#I haven't finished the live stream so if she comes back imma look so dumb lolololol

[quel-bon-idee]

Okay Boys! Another long post criticizing critical roles choice in the way they narratively tell their dnd stories. Now let me just say, if you like cr (I do as well, but I hate campaign two a lot lol) this isn’t a form of attack, it’s natural critique from a writer. Early deaths of a main character in a story are (while a natural part of the DnD game), in my opinion, a bad storytelling technique. If, for example, we are writing a fantasy novel with an ensemble cast, the focus on the novel would in fact be one part the plot and one part the dynamic between characters. Taking a minute to focus in on the character dynamics, a few things that can propel them in a simplistic way are friendships, love interests, rivalries, and opposing morals. If you want any of that propelling to be successful, you’re going to have to spend the time to add moments of conversation, growth, and narrative. With a show like critical role there is obviously the threat of death, but mechanically there is nothing stopping the show with adding “padding” to make sure a character has a narratively satisfying arc before death. You could even make it an episode cap or a level cap until he begins having lethal fights (lethal meaning a fight where the enemy spent extra time to “kill” unconscious characters like the one that killed three characters). Applying the normal DnD rules to number one twitch channel Critical Role, would be a little naïve. Matt already makes Revivify a ritual process with rolls to make things harder so saying that they need to “stick to the rules” is a moot point, they already have been breaking them. They have a team of writers and actors putting on a story, like any other television show. In my opinion having a character (and a fan favourite no less) die essentially one hundred episodes before the campaign finishes, makes them narratively pointless and makes viewership lessen. The story gets worse. The death doesn’t cause any real effect because we don’t have enough real time with her to care (I mean obviously it’ll cause an uproar online, clearly. She was a literal fan favourite). Nothing more will make me put a book down like an early main character death. Even death as a plot device to make characters avenge them or what have you doesn’t really apply here because Marisha is going to come back as another person, they’ll reform the group, and one hundred episodes later, Laudna will be but a memory. Killing a character has to have a point, especially killing a main character. You can’t just kill people willy nilly and try to milk emotions without putting in the effort to make it sad (and this is not me invalidating anyone who was saddened by Laudna’s death, I was as well, I am simply speaking in a purely analytical way). Anyway, I personally believe that this is a huge issue with the writing of critical role. Pacing, since it is an improvised show, has always given way to a poor execution, and having these lethal choices be made (it was Matt’s choice to make this character continue attack after unconsciousness) leads to even more bad pacing, and ultimately, a disappointing story