Parent company | Critical Role Productions |
---|---|
Founded | October 2020 |
Country of origin | United States |
Distribution | International |
Key people |
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Publication types | Tabletop games, books |
Fiction genres | Fantasy |
Official website | darringtonpress |
Darrington Press is the tabletop game imprint for Critical Role Productions which launched in October 2020. It is led by Ivan Van Norman with Matthew Mercer as the creative advisor. [1] [2] The publishing label primarily produces board and card games along with role-playing games. It won two ENNIE Awards in 2022 – "Fan Award for Best Publisher" and "Best Setting Gold Award" for Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn . [3]
The publishing label is named after the fictional player character Taryon Darrington played by Sam Riegel in Critical Role 's first campaign who, in-universe, published a book on his exploits with the adventuring party Vox Machina. [4]
In October 2020, Critical Role Productions announced a "new board and card game" imprint called Darrington Press; it is led by Ivan Van Norman with Matthew Mercer as the creative advisor. [1] ICv2 commented that "Critical Role has broadly influenced tabletop gaming since splitting from Geek & Sundry in 2018". [2] During the launch, Van Norman stated, "Darrington Press is not looking to utilize crowdfunding for any game releases". [5] Darrington Press initially announced a slate of four upcoming games: Uk'otoa, Critical Role Adventures, Syndicult, and Guardians of Matrimonia. [1] [2] [6] Uk'otoa released in May 2021 with mixed reviews; IGN called it a "solid first impression for what Darrington Press will offer in future games" while Polygon called it a "Critical Role bauble" with unfun gameplay. [7] [8] [9]
In January 2022, Darrington Press released the campaign setting sourcebook Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn which is a revised edition of the out of print Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting sourcebook published by Green Ronin Publishing. [10] [11] In March 2022, the imprint released more development details on both Syndicult and Guardians of Matrimonia. [12] [13] In June 2022, A Familiar Problem was released for Free RPG Day. [14] [15]
In March 2023, Darrington Press published the two player board game Till the Last Gasp which received mostly positive reviews. [16] [17] [18] [19] The label also announced that they would reprint two out of print Critical Role art books in 2023: The Chronicles of Exandria Vol. I: The Tale of Vox Machina (2017) and The Chronicles of Exandria Vol. 2: The Legend of Vox Machina (2018). [20] [21]
The imprint's first "State of the Press" in April 2023 released updates on previously announced games and revealed new games in development; this included two new roleplaying game systems – Illuminated Worlds for short campaigns and Daggerheart for longer campaigns – which were scheduled to have a public playtest during Gen Con in August 2023. The announcement stated that while Guardians of Matrimonia, being redesigned by Banana Chan and Yeonsoo Julian Kim, and Syndicult are still in development, Critical Role Adventures is now on indefinite hold. [22] [23] [24] Charlie Hall, for Polygon, stated that "Darrington Press has had mixed success so far with its creations" and commented that Illuminated Worlds was "perhaps the most interesting of the three new products" announced given co-designer Layla Adelman's background as "an accomplished game developer" who is also a member of the Off Guard Games team which has produced titles such as "the well-regarded Band of Blades and Scum and Villainy". [22] Christian Hoffer of ComicBook.com called the announcement of new fantasy role-playing game systems "notable" since "Critical Role has a massive built-in audience of TTRPG fans, so a good fantasy genre TTRPG offering could make a major splash in the Dungeons & Dragons -dominated TTRPG market. Additionally, many have wondered whether Critical Role would potentially switch to an in-house TTRPG system for a future campaign, thus breaking away from Dungeons & Dragons altogether". [25]
In May 2023, Critical Role Productions announced a new monthly horror–themed actual play web series titled Candela Obscura which will use the Illuminated Worlds System. Darrington Press released the Candela Obscura Quickstart Guide on May 25, the show's premiere date, which introduces both the Candela Obscura campaign setting and the game system. [26] [27] [28] Darrington Press also ran gameplay sessions of Candela Obscura at Gen Con before the release of the Candela Obscura Core Rulebook in November 2023. [28] [29]
The open beta playtest of Daggerheart began on March 12, 2024; this playtest was made available at select game stores, as a PDF or on Demiplane via the Daggerheart Nexus. The Nexus edition includes digital character creation tools. [30] [31]
Darrington Press games are set both inside and outside of Critical Role 's Exandria setting. [1] [6]
Title | Type | Designers | Publication | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Released | ||||
Uk'otoa | Semi-cooperative card game | Jeb Havens, Gabriel Hicks | May 27, 2021 | [32] |
Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn | Campaign setting book for Exandria ( Dungeons & Dragons 5th edition) | Matthew Mercer, Hannah Rose, James Haeck | January 18, 2022 | [11] |
A Familiar Problem | One-page roleplaying game | Grant Howitt, Marisha Ray | June 25, 2022 | [33] |
Till The Last Gasp | Two player (PvP) board game | Will Hindmarch, Alex Roberts | March 14, 2023 | [16] [34] |
Candela Obscura Quickstart Guide | Basic rules for the Candela Obscura setting (Illuminated Worlds system) | Taliesin Jaffe, Chris Lockey, Spenser Starke, Rowan Hall | May 25, 2023 | [27] [28] |
Queen by Midnight | Battle royale deck-building game | Kyle Shire | August 22, 2023 | [22] [35] |
Caper Cards: Bell's Hells | Blackjack style card game | Manny Vega | October 10, 2023 | [36] [37] |
Candela Obscura Core Rulebook | Campaign setting book for Candela Obscura (Illuminated Worlds system) | Spenser Starke, Rowan Hall | November 14, 2023 | [29] |
For the Queen 2E | Card-based story-building game | Alex Roberts | May 14, 2024 | [38] [39] |
Upcoming | ||||
Guardians of Matrimonia | Cooperative deck card game | Banana Chan, Yeonsoo Julian Kim | 2024 | [12] [23] |
Daggerheart | D12 roleplaying game system for long campaigns | Spenser Starke | 2025 | [30] [22] |
Illuminated Worlds | D6 roleplaying game system for short campaigns | Stras Acimovic, Layla Adelman | TBA | [22] [23] |
Syndicult | Modern magic roleplaying game | TBA | TBA | [12] [24] |
Charles Theel, in his review of Uk'otoa for Polygon, wrote: "The good news is that, as a visually attractive curio, this product makes a great collector's item. The bad news is that the gameplay itself isn't all that much fun. [...] I was hoping for a design that captured some of the feel of friction-heavy board game classics, such as Lifeboats or Survive: Escape From Atlantis, dressed up in the trappings of Exandria. What I got was a Critical Role bauble which can chew up a half hour of time. Sadly, anyone seeking out a truly noteworthy tabletop experience is better off looking elsewhere". [7] However, Tommy Williams of GeekTyrant viewed it as "a fun game" with "very interesting" gameplay; Williams called Uk'otoa "a great start to Darrington Press’ library". [8] Theel, Williams and Jonathon Dornbush of IGN all commended the visual design of the game [7] [8] with Dornbush stating, "the card and box art offers a beautiful interpretation of the titular serpent and the nautical setting, the deck tiles offer a solid base that conveys a bit of the worn nature the ship is probably in, and the meeples, as mentioned before, offer a bespoke, adorable terror that suits the scene. And the game's centerpiece, the Uk'otoa mini, is impressively detailed". [9]
Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn was the Gold Winner for the 2022 ENNIE Awards in the "Best Setting" category. [40] [41] Chris King, for Polygon, called the sourcebook " The Silmarillion of campaign settings" and commented that the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn is over 150 pages longer than the original edition; it includes updates to various factions in the world along with new threats and organizations. [42] King concluded that "despite not being a truly system agnostic book, this is an incredibly well-realized world filled to the brim with interesting characters and stories to tell. Even if it just ends up sitting on your coffee table to peruse during regular Thursday-night livestreams, Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn is well worth the $49.99 price tag". [42] Benjamin Abbott, for GamesRadar+ , commented that "Tal'Dorei Reborn reminds me of the lavish, encyclopaedic companion books for franchises like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars that I used to obsess over as a kid". [43] He wrote that the book is worth purchasing — "even if you're not a huge fan of Critical Role, it'll impress with its skillful worldbuilding and overall design-quality. Indeed, it's rather lavish and looks fantastic. Sure, I enjoyed our last look at the world of Exandria in Explorer's Guide to Wildemount. But this is a step up in many ways, and I'm eager to dig in more". [43]
A Familiar Problem, written by Grant Howitt and Marisha Ray, was included in Polygon's "Free RPG Day" roundup. Charlie Hall, for Polygon, wrote: "now that I've had a chance to get a look at it I'm really impressed. It has all the charm I've come to expect of the crew of actual play stars, and all the randomness and open-ended design that Howitt's work is known for. It's the perfect ice breaker for an event like Free RPG Day, or perhaps for your next regular at-home game". [15]
Theel, in his review of Till The Last Gasp for Polygon, wrote that the game "bleeds potential. This is a singular design which offers a structured yet story-oriented tabletop experience that pulls from traditional board games as well as indie RPGs. [...] After the misstep of Uk'otoa, I'm frankly shocked at how effective and moving this game manages to be". [16] Linda Codega of Io9 stated that the game "is a well-designed, tightly focused two-person game that is a love letter to the most dramatic of showdowns across media. [...] Till the Last Gasp's greatest strength and greatest weakness is that it is exactly what you make it". [17] They highlighted that "although the mechanics are what move the story forward, arguably the roleplaying is the far more important part of the game, even as it has no traditional mechanical value. And when Till the Last Gasp is played in earnest, it is a lively, low-pressure game that allows for immediate investment and clear resolutions". [17] Andrew Stretch, for TechRaptor, viewed it as both a "completely unique game" and "a fantastic game of short-form collaborative roleplay". [18] However, James van Tonningen of Gaming Trend viewed it as "an empty shell of a game" that "fundamentally misunderstands why people enjoy roleplaying games". [19] van Tonningen wrote that "what Till the Last Gasp has done is make a fighting game with no way to track damage done, a combat simulator where both players pause and soliloquise their intentions, and a roleplaying game where the dice are rolled, but have no impact. It’s a drama school assignment masquerading as a high-stakes duel". [19]
In a review of For the Queen 2E, Jenny Melzer of CBR commented that "One thing that Critical Role and Darrington Press have always done well is work within the gaming community. Their respect for creators, including game designers and artists, shines through in this game, just as it has with each of the others they've produced since their founding in 2020" [emphasis in the original]. Melzer highlighted that "partnering with Darrington Press gives the game stunning new visuals, more question cards, and all new packaging that makes it perfect for grab-and-go games". [39]
The flexibility of the Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game rules means that Dungeon Masters (DM) are free to create their own fantasy campaign settings. For those who wanted a pre-packaged setting in which to play, TSR, Wizards of the Coast (WotC), and other publishers have created many settings in which D&D games can be based; of these, the Forgotten Realms, an epic fantasy world, has been one of the most successful and critically acclaimed settings. Many campaign settings include standard sword and sorcery environments, while others borrow Asian, Central American, swashbuckling, horror and even space-travel themes.
Taliesin Jaffe is an American voice actor, voice director and screenwriter. He has worked on English-dubbing roles for anime and video games. He is a cast member on Critical Role, a web series in which he plays Dungeons & Dragons with other voice actors. Jaffe has also frequently voiced the Flash in various video games.
Matthew Christopher Miller, better known as Matthew Mercer, is an American voice actor and game designer. He has provided voice work for cartoons, animations, video games, and English dubs of anime.
Critical Role is an American web series in which a group of professional voice actors play Dungeons & Dragons. The show started streaming partway through the cast's first campaign in March 2015. Campaign one ended in October 2017 after 115 episodes, and campaign two started in January 2018 and ended in June 2021 after 141 episodes. A number of one-shots were aired in the hiatus between the two campaigns. After campaign two was completed, the spin-off limited series Exandria Unlimited aired from June 2021 to August 2021. The third campaign premiered on October 21, 2021.
Marisha Ray Huber is an American voice actress, host, producer, and creative director. She is best known for portraying herself and characters Keyleth, Beauregard, and Laudna on the Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role. Her video game voice roles include Margaret in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax and Persona Q, Laura S. Arseid in The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel series, Miranda in Metal Gear: Survive, and Effie in Fire Emblem Heroes.
Explorer's Guide to Wildemount is a sourcebook that details the continent of Wildemount from the Critical Role campaign setting for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Matthew Mercer, creator of the setting, said the book is "meant to be both [...] for fans of Critical Role" and "for people who have never watched an episode. It's an entirely new setting to set an entire campaign or more in". It was published by Wizards of the Coast and released on March 17, 2020.
Critical Role Productions, LLC is a multimedia production company incorporated in 2015 by the members of the creator-owned streaming show Critical Role. The first two shows from the company, Critical Role and Talks Machina, originally premiered on Geek & Sundry. The company moved to their own studio space in 2018, and began putting out new shows on their own Twitch and YouTube channels. A split from Legendary Digital Networks was completed in early 2019, at which point Critical Role Productions took over production responsibility and since then has continued to launch new shows independently.
The first campaign of the Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role premiered on March 12, 2015; it consisted of 115 episodes and concluded on October 12, 2017. It followed Vox Machina, a party of seven to eight adventurers, in their travels across the continent of Tal'Dorei. Campaign one broadcast live each Thursday at 19:00 PT on Geek & Sundry's Twitch channel, with the video on demand (VOD) being available to Twitch subscribers immediately after the broadcast. On the Monday following the live stream, the VODs were made available for the public on the Geek & Sundry YouTube channel.
The Legend of Vox Machina is an American adult animated fantasy action television series produced by Metapigeon, Titmouse, Inc., and Amazon Studios, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on January 28, 2022. The series is based on the first campaign of the Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role. It stars Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Matthew Mercer, Liam O'Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, and Travis Willingham, reprising their roles from the campaign.
Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting is a sourcebook that details the continent of Tal'Dorei from the Critical Role campaign setting for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. It was published by Green Ronin Publishing and released on August 17, 2017; however, it is not considered "official" Dungeons & Dragons material. A revised edition, titled Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn, was published by Darrington Press and released on January 18, 2022.
Critical Role, an American web series in which a group of professional voice actors play Dungeons & Dragons, has spawned many related products, including books, comics and an animated series, which are produced by Critical Role Productions. Various third-party, licensed works have also been released since Critical Role began in 2015.
Actual play, also called live play, is a genre of podcast or web show in which people play tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) for an audience. Actual play often encompasses in-character interactions between players, storytelling from the gamemaster, and out-of-character engagements such as dice rolls and discussion of game mechanics. The genre emerged in the early 2000s and became more popular throughout the decade, particularly with the 2015 debut of Critical Role, an actual play webseries featuring professional voice actors.
Exandria Unlimited (ExU) is an American actual play anthology web series where the cast plays Dungeons & Dragons using the fifth edition ruleset. It is set in the Exandria campaign setting and is a spin-off of the web series Critical Role.
Critical Role: Call of the Netherdeep is an adventure module with themes of heroism, underwater horror and fantasy. It is set in the Exandria campaign setting and designed for the 5th edition of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. It was published by Wizards of the Coast and released on March 15, 2022.
Demiplane is a company that creates digital toolsets for playing tabletop role-playing games which can be used as an aid to playing in person or remotely online. The Demiplane platform's main services are game matchmaking, game hosting and licensed content via the Nexus digital toolset. Nexus provides access to digital rulebooks, adventures, and other supplements; it also provides digital tools like a character builder and character sheets. The platform was launched in 2020; early access to Nexus launched in 2021. In June 2024, the company was acquired by the virtual tabletop (VTT) company Roll20.
Alex Roberts is a Canadian tabletop role-playing game designer. Her games typically lack a gamemaster (GM) and include romantic themes. Her games include For the Queen and Star Crossed.
Aabria Iyengar is an American web series actress known primarily for tabletop role-playing game anthologies, streams and podcasts. She was the Dungeon Master (DM) for the first season of Exandria Unlimited. Iyengar has been both a player and a Game Master for multiple seasons of Dimension 20 and a guest DM on The Adventure Zone.
Candela Obscura is the name of both an American actual play web series and a tabletop role-playing game system.
Grant Howitt is a tabletop role-playing game designer, publisher, and journalist. He won six ENNIE Awards for his game Heart: The City Beneath. His game Honey Heist, which inspired an online trend of self-published games with one-page rulesets, has been featured on Critical Role, The Adventure Zone, and Friends at the Table. Through his publishing company Rowan, Rook and Decard, Howitt is a co-designer on Kieron Gillen's DIE: The Roleplaying Game.