I started watching Critical Role in 2021 and quickly became enamored with the world Matthew Mercer built for his players. Although Critical Role wasn’t the first Dungeons & Dragons podcast I listened to. My first DnD podcast experience was NADDPOD, which I started listening to back in 2018. I realize that the Mercer-Effect impacted me when I started playing Dungeons & Dragons because I had such high expectations from my DM. I wanted to talk about this experience and share something I learned from it.

My friends and I started a Dungeons & Dragons group back in 2019. My friend wanted to try to DM and create his world. As mentioned, I had high expectations for what I was hoping for from the story. I wanted a high-intensity story with real-world implications. I realize that I set myself up for failure. I set this campaign on a high pedestal when in reality, Dungeons & Dragons allowed me and my friends to goof off and have a great time. I reflect on this campaign as a way that all my friends were able to get together regularly, even though we all live busy lives.

I think the biggest way around the Mercer-Effect is setting little to no expectations when playing Dungeons & Dragons. Playing through a campaign with an open mind can allow random events to happen during gameplay. Besides the expectations, I think it helps to have a gaming group that clicks with each other. I have played in campaigns that I grew bored with, but when I reflect on these sessions, I didn’t connect with the group I was playing with. In my most memorable and fun sessions, I think of all the random events and how much laughter was shared between friends.

Dungeons & Dragons is supposed to be a fun and interactive game. It’s also completely valid to be a fan of Critical Role, NADDPOD, or Ain’t Slayed Nobody and not want to play TTRPGs. Many fans of these podcasts like interactive storytelling, but don’t enjoy roleplaying. The Mercer-Effect can create a negative environment in a gaming group, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Roleplaying is one of my favorite hobbies, and thanks to Critical Role, it’s become more accessible.