Dungeons and Dragons (or DnD for short) has transformed my life in ways I had not imagined it ever could. I didn’t even pay attention to the game until last August, where my friend James mentioned a Youtube series to me. This series is called “Critical Role”, which the Storyteller/Game Master Matthew Mercer describes as “a bunch of nerdy ass voice actors sitting around playing Dungeons and Dragons.” I decided to watch it, and by the end of the first episode I was entirely hooked.

Now, to step back a bit, what exactly is DnD? I know we have all heard of it, and I also know we all have the same stereotypical image of nerdy teenagers sitting around a table in a dimly lit basement rolling dice and playing pretend. While that image hits a little close to home, it is honestly not that far off, albeit it is lacking some depth. This is how I, personally, would describe Dungeons and Dragons: A tabletop role-playing game where a group of player created characters set off on adventures taking place in a world created by the Game Master. The Game Master (GM) tells a story, which is influenced by game mechanics such as rolling dice.

You see, DnD is really more of an engine rather than a full fledged game. It has a couple basic rule books, but other than that the creative liberty is entirely up to the GM and those who play in the GM’s campaign. It is a vehicle for storytelling above all, and that is why I love it so much. It lets you tell any story you want.

Going back to Critical Role, there are two reasons why this show has a special place in my heart. The first of which is its story. Throughout the first season (115 four hour episodes), we get to know the characters as well as their actors quite well.

There’s Vex, the Half-Elf Ranger with a bold personality, there’s twin Vax, the Half-Elf Rogue with a quiet, brooding attitude, there’s Keyleth, the happy-go-lucky Druid, there’s Percy, the witty Human Gunslinger descended from royalty, there’s Grog, the simple, unintelligent Barbarian with a heart of gold, there’s Pike, a charitable and sweet Gnome Cleric for her god Sarenrae, and last but certainly not least, there’s Scanlan, a charismatic and perpetually promiscuous Gnome Bard.

All of these characters are played expertly by their actors, and they all have an incredible amount of depth and complexity to them. I’ve laughed my ass off and bawled my eyes out to this show, and it has had such an incredible influence on me. DnD is much less about rolling dice and killing bad guys, and much more about telling a story and playing the role of a dynamic character in a challenging world.

The second reason I love Critical Role is the community. All the people who watch Critical Role (dubbed Critters) form a vastly diverse, kind, and accepting community. Occasionally, the cast of Critical Role will air an episode live, and there will be thousands of people watching it in person. When they are not live in person, they are live broadcasting on a website called Twitch, where they sometimes receive upwards of 50,000 live viewers. Almost every single one of these 50,000+ people have an unending stream of compassion for everyone around them (which I’ve personally experienced every time I’ve met another Critter in person).

I honestly do not know where I would be without this show. It’s always been a place for me to go if life gets difficult, and everyone in the community is there to support me. I’m very grateful that I stumbled into this community, and I’m going to continue being a Critter for a long, long time.