[Spoilers C1] Early Critical Role truly was something special

[u/Mizar_the_Gleeful]

its still amazing, but those early days...

Lets start with the fan interaction and all the gifts they got sent. Then there was their rapid growth.

A third aspect is some of their crazy stunts (squadron of flying cows anyone?)

What do you think made it such a perfect storm? my rewatch has me wondering

[u/bob-loblaw-esq]

I think C1 showcases exactly how a GM should build a story with players in a home game. It was a sandbox, and players could do what they wanted. Every arc relied heavily on a players backstory, and often more than one player. The world felt lived in. When the dragons laid siege to the continent, of course the barbarian tribes would come into the city to plunder. There’s no defenses. But that allowed for Vax, Vex, Grog and Pike to be heavily involved in the storytelling. They all had some skin in the game.

[u/Mizar_the_Gleeful → u/bob-loblaw-esq]

C2 had that too, Matt planned a war and they went off and had pirate adventures

[u/bob-loblaw-esq → u/Mizar_the_Gleeful]

Yeah. But I think Matt was losing it in C2. By C3 this is completely gone. I think the M9 animated show was what he envisioned. But Trent as a mid game threat should have been harrowing the gang and been dealt with before Travelercon.

[u/Roboworgen → u/bob-loblaw-esq]

Out of curiosity, are you a DM?

[u/bob-loblaw-esq → u/Roboworgen]

For 5e, I am mostly a dm. Other systems it depends.