Warning: spoilers ahead
Welcome back to a weekly segment where I think critically (pun still intended) about the latest episode of Critical Role to see what lessons we can bring to our own D&D games.
Last week, I focused on a couple tips for DMs. This week I think it was the players that had something to teach us. The overarching theme to this week is that players should be proactive. Think about how you and your party should grow as people. Look for ways to use the events you encounter to move in that direction.
Agent Coulson’s… whoops… I mean Mollymauk Tealeaf’s death inspired a lot of character development this week. But what stood out to me was how the character development was intentional. The players weren’t just responding off the cuff to Molly’s death, they were thinking about how their character could evolve to fit better within the group:
In this situation, Sam could just as easily have had Molly’s death reinforce Nott’s fears and make her pull back from the group. That may even have been more “in character.” But your goal is not to play your original character concept as accurately as possible. Your goal is to tell an authentic, believable story about how this fragile person rose above their flaws and forged a group of heroes against all the odds.
One of the most common answers I hear when someone is defending an annoying character choice they made is “that’s what my character would do.” On one level, this is a completely valid response. D&D is about role playing people very different from ourselves, people who often have serious flaws. The suboptimal plays our characters make are what give D&D stories that wonky, unpredictable nature that we love.
But I do think a party has reason to be frustrated if a player continually wrecks the team’s plans because it’s “in character.” People aren’t set in stone. If you were hanging out with a group of people and you continually did things that pissed everyone in the group off, you would probably either leave the group or work on that part of your personality.
You should always respect the character decisions that you made initially, and the decisions others made for their characters. You want your character to have flaws and interesting twists, rather than quickly morphing into Captain America. But real people change and improve when they spend time with others and do good things.
One of my favorite moments this episode was when Nott presses Caleb on his motivations for rescuing Fjord, Jester, and Yasha. He does it multiple times. It’s clear that he wants Caleb to commit to saving these people as his friends, not just tools for finding revenge. I love this because Sam is going a step even further than just looking for how his character can grow. He’s thinking about other players’ characters and how he can help them grow.
Role playing and improv are really difficult. That‘s why I think it’s completely natural that we fall back on the reductive list of initial traits and flaws we wrote on our character sheet and say “it’s what my character would do.” Real, dynamic characters who grow over time are hard. We should help each other when we can.
When you have an idea for a moment of growth for another character, share it! Start a discussion in character with the rogue saying you’re proud of how the party saved the town. Give that other player a hook to grab on to and run with if they want: “it does feel pretty good, doesn’t it…”
Your DM puts a lot of time and effort into preparing for each adventure. But their work will fall apart if the story is filled with a bunch of flat characters who never form any relationships. The DM makes the world and the bad guys, it’s up to you and the other players to make sure there’s a band of lovable heroes.
I was really impressed when the Mighty Nein entered Shady Creek Run. Usually, entering a new town means that the DM is going to do a lot of talking and dropping hints about where the plot hooks are. But in this episode, Matt actually did less talking than a normal episode. I think it’s because the players give him a lot to work with.
The Mighty Nein does a good job of planning and forming potential goals well before they reach the town. They also develop “superfluous” interests, like Jester’s love of pastries and Caleb’s love of books.
Because of this, Matt has a lot to go off when putting a town together. He doesn’t need to guide the party around to find the plot hooks because he knows where they’re probably going to go. He can just put things in those locations.
Bonus DM Tip: If your players start exploring the town without your prodding, find a way to reward that! This will encourage them to look in those places more in the future, which helps you put your players in charge of the action.
A lot of players just show up and move through each encounter while remaining fairly static. For a casual game there’s nothing wrong with this. But if you’re looking for a truly memorable, powerful D&D campaign, I think that the players need to be proactive.
How can your character turn their flaws into assets to the group and the story?
How can you help other party members grow?
How can you help the DM develop a clear picture of where your party will go and what you’ll seek out in the future?
Hopefully these tips can help you and your party feel like you’re part of something just a little bit more epic and heroic.
