FAQ

Questions often asked of Matt and the Critical Role Cast.

What pantheon is used or is it more open as far as gods go?

The Dawn War pantheon is used, but with flexible, player additions.

Why the change over from Pathfinder to 5E?

Changing over to an online show with so many players, combat tends to get bogged down with a lot of floating modifiers which can make it more difficult to keep it flowing and moving. Once Matt had taken a look at 5E, it was a little more simplified and easier to take things and just roll with it.

How would a character death be handled?

Here is how Matt runs the world. He feels that some of the problems in some RPGs is that death becomes flippant when magic allows you to completely undo it. In his campaigns certain powerful spells like greater restoration, resurrection, and things like that are a challenge, meaning players can definitely undo death but a lot of it is based on the player's capabilities as a spell caster, their attachment to the people you've been travelling with and so whenever a character does die a resurrection can be attempted but it is a challenge which means there is a possibility of failing in which case the resurrection fails, the soul is lost and the character is permanently dead.

For a more in-depth explanation of Matt's resurrection rules, see his post on Twitter here.

Spoilers

For explicit examples see how Vex's death in "The Sunken Tomb" (1x44) or Grog's death in "Best Laid Plans..." (1x50) were handled.

How does Vax get 3 attacks per round?

He dual wields daggers for 2 attacks and has a custom magic item brought over from Pathfinder called Boots of Haste which function like the spell.

DMing Tips

How far ahead does Matt plan out the games & how many hours is it set up for?

About 4-6+ hours per session average.

How far ahead does Matt plan out things like 3 to 4 sessions down the road or does he plan 1 session at a time?

Matt tries to have a solid few ideas for the next few sessions, and an over arching story/goal/climax, then adjust via player choices.

Any tips for storytelling?

Be as prepared as possible. Consider multiple paths, Npcs, etc. Episode 12 is a mild DM workshop, so check it out!

How much of the DM monologues are pre-written and how many are improv?

Matt bulletpoints out important NPC knowledge, goals, fears, etc. maybe a few key phrases, but most of it is improv based on that!

DMing Tools

Does Matt have any recommendations on where to get your dice/minis/props?

Miniature market or Troll and Toad are good options

What kind of paper do you draw your maps on?

1" grid Easel Pads on Amazon. Find it here

What does Matt use for sound fx and music?

Playlists are constructed using songs from Incompetech, Plate Mail Games, Midnight Syndicate, & fan submissions!

Does Matt have a favorite app for rules? What does he use in Critical Role to find spells so fast on your phone?

Fight Club 5

How does Matt decide on monster encounters appropriate for the party?

http://kobold.club/fight/#/encounter-builder

House Rules

Is there an updated version of Percy's Gunslinger somewhere?

You can find it here. https://www.dropbox.com/s/82o72v47ddc8lzz/Gunslinger%205E.docx?dl=0

Since Matt treats every critical hit as a multiplier of 2, did he change the effects of abilities that say to add even more damage dice when a critical hit occurs like the Half Orc does?

No change to those abilities, they just double the original damage roll, then roll an additional die or two based on level.

There are episodes where Scanlan and Tiberius are casting two spells a turn, with one that has a casting time as a bonus action and another that takes an action, but the player's handbook says if you cast a spell as a bonus action, the next spell would have to be a cantrip. Why is Matt doing it that way?

Matt just felt it was too much of a limitation to make it merely a cantrip. He limits it to an Action spell, and an additional bonus action spell no bigger than level 2. House rule.