Critical Role Abridged is a condensed version of the Campaign Three: Bells Hells episodes. Each episode is edited to capture the crucial plot points, characters, and worldbuilding in about 60-90 minutes per episode, either to get started with Critical Role, catch up to the current episodes, or rewatch. Each episode also contains new pieces of artwork for the key characters, items and moments to provide greater visual details.
Production[]
Critical Role Abridged was one of the first items of new content to be announced at the release of Critical Role's new membership service Beacon, along with the actual play podcast The Re-Slayer's Take and the Beacon exclusive series Critical Role Cooldown.
Critical Role Abridged began with Critical Role's third campaign, Bells Hells, with new episodes airing every Tuesday at 10am Pacific on Youtube and on podcast at 5am Pacific on any major podcast streaming service. The episodes on Beacon are currently 22 episodes ahead of the ones available on YouTube and podcast.
Beacon members initially received the first 12 episodes on the launch date with two new episodes dropping every week on Tuesdays and Fridays for several weeks before being reduced to Tuedays only from August 13, 2024.[1] To celebrate the launch of Beacon, they released the first four episodes on YouTube over the next week after the launch.[2] Critical Role announced via their programming schedule for the week of June 23, 2025 that Critical Role Abridged will take a short break due to the crew being in Australia for the 10th Anniversary Live Tour and will come back the following Tuesday July 1st on both Youtube and Beacon.[3]
The opening cinematic for Campaign Three has been quite a bit altered for the beginning of each Abridged episodes. Providing a group shot of Bells Hells right at the start, removing some individual character presentation sequences as well as mixing up the order of the characters and cast presentation compared to the original opening.
List of episodes[]
This list only includes episodes available on YouTube.
Campaign Three: Bells Hells[]
| No. | Title | Original airdate | Link | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Draw of Destiny" | 2024-05-10 | VOD | 1:23:50 |
| Disparate souls collide in the mountain spires of Jrusar when three different groups of adventurers meet during a battle against an unusual array of enemies... | ||||
| 2 | "Trial by Firelight" | 2024-05-10 | VOD | 1:12:32 |
| The three groups of adventurers slowly begin to form a cohesive unit as a tentative alliance is forged with the vigilant and mysterious Lord Eshteross... | ||||
| 3 | "The Trail and the Toll" | 2024-05-14 | VOD | 1:03:28 |
| While investigating a series of thefts at the behest of their potential patron, the group stumbles onto something much more dangerous than they anticipated, with lasting consequences... | ||||
| 4 | "On the Trail of a Killer" | 2024-05-17 | VOD | 1:02:49 |
| Determined to avenge a tragic loss, the group takes to the streets in search of answers, but their probing into Jrusar's secrets could have dangerous ramifications... | ||||
| 5 | "The Threat Between the Walls" | 2024-05-21 | VOD | 1:03:37 |
| After stumbling into a literal den of thieves, the group picks up their quarry’s trail and seek the end of the thread they’ve pulled… | ||||
| 6 | "Growing Bonds and Teasing Threads" | 2024-05-28 | VOD | 1:03:14 |
| The group celebrates their success by getting to know each other better and looking into the background of Orym's contact in the city, but the past is following one of them closely... | ||||
| 7 | "Behind the Curtain" | 2024-06-04 | VOD | 1:06:29 |
| After a performance goes slightly awry, the group begins investigating the strange disappearances that have all taken place in and around the Dreamscape Theater... | ||||
| 8 | "A Woodworker's Quandary" | 2024-06-11 | VOD | 1:00:55 |
| The group gets to know a very unusual new friend who requests their help in a missing person's case while Dorian Storm receives some unwelcome tidings from a beloved family member... | ||||
| 9 | "Thicker Grows the Meal and Plot" | 2024-06-18 | VOD | 1:11:03 |
| The group continues their search for Chetney Pock O'Pea's missing friend, even as their discoveries yield stranger and stranger reports about the man they're looking for... | ||||
| 10 | "Ghosts Dates and Darker Fates" | 2024-06-25 | VOD | 1:03:28 |
| After a successful but interrupted burglary, the party splits in order to follow leads, go on a date, and investigate the machinations of the mysterious Nightmare King... | ||||
| 11 | "Chasing Nightmares" | 2024-07-02 | VOD | 1:12:25 |
| The group comes face to face with the terrifying entity known as the Nightmare King but the interaction leaves only questions to an increasingly perplexing puzzle... | ||||
| 12 | "Make It Fashion" | 2024-07-09 | VOD | 1:09:30 |
| The group readies themselves for the ball while beginning to piece together a cryptic puzzle of criss-crossing threads of fate... | ||||
| 13 | "A Dance of Deception" | 2024-07-16 | VOD | 1:03:41 |
| With a heist somewhat planned, the group attends the masquerade ball but have trouble keeping a low profile as various complications arise... | ||||
| 14 | "In Too Deep" | 2024-07-23 | VOD | 1:13:01 |
| The ball takes several unexpected twists and turns when dancing shifts to fighting and fighting shifts to fleeing... | ||||
| 15 | "The Tunnels Below" | 2022-07-30 | VOD | 1:09:07 |
| Bells Hells awaken to the repercussions of their antics at the ball, but the unwanted attention of certain parties could be the key to unraveling some of Jrusar’s mysteries… | ||||
| 16 | "The Shade Mother" | 2024-08-06 | VOD | 1:13:50 |
| With a new alliance made, Bells Hells discover an unsettling entity within the mines beneath the city whose terrors are more potent than any of them bargained for... | ||||
| 17 | "Heart-to-Heartmoor" | 2024-08-13 | VOD | 1:02:24 |
| With a strange job to take and stranger mysteries to chase, Bells Hells prepares for their journey into the Oderan Wilds while opening up about their lives and their secrets... | ||||
| 18 | "A Hungry Jungle" | 2022-08-20 | VOD | 1:02:18 |
| While traveling to the Heartmoor Hamlet, Bells Hells find their night's rest interrupted by an enormous fey plant creature intent on devouring them whole... | ||||
| 19 | "Omens Above" | 2024-08-27 | VOD | 1:05:59 |
| Newly arrived in the Heartmoor Hamlet, Bells Hells seek answers to long-sought questions and prepare for the midnight museum heist... | ||||
| 20 | "Breaking and Entering..." | 2024-09-03 | VOD | 1:03:47 |
| With the heist underway, Bells Hells explore the traps and trinkets of the Twilight Mirror Museum, finding unexpected dangers as they venture deeper into the vault... | ||||
| 21 | "Fight at the Museum..." | 2024-09-10 | VOD | 1:06:41 |
| Bells Hells may have located their quarry, but the heist is far from over as they face down freshly formed formidable foes... | ||||
| 22 | "Promise and Potential" | 2024-09-17 | VOD | 1:10:33 |
| Now returned to Jrusar, Bells Hells meet with old and new allies to catch up on the city news and determine their next mission... | ||||
| 23 | "To the Skies" | 2024-09-24 | VOD | 1:05:09 |
| Bells Hells finish their business in Jrusar and take to the skies on the Silver Sun skyship, where wonders and dangers lurk among the clouds… | ||||
| 24 | "The Hellcatch Valley" | 2024-10-01 | VOD | 1:11:50 |
| Bells Hells’ fantastical flight takes them to the lawless town of Bassuras, where danger, deception, and delight lurk behind every corner… | ||||
| 25 | "A Taste of Tal'Dorei" | 2024-10-08 | VOD | 1:12:37 |
| Bells Hells explore Bassuras and the Paragon's Call stronghold while getting to know their new friend Dusk, whose past strangely intersects with one of their own... | ||||
| 26 | "Hidden Truths" | 2024-10-15 | VOD | 1:10:35 |
| Bells Hells seek out allies and options in their evolving plan to infiltrate Paragon’s Call… | ||||
| 27 | "A Race to the Prize" | 2024-10-22 | VOD | 1:03:49 |
| Bells Hells tend to their inner relationships before returning to the Seat of Disdain, but a surprising face in Paragon's Call rattles several members of the group... | ||||
| 28 | "The Deathwish Run" | 2024-10-29 | VOD | 1:05:45 |
| Bells Hells enter the deadly crawler race known as Deathwish, where survival is the only rule and winning is the only option... | ||||
| 29 | "Dark Portents" | 2024-11-05 | VOD | 1:02:38 |
| With a mother-daughter reunion interrupted by deception, Bells Hells must decide who they can trust and how to navigate the tides of dangerous new knowledge... | ||||
| 30 | "Reunion & Revenge" | 2024-11-12 | VOD | 1:04:55 |
| Bells Hells entangle themselves further in dangerous Fey business as they ride across the treacherous Hellcatch Valley to find answers to a growing mystery... | ||||
| 31 | "Breaking Point" | 2024-11-19 | VOD | 1:09:51 |
| Bells Hells process their feelings as they work through moon mysteries, family conflict, and a shocking revelation about one of their own... | ||||
| 32 | "A Stage Set" | 2024-11-26 | VOD | 1:10:17 |
| Bells Hells tinker with former friendships and robotic inner workings before returning to Paragon's Call, this time as newly minted members... | ||||
| 33 | "Blood and Dust" | 2024-12-03 | VOD | 1:13:51 |
| Surrounded by chaos, Bells Hells act quickly to secure their quarry, but their attempted escape leads to an unexpected confrontation with a deadly foe... | ||||
| 34 | "What Dreams May Come" | 2024-12-10 | VOD | 1:18:08 |
| Bells Hells grapple with a devastating loss, refusing to accept fate's machinations as they attempt to stay a step ahead of Paragon's Call... | ||||
| 35 | "Pyrrhic Return" | 2024-12-17 | VOD | 1:20:05 |
| Bells Hells sail the stormy skies as they return to Jrusar and reconnect with allies in a race to keep hope alive... | ||||
| 36 | "A Desperate Call" | 2025-01-07 | VOD | 1:10:27 |
| Bells Hells magically arrive in the city of Whitestone and meet a few legendary heroes in their search to save Laudna, but discover that her soul is not so easily retrieved... | ||||
| 37 | "From the Boughs" | 2025-01-21 | VOD | 1:07:20 |
| Bells Hells traverse a dark and corrupted Whitestone and face twisted traumatic shadows of the past in their effort to save Laudna's soul... | ||||
| 38 | "A Dark Balance" | 2025-01-28 | VOD | 1:13:43 |
| Bells Hells return to safety from the treacherous shadow realm with renewed hope to save their lost friend... | ||||
| 39 | "The Momentum of Murder" | 2025-02-04 | VOD | 1:07:02 |
| Bells Hells must contend with the bureaucracy of being murder suspects before they can begin their turbulent travels to southern Marquet... | ||||
| 40 | "Compulsions" | 2025-02-11 | VOD | 1:10:06 |
| Bells Hells reflect upon the latest and strangest moon developments as they near the Gloomed Jungles and prepare for a potential rendezvous with the Gorgynei lycans... | ||||
| 41 | "Call of the Wild" | 2025-02-18 | VOD | 1:10:23 |
| Bells Hells travel deep into the Gloomed Jungles with the Gorgynei to seek a godly trial that may help Chetney's plight... | ||||
| 42 | "The City of Flowing Light" | 2025-02-25 | VOD | 1:05:18 |
| Bells Hells depart from their new allies and head to Yios, where they are quickly dazzled by the lake-top metropolis' glamor and gambling... | ||||
| 43 | "Axiom Shaken" | 2025-03-04 | VOD | 1:10:10 |
| Bells Hells seek out answers about the stolen texts from members of the Grim Verity, but the knowledge revealed could change everything they know about the gods of Exandria… | ||||
| 44 | "Bawdy Basement Belligerence" | 2025-03-11 | VOD | 1:10:20 |
| Trapped in the basement of a fugitive, Bells Hells turn to chaos in an effort to escape their hunters and learn more about who leads their adversaries... | ||||
| 45 | "Ominous Lectures" | 2025-03-18 | VOD | 1:10:04 |
| Bells Hells return to the Aydinlan Seminary to speak with two professors about the mysteries affecting their friends, but an unexpected guest complicates everything... | ||||
| 46 | "Night at Ligament Manor" | 2025-03-25 | VOD | 1:09:21 |
| Bells Hells travel to the Fey Realm, where they meet Fearne's curious Nana Morri and learn more about Fearne's unconventional upbringing... | ||||
| 47 | "The Fey Key" | 2025-04-01 | VOD | 1:12:01 |
| Bells Hells travel to the Fey Realm, where they meet Fearne's curious Nana Morri and learn more about Fearne's unconventional upbringing... | ||||
| 48 | "An Exit Most Fraught" | 2025-04-08 | VOD | 1:08:43 |
| Bells Hells need to leave the Fey Realm behind, but the threats on their scent are extremely unkind... | ||||
| 49 | "The Aurora Grows" | 2025-04-15 | VOD | 1:08:18 |
| Bells Hells travel the aurora-filled skies of the Hellcatch Valley, concocting plans and gathering allies as the days tick down to the apogee solstice... | ||||
| 50 | "Red Moon Rising" | 2025-04-22 | VOD | 1:02:23 |
| With the apogee solstice imminent, Bells Hells begin their infiltration of the Tishtan ruins, where they encounter new faces in the fight against the Ruby Vanguard... | ||||
| 51 | "The Apogee Solstice" | 2025-04-29 | VOD | 1:15:14 |
| Bells Hells race against time and lifelong plotting as they attempt to stop the Ruby Vanguard from releasing the god-eater Predathos and potentially dooming the world... | ||||
| 52 | "Far From The Others" | 2025-05-06 | VOD | 1:10:30 |
| With the magic of the apogee solstice having split the party across Exandria, half of Bells Hells must contend with the dangers and surprising connections of Northern Wildemount... | ||||
| 53 | "Ripples" | 2025-05-13 | VOD | 1:05:16 |
| The Team Wildemount half of Bells Hells arrive in Uthodurn, where they get a wider sense of how magic is responding to the events of the apogee solstice... | ||||
| 54 | "Threacherous Toys" | 2025-05-20 | VOD | 1:09:18 |
| Bells Hells' Team Wildemount tangles with the pasts of some of their own through enigmatic dreams and illuminating confrontations... | ||||
| 55 | "Hope Within History" | 2025-05-27 | VOD | 1:10:41 |
| Bells Hells' Team Wildemount meets with the King and Queen of Uthodurn, where insight on Ludinus Da'leth reveals a new focus and destination for the group... | ||||
| 56 | "By Goat or By Boat" | 2025-06-03 | VOD | 1:04:17 |
| Bells Hells' Team Wildemount travel through the cursed Savalirwood as they attempt to locate the ruins of the corrupted city Molaesmyr... | ||||
| 57 | "The Sorrow of Molaesmyr" | 2025-06-10 | VOD | 1:05:00 |
| Bells Hells’ Team Wildemount venture deeper into the haunted ruins of Molaesmyr and search for the tower that once belonged to the imperious mage Ludinus Da’leth... | ||||
| 58 | "Escape From The Past" | 2025-06-17 | VOD | 1:03:12 |
| Bells Hells' Team Wildemount are assailed by the corrupted creatures of Molaesmyr as they attempt to flee with the secrets they've obtained from the ruins... | ||||
| 59 | "Somewhere Out There" | 2025-07-01 | VOD | 1:13:12 |
| Orym, Ashton, and Laudna find themselves in an unfamiliar land, meeting unfamiliar people, as they attempt to piece together why they were separated from their friends and where exactly they are in the world... | ||||
| 60 | "Faith or Famine" | 2025-07-08 | VOD | 1:08:12 |
| Team Issylra makes their way towards civilization, where a small town's troubles with an overbearing temple offers a new perspective on how helpful the gods can be... | ||||
| 61 | "Crisis of Faith" | 2025-07-15 | Forthcoming | Forthcoming |
| 62 | "A Long Walk of Reflection" | 2025-07-22 | Forthcoming | Forthcoming |
| 63 | "A Haunted Past" | 2025-07-29 | Forthcoming | Forthcoming |
| 64 | "Reunited" | 2025-08-05 | Forthcoming | Forthcoming |
| 65 | "A Path of Veangeance" | 2025-08-12 | Forthcoming | Forthcoming |
Trivia[]
- Critical Role's website made dedicated pages for each episode of Critical Role Abridged up through episode 25, "A Taste of Tal'Dorei" (3x25). They didn't put any statement as of why they have stopped doing those pages.
Related media[]
Critical Role Abridged Official Trailer on the Critical Role YouTube channel
Critical Role Abridged on CritRole.com - Critical Role Abridged (subscription required) on Beacon.com
References[]
- ↑ On Beacon, the episode 39 "The Momentum of Murder" (3x39) came out a week after the previous episode. From then on, further episode release followed the same schedule.
- ↑
Welcome to Beacon: Is it Thursday yet? on CritRole.com
- ↑ Programming Schedule: Week of June 23rd, 2025 on CritRole.com
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