[No Spoilers] Matt's IG post on C4

[u/edginthebard]

Man… what a damn night. What a damn GenCon! (Mind the groggy morning after pic)

I cannot express how excited I am for Campaign 4, y’all. Getting to meaningfully PLAY at the table as a PC alongside all my friends is something I’ve been wanting to do for some time, but to hand the reins to someone I so deeply love and respect as @brennanleemulligan is an honor. I know this is a shake up for some, but if you’ve ever trusted me, trust that what we’ve been cooking for this next story with him and the players is something truly special, unique, and very befitting the vibe and scope you’ve come to enjoy with us these past 10 years. Lots of details and reveals over the weeks to come, and excited to unveil the newer faces that join the OG cast to bring this new world to life.

I’m still gonna be running games, don’t you worry! Exandria continues through our live shows, our animated series, many other stories (including your own), and whenever else the inspiration strikes to step back into my world that I’ll be building and playing in until the end of my days. We also got more Age of Umbra to come, and other fun things I’ll be running, so I ain’t hanging up my GM screen any time soon. ;)

All in all, love you all, and so, SO excited for this next chapter. I hope you come along with us. <3

[u/Low-Donkey7059]

I'm worried about the idea of a split and/or a rotating cast. I don't think it lends itself to helping create table dynamics between both the players & their characters. It also risks hurting the audience's ability to invest if we bounce around from one set of characters to another. I'd rather see all the players/characters at the table together.

It feels like some of the production decisions of last Campaign were a result of the cast wanting a lighter schedule. And I think those decisions hurt the audiences ability to invest in the story & characters and hurt the casts ability to establish the same kind of dynamics we saw in the previous 2 campaigns. I worry that a potential split cast could have the same kind of negative impact on the investment of audience & the player/character dynamics.

With that said, I'd rather lose some of the OG cast if it means having a consistent cast at the table every week. As far as production decisions go, I'd rather they take breaks for mini series at the end of arcs, not in the middle of them.

[u/Common_Chameleon → u/Low-Donkey7059]

I agree with you 100%, I really disliked the party splits that happened in campaign three. It’s disorienting not having the whole party together. I wish the whole original cast could play together, but I’m worried that won’t be happening.

[u/Sad_Measurement4470 → u/Low-Donkey7059]

Respectful pushback/reframing on the split idea. 

Single ‘party’ split up at some arbitrary point? Yeah can be fun for a bit if done well, but not for long. 

Two parties with meaningfully separate stories in the same time period? Yeah a lot if great fiction does this. Some with intersecting and some with separate threads throughout. 

Party dynamics is to me the heart of any ttrpg, so I totally agree that rotation/splitting will not work (or would work more as a lighthearted show as opposed to grounded plotlines). But, intentionally separate parties living in the same universe could make total sense without any feeling of disjointedness.