This article may contain spoilers for Critical Role campaign three.
It’s a good time to be a fan of Critical Role, the Dungeons & Dragons streaming show featuring voice actors from several famous games and shows. On Saturday, June 15, the core cast will perform their first live show as Bells Hells, a fascinating and fraught group of characters.
“I should probably start thinking about it like it’s a real thing, right?” Liam O’Brien quipped, seated in front of shelves full of comics and different collectible figures. I’d call O’Brien a fan-favorite on the show, but all of its core cast members are favorites, really. Still, his characters loom large in Critical Role’s lore: The rogue Vax’ildan of campaign one and The Legend of Vox Machina (of which O’Brien is executive producer), everyone’s favorite wizard Caleb Widogast from campaign two, and now Orym of the Air Ashari, a halfling fighter often serving as Bells Hells’ steadying presence. They’ll need that presence on Saturday when the party tackles its first live show as Bells Hells together—despite being almost 100 episodes into the campaign.
Part of that is down to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns in which campaign three was launched, preventing Critical Role from having a live show even if they wanted to. But it does mean that instead of low-stakes, early campaign adventures to put on for a live audience, the party is in deep, literally and figuratively. But O’Brien isn’t concerned about one thing, at least: The group’s ability to spin a narrative together, based firmly on their own trust and friendship with each other.
That ringer, to date: Bells Hells have uncovered a plot revolving around Exandria, the world created by game master Matthew Mercer for all of Critical Role’s campaigns, and one of its moons, Ruidis. The red moon has imparted power on a select few, but it’s also fueled a conspiracy to unleash a god (or god-killer, as it were) with the potential to end all things. Lately, the quest to stop that from happening has brought the party deep into an ancient ruin where it seems like an ancient demon is lurking, forcing those who came before Bells Hells to engage in some Event Horizon-levels of grotesque torture and murder. All good fun, as far as D&D goes, but also serious and engaging for both the players and viewers breathlessly taking in the action week after week.
“I know that we’re just going to go out there and have fun, because that’s what we do with each other,” O’Brien summed up. “We just rely on each other and carve out a story.”
That ethos has been at the heart of the magic Critical Role has captured over the years. To say Critical Role has changed the streaming landscape is an understatement; they’ve become one of the most successful streaming properties in the world and simultaneously helped usher in a new golden age for Dungeons & Dragons and other TTRPGs. The chemistry of serious improv and voice acting talent, a mastermind like Mercer creating worlds for his parties to explore, and the sincere friendship and fellowship of the cast have proved intoxicating to follow for thousands—maybe even millions.
That success has spun out into a small universe of other things, as well. Campaign one eventually turned into the wildly successful The Legend of Vox Machina show for Amazon, of which a third season is on the way and a new series featuring campaign two’s party, The Mighty Nein, is also happening. They’ve also started up a publishing company, Darrington Press, which has successfully launched a few games already and is in beta testing for another new TTRPG system, Daggerheart. There’s also a merch story, a nonprofit foundation, and more.
But for all the pies Critical Role has its hands in lately, it is still a streaming show, the one that drove it to new heights as a legitimate company. And according to O’Brien, the success of that show is still down to getting to tell stories with his friends.
“Nothing has been as magical, as a creative professional, than to create our own stories and to have people find them meaningful,” O’Brien said. He also shouts-out Jim Henson’s studio as a somewhat similar story to what Critical Role has done. “We started out as one thing, and then that led us to try another thing… we’re creatives who are following our own path.
Most immediately, that path leads them to Saturday and a live show at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles. Bells Hells has some very immediate concerns to deal with, not least of which is dealing with all that’s going on without the presence of the beloved Fresh Cut Grass, the automaton cleric played by Sam Riegel who sacrificed themselves several episodes ago. But figuring out all those issues in front of a live audience is part of the magic.
O’Brien has a fair few favorite memories from live shows past. He mentioned always loving improbable rolls and how consequential natural 20s feel in front of a live audience, as well as the general good vibes of playing up comedy to a crowd. The energy that comes from these live performances is one of a kind, and he described the crowd as “a large, amorphous scene partner” feeding the cast energy and reactions. Fitting, given his theater-acting roots.
He also mentioned one particular moment from Critical Role’s live show last October, where The Mighty Nein had to deal with fallout from the events of the Bells Hells campaign. When Mercer needed to get serious for a story beat with Caleb, the two held court in front of the show’s biggest live audience ever—and O’Brien says the crowd was completely silent for a full minute.
“I will never forget that,” he said, reminiscing on the moment when thousands fell silent just to hear a story he was helping to tell.
Bells Hells’ first live show will almost undoubtedly be a consequential one in the larger picture of campaign three. After all, they’ve played almost 100 sessions and can begin to picture what the endgame of the campaign might look like. Almost every episode is consequential at this point. But for O’Brien and the rest of the cast, there’s still the simple act of sitting down together to have fun, goof off, and create a narrative together. Just relying on each other and carving out a story, in his words.
“I can remember coming to Los Angeles years ago, still doing theater. I was auditioning and doing all the things young actors do. And I visited Griffith Park and saw the Greek Theater,” O’Brien reminisced. “It’s like a Los Angeles gem, a beloved Hollywood, Los Angeles institution, and the idea that with my best friends in the world, I get to go to the Greek Theater and perform for an audience, do what we do well and love doing and have people enjoy it on that stage, I mean, it already is overwhelming.”
If history is anything to go on, he and the rest of the cast should be just fine.
