" where Laura stole another party member's magic broom.

Basically, this is a fine book but it's also very much a love fest for Critical Role that doesn't include any of the controversies or the occassionally unpleasant elements of fandom. It's a puff piece that loses points because a lot of that would have been interesting and lended some authenticity to the story about the struggles some of the individuals involved had to overcome. We all know fans aren't always great people, particularly against women.

Despite this, the book has a lot of fascinating bits in it about the world of Exandria and the character arcs for the first two campaigns. There's character studies of all the characters as well as biographies for the actors. We also get write-ups for Will Wheaton and other guest stars plus their characters. Just because it doesn't dive deeply into the negative elements doesn't mean it's not something worth buying if you are a "critter." We also get surprisingly deep into the real life backstories of the actors with some stories, like Ashley Johnson and Taelsin Jaffe being particularly fascinating.

In conclusion, I don't recommend purchasing this book if you are not already a fan of either Vox Machina or the Mighty Nein. This makes the most sense if you're familiar with Campaigns 1 and 2 but doesn't cover the events of 3 at all. Still, it's a fun coffee table book and enjoyable for hardcore fans.

[Anniken Haga · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very confusing. I'm not sure what it's about. The whole thing reads like a fan trying to write an article to get other people to watch the show. Which isn't a bad thing. It also felt like the author was very much more interested in Vox Machina than Mighty Nein. It makes sense, considering when the book was published, but still. It focused a lot on the events that happened in-game - again, that's not a bad thing, but most Critters already know all of this. They've watched it and experienced it together with the cast! - rather than the stories surrounding the set up. Sure, there's elements of how the group got together and grew into a family and what the game means to each of them, and how they went from a home game into what we now know, but it felt like it was thrown in there like an afterthought. Like the author was actually writing an essay on the world of Exandria and the game, and then remembered that there are actual real people behind all this and that they should probably be included.

I'm sorry if I'm sounding harsh, for it has its good elements, but in the end this book wasn't for me. It read a little like propaganda, to be honest. ''DnD and RPG is amazing, it'll change the world and you, and this group of players should be our leaders!'' even as there was a quote from Matt saying they only want to inspire, nothing more. I don't know, it wasn't for me. I love the gang and what CR is doing, and I'm way too invested in the Mighty Nein, which might by why this book didn't work.

The art was great and thematic and really held a feeling to it,t ho, so I'd recommend having a look at the book for that, if nothing else.

[Mathieu Robichaud · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting. It reveals a lot

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun overview book that looks at the Critical Role team and the phenomenon around them and their games.

Great content but other than cast photos, the e-galley on my Kindle didn't provide an organized view of the text and any added illustrations.

Thus, I'll recommend the book for content but may increase my rating after I see a physical copy to judge graphic layout et al.

[Mark Peyton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the equivalent of a warm hug of a book.

[káliná · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 // i’m always down for critrole trivia and content but having watched a lot of talks machina and all the interviews on “between the sheets”, this book was pretty much a repeat of them. plus a retelling of campaign 1 and bits of campaign 2. that last bit was weird to read at times because of the initial way the author described the cast play d&d. it was both meta and made something simple too complicated. it was confusing even for someone as me who has watched the described scenes AND plays d&d.

setting aside the spoilers for both campaigns, this is book that people getting into d&d and critrole will like, and find interesting. i especially liked the shout-out to all the critters and the community. i wish there was more on the current d&d renaissance and how things were pre and post critical role, but you can’t have everything.

[Rygard Battlehammer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yedinci yılı itibariyle devam etmekte olan D&D showu Critical Role hakkında yazılmış, gereği ve amacı çok da net olmayan, teorik olarak başarılı, pratikte ise sallantılı bir kitap.

Genelde Disney ve DC için vasat çizgi romanlar hazırlayan, ilginç ve kayda değer pek bir işi olmayan, ortalama bir yazar, Liz Marsham tarafından yazılmış. Ancak kitabın anekdotal niteliği düşünüldüğünde, bu çok bir sorun yaratmamış. Eldeki malzemeyi "kreatif bir iş yapayım", "dur şuraya da bir iki deneysel fırça darbesi vurayım" oyunları yapmadan, düzgünce kategorize edip sunmuş kendisi.

Kitap, Critical Role hakkında pek çok detayı içinde barındırıyor. Aktörler, karakterler, showa konuk olmuş misafirler, hikayenin önemli aşamaları, komik, dramatik veya herhangi bir duyguyu tetikleyen anekdotlar, kullanılan ekipmanlar, kilit sahneler, çıkan yan ürünler gibi bolca başlık var.

Ancak tam olarak kime hitap edeceği konusunda kafası biraz karışık bir kitap. Tonu sanki hiç CR izlememiş insanlara detaylı bir sunum hazırlamak için ayarlanmış gibi dursa da, ilk iki campaignin hemen tüm önemli noktaları, kilit anları, herhangi bir spoiler endişesi güdülmeden, gayet düz bir biçimde aktarıldığı için bu işlevi asla ifa edemiyor.

Yazarının kitap çıkmadan önceki iddiasının karşılığını veren, Critical Role'a "derin dalış" niteliğinin ise yanına bile yaklaşamıyor zira youtube'dan ulaşılamayacak tek bir cümlesi dahi yok. Görsel ve işitsel iletişim/anlatım metotlarının başarılı kullanılması sayesinde insanların sevdiği şeyleri, yazılı olarak tekrarlamak zaten yapısı gereği etkileyicilikten uzak bir eylem. Bunu yaparken anlatıya yeni hiç bir şey katılmadığındaysa, kitap son derece sıradan ve gereksiz hale geliyor.

Misal tutup Laura Bailey'nin Cupcake sahnesini, üç sayfa boyunca anlatmaya çalışıp, hikayeyi izlemenin getirdiği deneyime asla hiç bir şey katmadığın gibi, gidip sahneyi tekrar izlemenin yaratabileceğimi tebessümün yanına bile yaklaşamıyorsun. E sen bizim zamanımızı çalıyorsun Liz Marsham? Adam tutmaktır bu, sen bizi tutuyorsun. Aldın paranı, kandırdın bizi. Daha sal artık, varalım yolumuza gidelim...

Bu arada bir reality show/belgesel yaklaşımının kesinlikle olmadığını da söylemek lazım. Mutlak şekilde pembeye boyanmış bir anlatı söz konusu. Benim uzaktan tanık olduğum bir çok tatsızlık, skandal, kavga, gürültü asla yer bulamamış kendine. Ne Orion Acaba skandalları, ne Marisha Ray'in aldığı tehditler, ne prodüksiyon stüdyolarının dahil oluşları, Geek & Sundry muhabbetleri. Ulan arkadaş basın açıklamaları yapıldı, ayran tankerleri devrildi, dramalar havalarda uçuştu ama bakıyorsun resme, "sevimli kediler tatlışlıklar yapıyor nokta jepege". Biraz olsun tatsız ne varsa, fevkalade bir sansür mekanizmasıyla, tüm izleriyle birlikte fırlatılıp atılmış. Gerçek sahne arkasını izlemeyi/okumayı çok isterdim oysa. Yazık ki bu kitabın alakası bile yok o tip bir çalışmayla.

CR Wiki sayfasının kenarından köşesinden budanıp, ziplenip matbaaya yollanmış hali gibi bir kitap olmuş uzun lafın kısası. Tam bir "member berries" (bkz: South Park s20e01) örneği.
"...Hele o Percy'nin sahnesi ne güzeldi di mi? Percy No Mercy heheheh..." Ya tamam, güzeldi de kitap lan bu! Para verdik aslanım biz buna. O kadar çok "E ben bunu yutuptan da izlerdim ki istesem, niye kitabını yazdın" dedirtti ki okurken. Kimse de dememiş ki "Aga, bu işte bir yanlışlık var."

Fiziksel olarak baya güzel gözüken bir kitap bu arada -eğer önemi varsa-. Resimler, fotoğraf ve çizim seçimleri çok güzel. Kalın ve kaliteli kağıda, yüksek çözünürlüklerle basılmış, sayfa tasarımlarına, kenar süslerine pek uğraşılmış.

Güzel mi? Cr sevene güzel. Ha gerek var mı diye sorarsak, bence yok.

[Nox · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this after finding it hiding in my local Target. Critical Role has become such an important part of my life. It helped me with inspiration of characters and stories. This book just brings you to the heart of what Critical Role is, love.

This isn’t an insiders scoop on the secrets and disasters of the people and history of Critical Role. This book is just as much about love as it is about community. Every page is full of heart, for the actors, for the community, for the characters, and the world built from Matt’s imagination.

If you’re a fan of Critical Role, I highly recommend reading this. Hell, even if you don’t know much about Critical Role read this. It’s a good introduction and rounded depository of information on how the little dungeons and dragons stream turned into a company full of love and devotion for storytelling and imagination.

[Gerry Sacco · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so many things. Its a compendium, a slew of biographies, a love letter to fans, outreach to new people, and so many more things.

I started watching Critical Role a long time ago, but then stopped for no real reason honestly. Getting back to watching it, really shows me not just the brilliance of role-playing, but the brilliance of the people involved with it. Getting to read about their journey, and their hopes not just for the game, but the community they built, and the charities they try to help, is very much enjoyable.

If you consider them a mom and pops kind of brand, you really couldn't find a more loving and inclusive one. If you are a fan of theirs, this is an absolute must have, and has enough content to be worth several re-reads.

[Loren Warf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started playing D&D at the beginning of the pandemic, and I had no idea the impact it would make on my life. I started watching Critical Role a short time after and absolutely fell in love with the cast and the stories they created together. There’s an unbelievable amount of content, and I will never catch up on all of it, but this book did a great job delving into the world, characters, and key moments in a way that made me feel more connected to the history and lore. The sections that discussed the power of collaborative storytelling and the ways the cast and fans have given back were incredibly touching. I got teary reading about the ways fans have banded together to make the show more accessible, like compiling complete transcripts of episodes, which regularly run over four hours. This book and these people and this game make me so happy my heart might burst.

[Dana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got into Critical Role this year and I'm nearly done with campaign 1. That said, this book is full of spoilers for the first two campaigns. I like spoilers so I didn't mind and as a still baby Critter, I haven't seen/watched Between the Sheets. I learned a bunch about the players and characters through this book! However, most of the info in here has been previously put out there from Between the Sheets and other interviews and the like. There doesn't seem to be much exclusive content in the book but it's a great compilation of facts and info on Critical Role for casual/still newer fans!

[Rachelle Puzzitiello · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun and interesting read and a beautifully done book that any Critical Role fan would be proud to display on their coffee table. If you’re someone who’s devoured both campaigns for CR, there wasn’t a lot of new information. Be warned though, if you have not finished campaign one or two and have intention to do so, do not read this book. It goes into detail on some of the biggest moments of the campaigns and is very spoiler heavy. That being said, if you don’t mind the spoilers, I highly recommend if you know someone who is a fan and just want to know a little more info so when they inevitably start going on and on about the latest episode you’re not completely in the dark (apologies to the friends I have definitely done this to 😅).

[James Kuester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This serves as a very useful tool to understand what all the fuss is about with the Critical Role phenomenon. If you are already deeply into the show, most of the reading value will be the interview elements throughout the book, as a fair majority of the text will likely be information you already know. There is still plenty enough fanart, official art, and cast photography to make it a good gift or purchase for a fan!

[Leni · Rating 5 out of 5]

*shouts from the rooftops* I love Critical Role so freaking much!! That's it, that's the review. With 2 exclamation marks, you know I'm not messing around. No but really, what an absolutely gorgeous book.

[Todd · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun look at the history and world of Critical Role, how they began, a little about each person involved along with their characters in both campaigns as of publication, and a bit about what goes on behind the scenes and after hours. I loved it for the nostalgia, even though I’ve not even finished watching the first campaign and haven’t begun the second. And that’s something to be aware of, this book contains plenty of spoilers for those not up to date. It didn’t both me, but it might bother some. I don’t know that I’d recommend this to folks who aren’t already familiar with the show, though I suppose it could provide some introduction to it. But if you’re already a fan you might enjoy it, as I did. I do find myself wanting to hurry up and watch more so I can see some of the moments I’ve now only read about.

[Colleen Frakes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't understand who this book is for? As regular watcher I found the book often boring, there wasn't any new information. If someone who hadn't seen the show was looking for an in, the book has too many spoilers.

[Liah French · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was very impressive how the author was able to make such an informational book so engaging! I loved learning all about the actors and the world, as well as seeing how the fans have been included in the fun! ❤️❤️

[Melissa Nisbet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading about the cast and their histories. This book is definitely first season heavy, and second season until about episode 75 (so if you’re not caught up, there are a lot of spoilers). The missing star is because the actual writing was definitely sub-par and clunky at times. There are even one or two type-os in the book which is a total disappointment. But over all a great read, content-wise if you are an average fan. Super fans will definitely know a lot of what’s mentioned. It’s also chalk-full of beautiful art and photography.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Insightful and well written. A glimpse into the lives and characters of the family that plays Dungeons and Dragons. Truly inspirational people.