Critical Role Cast RESPOND To OGL DRAMA! Hint At D&D Exit?!

Even more breaking TTRPG and Fantasy news today on The Character Sheet as the Cast of Critical Role has finally released a statement on the ongoing backlash over the leaked Dungeons & Dragons OGL 1.1. While not specifically calling out Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, or D&D, the Critical Role cast did voice their support for creators in the TTRPG scene over the OGL outrage...and possibly even left more hints at a future exit from D&D for the next Critical Role Campaign!

#criticalrole #ogl #dnd

[GardensAndGames]

In the long term, the only thing up in the air here is "how many millions of dollars does Hasbro want to give up to Paizo?"

[chrissimcock]

It’s also worth to note that their original campaign for Vox Machina before they started live-streaming was pathfinder NOT DND. It would not surprise me if CR was in talks already with Paizo for the ORC agreement.

[danielknapp]

Critical role has been very careful from the beginning with controversies like this. The fact that they made any response at all means they have made their decision for the future. I was worried that perhaps critical role had already made a secret deal with WOTC since critical role has basically been the mascot for 5th edition.

[kosm]

If critical role writes their own game manual they could easily usurp the DnD fan base as a whole. I don't think any other company or group could so singlehandedly steer the entire community towards a single new system.

[tskophield]

I think they said just enough. Not too much, not too little. They still managed to drive the point home and let their stance with the community be known!

[TrackerRoo]

Hasbro really cut off their nose to spite their face. They knew Wizards was profitable, more so than Hasbro itself. Yet they treated the D&D community more like an obstacle between them and money than the people who keep Wizards in business.

Much as I don't want Wizards to go down for the sake of all the creative and passionate people who work there. The suits deserve to lose it all. Hasbro needs to go bankrupt.

[rebellious_red]

I bet they do want to say more about the situation, but they can’t for the time being. Probably due to legal and business connections with WOTC and they're sponsored by D&D Beyond. However, that may very well change after the end of Campaign 3 hopefully, but we don't know as WOTC is in damage control. Which serves them right.

[middle-aged-cal]

I'm sure they'd personally love to say more but are very limited based on NDAs and contracts. They are going to be extremely careful about breaking any NDA or contract as that would have a huge negative impact on their primary careers as voice actors. Their livelihood revolves around NDAs for video games and animated projects they work on and if they were to break one with Wizards would likely lose jobs, agents, etc.

[Nesseight]

Notice that even though they are playing 5e. The narrators of the campaigns are referring to themselves as "Game Masters" rather than "Dungeon Masters."

This is significant as the term "Dungeon Master" is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast.

I feel that WotC may have shot themselves in the foot here. Critical Role was like free advertisement to them and helped bring their flagship game into the spotlight. They consider it "under-monetized" and tried to tighten their monopoly. Instead, they killed it completely.

I predict that campaign 4 will take place under Pathfinder 2. Exandria under the ORC license.

[danielknapp]

For a company as influential as critical role, whispered words against the OGL are more powerful than most realize. Their team has collaborated extensively with WOTC on many projects before, so for them to say they are willing to cut ties with WOTC is a very heavy blow, especially considering the risks.

[joehutchcraft]

Honestly I know the CR cast and crew are being honest with this incredibly well thought out response. The look on their faces every single time they are at an event, or hosting a live show says it all. The love of their fans drives them to continue doing what they do, not just their own personal enjoyment. The only thing stopping them from responding differently is probably a massive NDA, which would fuck any chances of even continuing to play, or their VA careers. I know Liam would be absolutely LIVID in his response, our Eldritch lord show immense disappointment, and Marisha/Matt actively call out without fear saying "Guys, knock this shit off. It hurts the game and it's players.".

[THEO]

Critical role : we may move away from WotC after campaign 3

Mathew Mercer next session : " ...and a meteor falls and everyone dies!"
Whole table cheers.

[houndgirl]

I'm guessing they are under an NDA (non disclosure agreement) meaning legally while under contract they cannot say anything about this. That said their response is what I would expect from the morals these nerdy ass voice actors would do. I'm happy to continue to support this group and continue watching their campaigns because of this stance. They stand with us not the suits that says volumes!

[mathewstoker]

Nar, I think they have said all they need to. It's more genuine, heartfelt and informative; than the spin, Corporate Doublespeak and bulls*** coming out of WotC and Hasbro's proxies.

[davepcu]

That's good enough. They have their own brand to protect. No reason to burn a bridge if it doesn't need it (unlike what Hasbro has done, Hasbro take notes)

[DoctorWu]

Genuinely surprised they haven’t consulted with CR over this, they are probably the single biggest reason 5E has been so successful.

[Labboy]

It has been said that currently the only thing that connects their games to D&D are the gods. The way this campaign is going it seems like it is possible that they may kill off the gods leaving an opening to fully switch over to their own rule sets.

[biasmushroom]

This may be the perfect time for someone to knock D&D off of its throne, and with how popular critical role is I wouldn’t be surprised if they made their own system and did that

[Cynidecia]

The Critters are there for Matt & his group, not d&d. if they go Wotc will take a BIG hit.

[mentalrebllion]

While I wish they could have said more, I am aware they are most likely under some still active contracts that makes it difficult for them to make as quick a step as the community does (which is pretty much half the point of those contracts). So I don’t blame them. I’d rather they phase out that contract first and not get into trouble moving too fast. I enjoy their work too much to see it lost because of a contract misstep. And the community will only be stronger if critical role isn’t caught up fighting our mutual bbeg (hasbro and co). I know not everyone is in support of critical role’s response but I do, personally, ask for patience on their behalf. They are as much fans as we are and are simply a bit tied up right now. Give them time and I’m sure they will join us soon, and in doing so, enhance our own voices and add even more credibility to it like our wallets just did with the wave of unsubscribing. We will likely hear soon whether or not they joined us in the mass unsubscribing wave.