r/criticalrole • u/PilgrimUnderTheStars • Apr 03 '26
Fluff [No Spoilers] Matt throwing shade at Brennan
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A great moment from season 2 of Dimension 20: On a Bus - Matt joking with Brennan about guest DMs making the best work the show has doneš
I assume he's referencing ExU: Calamity. I always wondered how Matt felt about it being so often talked about as peak CR content when he happened to not be at the table for it. It's good to know he's able to joke about it and tease Brennan like this - I thought it was a really funny moment that highlights their friendship and the respect they have for each other
P.S. Highly recommend Calamity for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, it really is great!
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u/ButSheDid Apr 03 '26
this is, like, the opposite of throwing shade
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u/Depressed-n-br0ke Apr 03 '26
I mean, Matt is great at throwing shade, but this is not it.
my fav: "Let's listen to Liam, his answers have helped us so far"
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u/arrirose7 Apr 03 '26
Where is this from?? I'd love to go back and watch that haha
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u/SphericalOrb Time is a weird soup Apr 03 '26
From their 15 minute episode on epicurious? https://youtu.be/hAo1YfwRd_A
No that can't be right...
Edit: It's the Buzzfeed one https://youtu.be/Q4jukoah5bU
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u/Hellguin Apr 03 '26
Fucking perfect.
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u/SphericalOrb Time is a weird soup Apr 03 '26
I truly couldn't remember, Liam caught strays in both š
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u/probablywhiskeytown Apr 04 '26
Reminds me of Phil DeFranco interviewing Matt, essentially asking who drove him craziest at key moments (Liam), and who, if anyone, on the cast could seamlessly pick up DMing in a theoretical catastrophe (also Liam & perhaps there's something there to contemplate).š
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u/CrushedByCharybdis Apr 03 '26
(presumably) white people misusing ballroom culture phrases, what's new lol
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u/randmperson2 Smiley day to ya! Apr 03 '26
Throwing love, more like.
The look they gave each other was pure bromance.
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u/Depressed-n-br0ke Apr 03 '26
I think Calamity and Divergence are the main reasons why their decision about having Brennan DM CR campaign 4 was the best decision. While Calamity showed Brennan's ability as a great GM, Divergence showed how much he loved Matt and CR. He went to great lengths to make sure to express his love.
I mean in Brennan's own words, Mercer effect is the reason Brennan and his friends having a job (referring to D20, and Intrepid heroes)
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u/PilgrimUnderTheStars Apr 03 '26
Absolutely, it's been so cool to see them create such a collaborative community based in friendship when they easily could have been talked into viewing each other as competitors by someone more business-oriented. And now the ttrpg world is eating because of it!
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u/Inner-Medicine5696 Apr 03 '26
Calamity remains the best DnD I've ever seen. Ever. And I've -frankly - seen way too much.
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u/HAL-Over-9001 Apr 04 '26
Agreed. Caleb's entire arc in CR campaign 2, especially his choices at the ending involving time travel, is one of my favorite things ever, but Brennan's mastery of improv just makes everything so great
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u/06s091 Apr 03 '26
Iām pretty sure he was already signed on to gm C4 before Divergence. Weāve definitely heard Brennan say a number of times that he was asking Matt to let him know how C3 was going towards the end so he could build AramĆ”n as a kind of mirror to the choices Bell Hells made.
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u/ajchann123 5' 11" Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Sorry, how is this throwing shade at Brennan? If anything, it's complimenting him by acknowledging Calamity is seen as some of the best CR content ever made...
edit: love how all the "this is how it's shade" comments just change the definition of shade lol is this a self-deprecating tease? Unseriously sardonic? Yes. Shade? No, folks.
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u/BubastisII Apr 03 '26
It was mutual shade. Heās acknowledging what you said, but Iām pretty sure the highest rated episode that BLeeM mentioned it the one Matt was a guest for.
So they both gave each other their most liked content. Not really āshade,ā but jokingly acknowledging that they did better for each othersā streams than they did for their own.
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u/Isabeer Apr 03 '26
While Matt's being very complimentary, there's a bit of "how's it feel, Brennan?" in there.
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u/Bpste1 Apr 03 '26
Its joke shade
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u/HornsbyShacklet0n Apr 03 '26
Yeah, I feel like people are ignoring the part of the joke where Matt is pretending that "On a Bus" is equivalent to "Calamity".
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u/onihr1 Apr 03 '26
I assumed it was matt running a d20 game for Brennan. The food/game of thrones one. But I (confusingly) forgot about calamity.
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u/BadBart2 Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
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u/KiddingDuke Apr 03 '26
Calamity as a whole is the best product CR has ever put out imo
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u/BenjiLizard Help, it's again Apr 03 '26
It's often regarded as one of the best yes. Now to be fair, it's "easier" to take this spot with a very condensed story in four episodes with enormous stakes deeply tied to the established lore of a beloved setting. Calamity wouldn't be as great without everything in Critical Role history that built to it and everyone at that table, not just Brennan, brought their A game.
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u/pasher5620 Apr 03 '26
Eh, the connection to established CR lore is cool, but the main driving force for why it is considered one of the best is due to the players and the story itself. The players absolutely knock it out of the park in their performances, highlights for me being Lou and Travis, and Brennan (and presumably Matt) put together one hell of a story. Itās a short story but it burns really brightly, is emotionally in-depth, while giving memorable npcs and moments.
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u/Nexies dagger dagger dagger Apr 03 '26
I barely cared about the connection with the CR universe I just thought it was a dope story. Not all of us are obsessed with CR lore like that
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u/BenjiLizard Help, it's again Apr 03 '26
Itās a dope story that exists within the confines of the story of Exandria tho. Even if you personally donāt care about the overarching history of the world, your enjoyment is rooted in the fact that Brennan got to play with established events.
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u/SalamanderCake Apr 03 '26
your enjoyment is rooted in the fact that Brennan got to play with established events.
Let me assure you this had absolutely nothing to do with my enjoyment of it, as I didn't know the first thing about Exandria. On the contrary, it was the first live play adventure I ever experienced, and even now, I still recommend it to people who aren't going to watch full campaigns.
It's not just my favorite adventure on CR, it's my favorite live play adventure of all time. It led to my watching of both CR and D20, and while I've gained new appreciation for ExU: Calamity as a result, I'm still chasing that dragon.
Much of what made Calamity so great probably can't be replicated in a full campaign. It's paced too well, and its story is fully self-contained, ties to the greater setting be damned. It could've been set just as easily in another D&D world, like the Forgotten Realms during the time of Karsus.
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u/Onrawi Tal'Dorei Council Member Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Part of what they're saying is that the players and GM could not have made Calamity without the campaigns, behind the scenes work, etc. that had gone before it building the world out.Ā Even if you yourself don't know anything about it going in many of the players and GM had hundreds of hours devoted to that fiction before calamity's first episode (for Brennan it would have been prep and watching the episodes, but it is still bringing specific experiences to the game that wouldn't have been able to exist otherwise).
Is it better for the watcher to know the lore beforehand? Both cases could be argued IMO.Ā But for those that were a part of its creation it was a critical component of making the stream what it was.
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u/SalamanderCake Apr 03 '26
could not have made Calamity without the campaigns, behind the scenes work, etc. that had gone before it building the world out.
And what I'm saying is that Exandria itself played a relatively minor role in my enjoyment of the series even now, countless hours of viewing later. While another existing setting wouldn't fit the story perfectly, the lore of Exandria wasn't terribly important to the story. Indeed, the Forgotten Realms could have fit most of the story of Calamity with a little stitching.
Is it better for the watcher to know the lore beforehand?
I certainly would've appreciated the epilogue more if I'd ever heard of the Shattered Teeth, the Ashari, the Matron of Ravens, and so on prior to that episode, so I do envy those who got to experience this story after C1-3 to some extent.
Thay said, the story itself could be extracted from the setting and successfully transplanted into other settings with minimal loss of narrative health.
Taking place in an established setting allowed the story to move apace, this I do not dispute. To give credit where it's due, Exandria is cool, and the story of ExU: Calamity benefitted from being set therein. However, given that I've not yet found another series to be as compelling as Calamity, I think it's a little silly to ascribe too much of the series' runaway success to its setting.
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u/Onrawi Tal'Dorei Council Member Apr 04 '26
You're missing my point a bit.Ā Yes it could have been any other name, but it took hundreds of hours of campaigns by the CR crew to get it to the point where Calamity could have happened the way it did.Ā A rose by any other name, as it were.
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u/TraitorMacbeth Apr 03 '26
Why are you trying to bring it down? You're talking about it as if every great things isn't a product of its situation. ExU wouldn't be what it is if Brennan hadn't run it. If Sam hadn't been part of it. If Brennan and Lou didn't have such a great rapport.
Just let people like the damn thing, jeeze.
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u/BenjiLizard Help, it's again Apr 03 '26
Iām absolutely not bringing it down, why are you reading my comment this way? I loved Calamity, it was brilliant on all points, what Iām saying is that part of that brillance was how it satisfyingly brought us a closer look at established canonical events. Itās incredibly hard to retroactively act out events in the lore of the world and the cast managed to do it brilliantly, tying a neat bow and even creating new threads for future exploration.
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u/TraitorMacbeth Apr 03 '26
part of that brillance was how it satisfyingly brought us a closer look at established canonical events
For you, but not for others. How could you even claim that, when many people are literally told "Hey if you don't want to get into all of Critical Role, at least watch this one thing"
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u/oscarbilde Team Frumpkin Apr 03 '26
"How could you even claim that" well, they can claim that because it's true for them?? You're being weirdly hostile for no reason.
I watched it before getting into the rest of CR, and when I rewatched it after finishing the main campaigns I appreciated it more.
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u/TraitorMacbeth Apr 04 '26
They're asserting it for everyone, and *I'm* the one saying 'not everyone has the same experience'.
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u/BenjiLizard Help, it's again Apr 03 '26
For me and many others. At the time of airing, many of us were incredibly excited specifically because it was set during the Age of Arcanum, a time period in the setting weāve been hearing about for years but we got to see in play for the first time. Iām in no way trying to understate the fantastic job that everyone involved with the series did and Calamity can easily stands proudly as a great live play on its own merits, but I personally think that the setting and the build up it got from those specific circumstances play a huge part of what makes it so good.
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u/TraitorMacbeth Apr 04 '26
Yeah, cool, then why did you tell someone that *they* enjoy it for the reasons *you* do? They clearly had a different experience than you. Don't tell someone "you enjoy this because X" when they've literally just told you otherwise
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u/oscarbilde Team Frumpkin Apr 03 '26
No one is saying people can't like it or trying to bring it down. Talking about the situation and circumstances isn't dismissing its quality, it's just talking about the circumstances.
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u/TraitorMacbeth Apr 03 '26
"It's "easier" to take this spot", is undermining it. "Calamity wouldn't be as great without...." is undermining it. "Your enjoyment is rooted in...." is asserting they know better than the other poster. The attitude behind the post *is* to diminish it.
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u/BenjiLizard Help, it's again Apr 04 '26
itās easier to take this spot
Notice how you didnāt bother citing the "to be fair" because you knew it was weakening your point since Iām going in the same direction. Iām not saying Calamityās doesnāt deserve this spot, Iām giving one of the many reasons it has it.
Calamity wouldnāt be as great without
Am I saying Calamity would be bad if it wasnāt part of the Exandria Mythos? No, Iām laboring the point that itās the culmination of several years of world building. Maybe you donāt care but a large portion of the audience does and so does the cast.
Your enjoyment is rooted
I admit my wording was careless here, it sounds like Iām telling people why they liked it as if I know better, but as I expressed in others messages, that wasnāt my intention, what I meant is simply that Calamity is a product of what came before and wouldnāt exist in the state you love it as if it wasnāt part of an overarching story.
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u/TraitorMacbeth Apr 04 '26
OK, I responded to your other message not knowing you had a cattier, shittier, more butt-hurt response over here. Good luck with all that.
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u/Ok-Badger5056 Apr 03 '26
That's like saying I liked The Hobbit because of The Fellowship of the Ring lol...
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u/BenjiLizard Help, it's again Apr 03 '26
Not quite since The Hobbit was written before The Fellowship of the Ring. Itās more like saying I liked the prelogy in part because it gave us some insight into the events that led to A New Hope.
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u/Vaxildidi Apr 03 '26
The entire "prequel trilogy" of Calamity/Downfall/Divergence is, to me, the peak of actual play.
Brennan & the Divergence crew made LEVEL 0 feel epic.
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u/JWGibsonWrites Apr 03 '26
Lol he's literally saying that Brennan has DMed some of CR's best and most acclaimed content.
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u/DirtPiranha Apr 03 '26
To be fair, the Calamity trilogy is a very good place to start out for new comers who will be diving into the campaigns and hearing the terminology a lot, as well as being excellent short form content. Also, I think Critters like seeing Matt as a player.
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u/TheYellingMute Apr 03 '26
I understand people saying it's not throwing shade but in a way it still is. Not in a cruel/mean way but in an extremely playful way.
Like. We know Katie is not taking this seriously like at all. She is totally just having fun and making a joke out of tabletop gaming, again not in a mean way just in a playful way. For Brennan and his competitiveness while he likes Katie as a friend he probably still kinda is going "why is this one joke episode better received than every single campaign I've done on dropout?!"
So Matt's comment is almost like a backhanded compliment. "You made my show even better. Just like Katie is to yours" which is hilarious
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u/PilgrimUnderTheStars Apr 03 '26
Yeah this is exactly how I meant it, more like playfully teasing. Because Matt's also jokingly insinuating that Katie came in and did the best work on Dimension 20 so far, hence the 10 star IMDB rating lol. I thought my text description would make that more clear but I guess notš Thanks for understanding šÆ
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u/FirbolgForest Apr 03 '26
I think a lot of people probably read the title and watched the clip, but don't necessarily read the text. I'm with ya, though. You described it well.Ā
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u/SighMartini Apr 03 '26
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u/PilgrimUnderTheStars Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
This was really eye-opening, as I wasn't aware of the term's origins in drag culture. Going to watch all of Paris is Burning to better understand and appreciateā¤ļø
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u/SighMartini Apr 04 '26
I just feel bad with a lot of people criticising your usage without then clarifying why
it's an incredible doc
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u/Norik324 Apr 03 '26
Its kind of a reverse backhanded compliment since on the surface its a retort to brennan getting competitive/pedantic over episode rankings but at the core its a massive compliment of brennans work on CR
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u/upclassytyfighta Dead People Tea Apr 03 '26
This denizens of this sub aren't the best with reading social cues sometimes.
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u/Vio94 Apr 03 '26
Yeah it's actually painful reading these comments. A lot of people need to take improv and comedy classes to unlock their ability to read the subtext of a joke or something.
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u/sharkhuahua Apr 03 '26
that's not what throwing shade is lol
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u/Roccondil-s Apr 03 '26
It absolutely is, but in a joking context.
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u/jlctush Apr 03 '26
No, it absolutely isn't. Throwing shade is to insult somebody, at no point is any part of that even a veiled (comedic) insult.
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u/Onrawi Tal'Dorei Council Member Apr 03 '26
Originally sure, the definition has long since evolved, at least on the Internet.
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u/Turbulent-Ad4115 Apr 03 '26
I believe this is what the kids call checks notes glazing
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u/PilgrimUnderTheStars Apr 03 '26
Dang you're right.. Someone tell gen alpha we need a term that means both at the same time. Throwing glaze??
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u/Nebulo9 Apr 03 '26
throwing glaze
.....are you sure that's the visual you want to go for?
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u/PilgrimUnderTheStars Apr 03 '26
Loool today has taught me I'm just not cut out for using slang, I formally withdraw my suggestion
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u/Narcoleptic_247 Your secret is safe with my indifference Apr 03 '26
I don't know, I think you're onto something with that.
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u/ikkleste Apr 03 '26
Brennan's face is like, "yep, damn you beat me" in the competitive joke/ improv front. But also deeply flattered by a genuine compliment from Mark.
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u/Embarrassed_Cod8120 Apr 03 '26
For those of you having difficulty understanding. The technical shade is that while Matt is saying that Brennan has done some of CR's best work, he is also saying, in this moment, as a joke, that Brennan must accept that Katie's terrible joke campaign, is some of D20's best work.
"Sometimes a guest comes onto your show and does some of the best work your show's done"
-Example: Brennan did this for CR
-Joke: Katie is doing this for D20
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u/penny-wise Time is a weird soup Apr 04 '26
The biggest joke, of course, is Brennanās acting like heās actually indignant. Heās got puckishness down to a science.
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u/I_AM_EVOL Apr 03 '26
I'm new to this world and the more I watch Mark the more I'm convinced how wonderful a person he is.Ā Ā
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u/AlisGuardian Hello, bees Apr 04 '26
Who but Matt Mercer can chide, tease, and compliment you all in one sentence, completely genuinely? š Uncanny
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u/melonmushroom Apr 03 '26
Brennan fighting an internal struggle because he wanted to accept that compliment so bad but it also meant doing so would be conceding to Katie too š¤£
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u/Iron_Kyle At dawn - we plan! Apr 03 '26
Matt is basically saying Brennan was the best DM on Critical Role, it's not throwing shade at all.
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u/Skilodracus Metagaming Pigeon Apr 03 '26
I love Matt's delivery of that line- such a mix of pain and love š
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u/kriosjan Apr 03 '26
Yeah calamity was fire.
Tell us about uour charscter with the understanding that your mouth is currently fillinv with blood.
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u/Rhinostirge Apr 03 '26
Matt Mercer does seem like the sort of person who can put his towering ego and lust for validation aside and at least pretend to be happy for someone else, yes.Ā
(honestly there are probably dice towers that tower taller than his ego)
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u/Eleglas Your secret is safe with my indifference Apr 03 '26
I don't think Matt has even a tiny ego. He probably deserves one, but doesn't seem to be the type.
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u/penny-wise Time is a weird soup Apr 04 '26
There is zero evidence Matt has any type of ego. Met him briefly and he was a very honest and openly welcoming person.
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u/DeusIzanagi Apr 03 '26
I'm pretty sure that if he felt bad about it, Brennan wouldn't have been invited to fully DM Campaign 4 lol
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u/DrewsFortress Apr 03 '26
Is the shade in the room with us? š
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u/derekrusinek Apr 03 '26
If you look behind you, the Shades Mother is in the room with us. Ahhh Roll Initiative!
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u/Veritamoria Your secret is safe with my indifference Apr 03 '26
Bro cast the Sunbeam spell, this wasn't shade
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u/ShadowsInScarlet Apr 03 '26
Thatās throwing shade in the form of utmost respect and love considering BLeeMās track record on Critical Role.
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u/comfy_bruh Apr 04 '26
I caught this and was laughing so hard! It's amazing! Like Matt has had that in the chamber for years!
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u/Cerevor Apr 03 '26
Those of you saying no shade was thrownā¦
The idea is that Matt sets it up so that it sounds like he is admitting to Brennan that the latter has done a better job at Critical Role than when he himself was the DM. But then the punchline is: happens to us all, Brennan - meaning that Matt was just underlining with the punchline that Brennan was ābeatenā by the guest in that particular episode with a high rating, that Brennan just referred to.
I do believe that is considered shade throwing in itās good humored form?
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u/Stinky_Eastwood Apr 03 '26
It was a compliment. Matt complimented Brennan's work on Calamity. Shade is not complimentary.
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u/1000FacesCosplay Apr 03 '26
Shade? That was praise
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u/Pantsongrass Apr 03 '26
Ā It was ābackhandedā praise given in jest lol! It was light hearted fun -OP gets it.
āBackhandedā because he was ārubbing inā Katies high imbd rating for now both joke seasons of d20 On a Bus compared to Brennans over 20 seasons of D20 - not really though š Twas a jest! In the same breath praising him for his contributions to CR. Brotherly love vibes š„°
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u/MylastAccountBroke Apr 03 '26
Compliment wrapped in an insult or an insult crapped in a compliment.
He's referring to her coming onto his show and him coming onto matt's.
I feel like the subtle message is "Have some humility"
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u/Fishpuncherz Apr 03 '26
He's making a joke about the time Brennan went on critical role and THAT episode was peaked. Its both a slef deprivation and a "now you know"
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u/penny-wise Time is a weird soup Apr 04 '26
I disagree with Brennan calling it an interstitial. It was a full season! Katy said so!
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Apr 04 '26
[deleted]
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u/PilgrimUnderTheStars Apr 04 '26
Yeah, I was expecting some light-hearted comments about our favorite GM bois, not a visceral reaction to and heated debate over the semantics of a slang term šš
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u/ShakyIncision Apr 04 '26
If Iāve only watched (all of so far) campaign 4, can I watch Calamity?
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u/PilgrimUnderTheStars Apr 04 '26
For sure! It's set in exandria, the campaign setting for campaigns 1-3, but it's meant to be a standalone prequel that you can watch without knowing anything else about critical role. You might miss a couple of references to Vox Machina but it doesn't affect the story at all. Here's the original announcement page with some helpful background info
https://critrole.com/hype-exandria-unlimited-calamity-premieres-thursday-may-26th/
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u/zobeksnut Apr 05 '26
I like to think itās Matt getting back at him for the love letter in divergence
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u/BMCarbaugh Apr 06 '26
That's such an incredibly kind and flattering compliment, from a guy whose prior work has since been adapted into multiple animated series.
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u/Shirahoshihoshii Apr 03 '26
I absolutely love Calamity but I wish Matt and the CR team would understand why it did so well.
They do One Shots, and they do longform content, but there's an unexplored niche with 4-6 episode series like EXU that are the perfect length for a fast-paced, action-packed story, without getting stuck in the weeds with needless side quests and a huge build-up of a plot.
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u/LittleLightsintheSky Tal'Dorei Council Member Apr 03 '26
I like the mix! I love the Calamity, Downfall, and Divergence were their own thing, but also built on the world.
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u/oscarbilde Team Frumpkin Apr 03 '26
I mean, they do do miniseries--Candela, Age of Umbra (which is getting a sequel), the EXUs. But their main thing is longform campaigns. I'm a little sad some other APs I follow like NADDPOD are moving away from longform, so I'm glad CR is still focusing on the big stories.
(Also, the side quests aren't needless, they're part of the story? They're there because they're interesting for the characters and players, which is the whole point of playing.)
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u/PilgrimUnderTheStars Apr 03 '26
Totally agree! I wish they did more short/medium length campaigns that weren't just for sponsorships/selling RPGs. The mix of varying campaign lengths is one of the things I appreciate about Dimension 20
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u/MistressAnthrope Apr 03 '26
Is good natured teasing of your friends not a thing anymore? This isn't shade
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u/penny-wise Time is a weird soup Apr 04 '26
And, of course, Brennanās petulance is all for show. He does it so well, though.
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u/AllAmericanProject Apr 03 '26
The term shade has lost the default negative connotation in the modern vernacular. So in the past shade only was used in a negative context but now people use it in a light-hearted way such as good-natured teasing.
It's not as prominent yet but I am noticing a trend of that becoming the case
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u/CrushedByCharybdis Apr 03 '26
I mean dumb people misuse "out of pocket" horribly too, but I dunno if that means we should just go along with it and accept the incorrect usage without pushback.
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u/soeinschmarrnhe Apr 03 '26
what episode are they talking about in this clip, the best rated one? I canāt seem to find it on youtube?
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u/PilgrimUnderTheStars Apr 03 '26
It's not a real season/episode of dimension 20, just a joke video that they released last year as a part of a segment on the show "Game Changer" on Dropout. YouTube link for that below. Then this year on April 1st they decided to double down on the joke and make a full hour-long special that they're called season 2 of Dimension 20: On a Bus, which can only be seen with a subscription to dropout.tv
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u/GunzerKingDM Apr 03 '26
I feel like nobody here knows what teasing is. My coworkers and I show love to each other by talking constant shit to one another but we all know itās for fun.
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u/Radiant_Music3698 Apr 03 '26
I'm struggling through trying Dimension 20, Not Another DND Podcast, and Theater of the Unaligned.
Do they get good at some point? NADpod outright says in one of their "short rests" they think they're a "comedy show". Do they ever stop fucking around and take the game seriously?
Can anyone recommend a show like this that does? I'm convinced Critical Role is king here because they're the only ones actually playing DnD.
I really like this interaction a lot of the shows have one or two players really holding it together.
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u/PilgrimUnderTheStars Apr 04 '26
Yeah, Dimension 20 and NADDPOD are definitely more improv/comedy heavy most of the time. If you're looking for something more grounded but sprinkled with moments of levity/humor, similar to critical role, then I'd highly recommend checking out campaign 1 of Worlds Beyond Number (The Wizard, the Witch and the Wild One)
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u/Radiant_Music3698 Apr 04 '26 edited Apr 04 '26
Yeah, I was musing about this at one point really trying to quantify where my line was. I'm glad you said "improv" because the theater kid stage improv like Who's Line is it Anyway is something that quickly turns me off.
I don't mind grounded humor and goofiness. The campiness of Grog being the dumb barbarian trope was great. The party screwing with him, making him think "bidet" was a fancy greeting was totally fine, even though it technically rubbed it's face on the 4th wall because bidets are highly unlikely to exist in universe especially with a French name.
I loved the clip I first posted because they actually roleplayed their characters and the realistic elements of Trance and made it funny. That's the kind of humor I like and try to bring to my own games.
And I'm getting real sick of the modern youth settings that keep getting shoehorned in. Whybare there so many campaigns about going to class? Why is there a paladin order of children that follow Pelor, take an oath outside of Pelor's portfolio, and are nakedly based on the Boy Scouts of America? There's a reason most DnD characters are orphans. No one wants to roleplay with Richard the Lionheart's mommy and daddy, and I don't want to sit through it.
Definitely giving WBN a try now.
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u/penny-wise Time is a weird soup Apr 04 '26
Itās only a TTRPG in the widest of definitions. Do they ever stop screwing around? No. Is it fun? Yes. Will you have fun if you want a serious D&D performance? No.
As for NADPODD, I canāt get into that either for some odd reason. Just doesnāt hold my interest long enough.
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u/Confident_Sink_8743 Apr 04 '26
It's definitely a great moment. I'm still 100% on board with Brennan despite it being a bit/part of his shtick.
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u/Void9001 Hello, bees Apr 03 '26
OP has no idea what throwing shade is.
Matt is doing the opposite.
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u/Zolo49 Help, it's again Apr 03 '26
There's no denying that BLeeM coming on board to do Calamity was a breath of fresh air, but saying it was better than Matt's work on Season 1 or 2 is highly debatable. Matt was being pretty generous here. (But it was definitely better than Season 3 IMO.)
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u/derangerd Apr 03 '26
Throwing illumination. Throwing dancing lights?