So recently the world’s largest tabletop roleplaying actual-play, “Critical Role”, announced that they would be playing “Dungeons & Dragons” 2024 edition for their upcoming Season 4. This was rather shocking news to many, since Darrington Press (the publishing arm of “Critical Role”) released “Daggerheart” as a direct competitor to D&D earlier this year, and it was assumed by most that the CR team would just transition from D&D 5E (2014) to DH with Season 4.
Hell, CR even did a short adventure series using “Daggerheart” earlier this summer, which was seen by many as a test run before Season 4 begins later this year. So what happened?
Well, a lot of things could have happened. First of all, despite how popular “Daggerheart” has been, it is still not the juggernaut that D&D is, nor should it have to be. D&D has been going for over 50 years now, where DH only has a few months under its belt. While I personally see DH as the superior fantasy TTRPG when compared to D&D 2024, and I’m sure many others feel the same way, that really doesn’t matter at this point. The simple truth is that D&D is synonymous with tabletop roleplaying, and “Daggerheart” is just another TTRPG to most folks.
But that aside, there are people who point out that “Daggerheart” is selling like hotcakes, while the new edition of D&D just… isn’t. So wouldn’t “Critical Role” want to play the game that is more popular right now, regardless of how popular D&D is overall? Furthermore, why wouldn’t CR want to play “Daggerheart” as a way to advertise their new game, rather than continue to advertise D&D, which is in direct competition to their own game?
Well, look at it this way: “Daggerheart” is selling well, and looks like it will continue to do so, regardless of what CR plays on Season 4. They can still play D&D, and advertise DH during these shows, if they wish. They can continue to hold onto their “D&D or Nothing”-fanbase, of which some of their Critters are, while still making bank with their own game. Also, with the last season of “Stranger Things” coming, “Critical Role” can grasp onto the coattails of that vastly bigger television show, enjoy one last blast of popularity of D&D, then move on using their own system for Season 5, if they choose.
Also, “Wizards of the Coast”, through their corporate owners Hasbro, could have thrown a boatload of money at “Critical Role” to use D&D for one, last season. I have no sources to support that, just my own impression that it is possible, considering how much the new edition of D&D is floundering. Let’s be honest: WotC/Hasbro need D&D 2024 to succeed, and they are capitalizing on whatever good advertising they can get. “Stranger Things” and “Critical Role” are two of the biggest, most impactful ways D&D has been advertised for years. They cannot lose CR, not now, not while “Daggerheart” is frankly eating their lunch in sales.
So perhaps did WotC throw some money at CR, to stick with D&D for Season 4? It wouldn’t shock me if they did, and to be honest, I wouldn’t blame them if they did. It’s just good business, as far as they are concerned.
I will say that I’m a bit disappointed that “Critical Role” chose to use D&D 2024 as their system for Season 4, but I understand why they did it. They are playing a game that is similar enough to D&D 5E (2014) that their viewers will follow along just fine. They are enjoying the overall popularity of D&D as a brand, without taking a chance on losing viewers by moving to their popular-but-still-niche system, “Daggerheart”. And finally, they may well have struck a deal with Hasbro/WotC to keep using D&D, while their own game continues to sell well, regardless of what they play on the show.
Frankly, “Critical Role” doesn’t really lose, regardless of what they do here.
