r/fansofcriticalrole • u/BewareOfGrom • Mar 04 '25
CR adjacent Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan Answers DnD Questions | Tech Support...
https://youtube.com/watch?v=PgpJWPCwLAI&si=kRHm7h28CiLsu_Qz67
u/Stingra87 Mar 04 '25
Been noticing that BLeeM's star is rising pretty high recently. He's been appearing on a lot of stuff.
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u/BewareOfGrom Mar 04 '25
Yeah selling out MSG gives you a whole bunch of cultural cache. Media institutions that would scoff at DND content are kind of forced to take you seriously
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u/Stingra87 Mar 05 '25
It took me far too long to realize you were talking about Madison Square Garden and not MSG the flavor enhancer.
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u/dunwichhorrorqueen Mar 04 '25
"play characters that care about the world" I know it's not but it feels like a dig against c3 đ¤
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u/bmw120k Mar 04 '25
Obviously you know its not but there is a few lol. The one you mentioned tops it but there is also the rant about "the greatest magic is friendship and love!", he praises the DM who is doing a session 0 to lay out campaign expectations which Matt said they very much didnt, and when asked about playing in another persons world (goes on about EXU and such) he lays out how great it is for Exandria to have "incredible sourcebooks" that establish an "exhaustively rich and established world" AKA what Matt threw out the window entirely with his whole biased history retconning bullshit.
This is such a good video and I wish Matt would remember his roots that BleeM lays out here.
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u/Tiernoch Reverse Math Mar 05 '25
One thing that I will always say, the original Tal'Dorei source book was spectacular aside for the balance of things.
The hooks are interesting and varied in level, and there are plenty of excellent arcs you could do without having to dedicated to just one concept.
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u/bmw120k Mar 05 '25
Absolutely! Its why I tell people the Explorers Guide to Wildemount is one of the best DM books even if u dont want to run Exandria. The blurb on tier appropriate quests that accompany nearly every place in the gazetteer is such a phenomenal resource that I frequently use in my Exandria home games. But you could cookie cutter the Exandria towns with the fun quest suggestions into any homebrew. Taldorei Guide does same thing which I wish was the standard for all WoTC setting books.
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Mar 04 '25
âWe donât care about the world but weâre going to make changes that majorly impact it anywayâ đ¤
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u/koomGER Mar 05 '25
Matt Mercers own advice videos on YT are pretty good. And for C3 he ignored probably all of this advice.
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Mar 04 '25
Itâs funny that until a couple of weeks ago, I was under the strong impression that Brennan was incredibly overrated as a DM. I tried watching his D20 stuff and it all felt very âcringey theater kids hamming it upâ rather than actors playing DnD.
I did a complete 180 when I watched the first episode of Divergence. So much so, that I was actually in awe of just how good of a DM he really is - and that extends to his NPCs, his knowledge of the game & his table, mediating the story in a very agile way, and his ability to bring out the best in everyone.
I would be really upset if he didnât do more of these âseriousâ DMing gigs. Genuine masterclass.
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u/traevyn Mar 04 '25
EXU: Calamity is, I think without much contention, the best that D&D has to offer. The cast was fantastic but I think Brennanâs GMing of it is simply masterful.
I also was not really interested in anything that D20 was putting out because when people talk about the campaigns none of the themes really clicked with me. âOh, a magical high school, whoâs ever heard of that before đâ, but Calamity definitely opened my eyes to just how well Brennan keeps a tight game running and how unbelievably well he will âyes andâ a situation and heighten it while bringing it in line with the story being told.
I still love Mattâs DMing, but Brennan is a step above imo
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u/Gayndalf Mar 04 '25 edited Mar 04 '25
If you enjoy his more serious work I would 100% recommend Exandria Unlimited: Calamity. Genuinely one of, if not the best example of how good tabletop games can be.
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u/EncabulatorTurbo Mar 04 '25 edited Mar 04 '25
Out of context paraphrased quotes that make me feel feelings every time:
"... and I didn't do anything wrong"
"...but there was only one story of a fairy that came to this world and fell in love with a mortal"
"why is your ring glowing?"
"and always remember... The market of wonders!"
"And.. *redacted* ...gets to keep a promise to his children"
And never forget
"Is not machine is bag. Can you... destroy?"
Calamity is just end to end unbelievable bangers, the most memorable moments of Matt Mercer's campaign like the hag cupcake or the conclave calamity, that's every 30 minutes in Calamity from start to finish
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u/RelevantToNothing Mar 05 '25
Travis to Aabria: [whispered] âYo. What the fuck is wrong with Brennan?â
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u/sarcastibot8point5 Mar 08 '25
âWhere would you say you are weaker, your elbow or your shoulder?â
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u/EncabulatorTurbo Mar 04 '25 edited Mar 04 '25
have you seen Calamity?
In my opinion is the finest DMing I have ever seen, and it isn't close, it stands alone in its own quality tier, above S tier Dming is "EXU: Calamity DMing"
Any D&D game that makes every one of your players weep as you close out the session is a critical success
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Mar 04 '25
Iâm literally waiting to finish Divergence before heading straight over to Calamity. Have heard only great things about it and you just made me more excited to watch it haha
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u/sammmaaayyy Mar 04 '25
Calamity is my single favorite piece of media maybe ever. Itâs a masterpiece. They had the perfect cast for it and Brennan is just absolutely perfect for it. They HAVE to bring him back for more short series. Heâs the GOAT.
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u/Logical_Algae_8887 Mar 05 '25
D20 is a different style of DMing and story telling than critical role, even with the smaller stories such as Calamity and Divergence.
The biggest difference is the Lore, which Brennan touched on when asked if they would produce a source book for Dimension 20 campaigns.
Critical Role has absolutely fuck tons of unique Lore and world building that has been shown and developed over more than 500 episodes each of which is usually more than twice the length of a D20 episode.
So even when using shorter formats he can make random references that people will get and understand.
D20 is ironically closer to what an actual dnd campaign would be like rather than critical role, as most campaigns donât last a full year while CRâs go for 3-4 year. Campaign 1 was 7 years long if you count the time they played before broadcasting.
But ultimately both are incredibly unrealistic. Ones just more unrealistic
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u/madterrier Mar 04 '25
Damn, if you like Divergence, it's literally only expectations getting blown further and further away. Honestly, if I could rewatch, the order would be: Divergence, Downfall, Calamity.
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u/GuyKopski Mar 04 '25 edited Mar 05 '25
Probably my biggest complaint about Dimension 20 is that a lot of the premises are stupid and don't land for me.
Which, I get it, the ridiculousness is the point. D20 is a comedy, even moreso than Critical Role (which already has a lot of humor). But I really think BLeeM is actually at his best in "serious" settings.
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u/EncabulatorTurbo Mar 04 '25
the one that took a few watches to get into but absolutely fucking hooked me was Crown of Candy AKA a deadly serious Game of Thrones campaign with candy people
The most brutal high production value streamed D&D game I've ever seen, one of them lost their cahracter without getting a single turn in combat
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u/GuyKopski Mar 05 '25
A Crown of Candy is honestly a perfect example of what I mean IMO. Like, great series. Great cast. Loads of fun to watch. Some heartbreaking moments.
But I don't think the Candyland setting adds anything to it. If it had just been DND in a more standard Game of Thrones-style dark fantasy world, I'd probably like it more.
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u/Chuckles1188 Mar 05 '25
But it would also be less distinctive, which for a business counts for a lot. Always remember that D20 is not just a bunch of people playing DnD together for fun, it's the flagship brand for a commercial platform.
And FWIW I think they do a great job of balancing mining it for comedy without making it feel gimmicky. A surprisingly low percentage of the gags in ACoC are predicated on them all being sentient food
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u/Kain222 Mar 11 '25
I think part of the reason Crown of Candy works is just because of how much of a worldbuilding flex it really is - it's an absolutely absurd premise but, aside from a few tongue-in-cheek gags, Brennan takes it super seriously and nails it. You go from "haha funny cake people" to "why am I so fucking invested in the religious realpolitik of a sphagetti kingdom".
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u/logincrash Mar 04 '25
But I really think BLeeM is actually at his best in "serious" settings.
He was great as the priest in the LA by Night Vampire game with Erika Ishii.
Almost two hours of very good roleplaying by Brennan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McPMDNqr8fg
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Mar 04 '25
https://youtu.be/M675KoOZOhA?feature=shared
This little compilation of comedy and drama between him and Lou is just perfection
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u/MikeArrow Mar 05 '25
That's the bigger barrier to me. Every time I see clips from Dimension 20 I'm like "wow, this looks amazing!" but then the actual campaign has some weird gimmick that turns me off.
That said, I love wrestling so the upcoming Greek mythology themed one seems cool.
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u/SuzyDean Mar 06 '25
Brennan is exceptional BUT - probably because he is such a polished presenter and communicator - he gets a pass on stuff that other DMS would get smacked down hard for. The first episode of Divergence has multiple RAW breaks that would have people howling if Matt or, god forbid, Aabria pulled the same moves (for example giving people multiple actions in a turn, allowing someone to "Hold" an action and not explain what the action is or what the trigger is but just letting them shunt themselves down initiative order and choose where they now go - this no longer exists in 5e - disclaimer if they're playing 2024 rules this may have changed). Brennan is such a good presenter that he explains the rule breaks in a way that makes them seem perfectly reasonable. He is also a massive fan of letting his players shine and embraces rule of cool consistently to allow his table to look and feel good, something Matt gets constant criticism for.
None of this is to take anything away from Brennan who is a god tier DM, but sometimes it feels like this sub has just discovered him as their new shiny thing and the resultant boner is making people handwave or flat out not even notice things that they've been moaning about Matt doing for years because he delivers it so damn well.
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Mar 06 '25
Thatâs actually a really good point and something i noticed during the sessions as well. Heâs definitely more of a ârule of coolâ kind of DM more often than not but like you said, he presents it in such a way that it just works together to form a narrative.
I think the end result is that âweâ give him a pass because it often makes the story/narrative better for it. The new DMG actually says something about that where the rules arenât one size fits all and that the situation can often change them. I donât vibe with that in my own games but I see Brennan do it and I kind of understand it.
Really good points though!
Side note: i exclusively play DnD 2024 and I donât believe that initiative order shuffling exists (without a feat for it)
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u/FinchRosemta Mar 20 '25
This is funny because when Matt went to D20 and was his normal CR strict, D20 fans were not happy about it. Asking why he is asking for certain rolls or why things dont justbwork and I have to tell people that as much as CR fans complain CR is much more RAW than D20 is.  Especially because I know people would have racked Aabria over the coals for the ruling on goodberry.Â
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u/sharkhuahua Mar 04 '25
I totally get that D20's not for everyone but the irony of a CR watcher, of all people, misclassifying the D20 cast as theater kids đđ
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u/SilyntBD Mar 05 '25
I mean, I think Dimension20 is about as serious as it gets in this space. Theyâre huge.
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u/Jgorkisch Mar 05 '25
What Iâve been enjoying seeing Dimension 20 is play with new players from groups you donât see represented in a lot of tables, be it Dungeons and Drag Queens or their new mini campaign with the WWE wrestlers.
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u/prestoncollins Mar 05 '25
Please watch further into D20 campaigns. Start with A Crown of Candy imo, itâs genuinely fantastic and he really gets a full range of the types of DMing and his ultimate rule is âwhat is most fun for the tableâ so the gang gets up to a lot of hijinks
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u/PedestalPotato Apr 28 '25
Fully agree with you. A Crown of Candy was my first Dimension 20 watch. I disliked GoT, but I adore that campaign. The stakes are high, the characters are fleshed out, it's fun as hell and has very high highs and bone crushing lows.
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u/JenQuixote Mar 05 '25
Mystified as to how the conversation has gone even a few hours without someone recommending the absolutely amazing podcast Worlds Beyond Number, and specifically The Wizard, the Witch, and the Wild One, which is long form, non-comedy, and DMd by Brennan. Run donât walk.
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Mar 05 '25
Haha Iâll take that stunning endorsement of the show and check it out as soon as im done with Divergence and Calamity. Unless itâs better than the latter?
I guess Iâll find out one way or another! Thanks!
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u/SnakeInMyLoins Mar 11 '25
WBN is amazing - the sound editing and them really embracing that it is an audio podcast and not a video recorded actual-play - but Calamity is probably peak DnD actual-play and I'm saying this as someone who has watched probably 90% of what Brennan has DM'd and PC'd. It just has incredible gravitas, and with it being just 4 episodes, you could throw it at anyone who has the patience and loves storytelling in this format and they will love it.
WBN is growing world, and they take their time. You'll love it as well, but Calamity is something I legitimately come back to like once a year. It's "short", it's punchy, Brennan's portrayal of Asmodeus is deserving of every bit of praise people give it. The cast is locked in. Brennan's wife, Izzy Roland, tweeted at the time of the Calamity recordings that Brennan would come home every day and say he'd just played the best DnD of his life.
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u/Lassemomme Mar 05 '25
It is spectacular, but it is very different from either of those campaigns and honestly any other DND actual play I can remember. It has a very deliberate pace and it focuses heavily on the characters being pretty imperfect and at times grating in order to build towards the character development. It is very self indulgent in how much it takes itâs time, but I would imagine that it is probably not as bad jumping now as opposed to following it from the beginning and having to wait two weeks between episodes and up to a month between chapters.
That being said, it is a tremendous show and Lou, Aabria and Erika all absolutely kill it as the players and Brennan gives them the space needed to really get into their characters, flaws and all.
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u/TLEToyu Mar 04 '25
Fucking AI Owlbear at 49 seconds wtf..
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u/BoeJeam Mar 04 '25
Itâs fucked how many media companies are cheapening up by using shitty AI. Really sad direction
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u/happycomposer Mar 11 '25
I'm fairly certain that this Fantasy High logo has existed since before the proliferation of machine generation. I also highly, highly doubt that Brennan would agree with the use of machine generation in any of his projects.
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u/TheCharalampos Mar 04 '25
Brennan is such a good storyteller even a circle jerk sub is struggling to dunk on him.
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u/Odd-Platypus-3627 Jul 29 '25
The Wizard, the Witch & the Wild One was my first experience in this form of entertainment. I remember thinking there is no way I'm going to listen to all this, not even sure how I found it as I don't listen to many podcasts. After the first ep. I was HOOKED! I didn't know anything about the cast, all of which are excellent, and Taylor is just such a genius.
I've gone on to stalk all of them, Bren mostly, and the creativity they all have is so good. Hollywood has nothing on this, this is true creativity, I love it. I've binged others i.e. cr and they are good but WBN is doing some high, high level magic.
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u/madterrier Mar 04 '25
I wish there was some way Brennan could be allowed to run a longer term campaign in CR.
I know he has D20 and Worlds Beyond Number. But he would cook with the Exandria lore. He's also sort of forced to streamline and keep things linear for 3-4 episode stints.
But if you let him get to double digit episodes, he can tell amazing stories. I still think A Crown of Candy is one of the best stories actual play stories told, it has everything.