Critical Role uploaded their “State of the Role” in which they share what’s coming up next. In this State of the Role, Critical Role made some big announcements specifically the end of Campaign #3 (also known as Bells Hells) and a new series that will air after the Campaign #3 finale. While I’m behind on Bells Hells as I’m still watching Mighty Nein, this is still big as it leaves a question unanswered, what will Critical Role’s fourth campaign be? I wanted to break down everything that was revealed in the State of the Role in more detail.

Campaign #3 Finale on February 6th

Bells Hells will conclude on Thursday, February 6th. The finale will be over eight hours in length. In the State of the Role video, there was a discussion that filming had to conclude temporarily due to the fires in California. As a side note, the California fires are devastating, to say the least. My heart goes out to anyone impacted or who lost their homes in the fires.

I’m curious as to how Bells Hells will wrap. While I have fallen behind, it’s clear from what I have read about the campaign, that this might be world-ending which could impact the previous campaigns and the fate of those characters. I would be sad if the ending of campaign #3 were to kill off Vox Machina for example in an apocalypse type of event.

I would like to see campaign #4 taking place hundreds of years in the future. It would be nice for fans to get a fresh start and to be able to follow along without having to watch the other campaigns.

Exandria Unlimited: Divergence

After the finale airs, Critical Role’s next mini-series will be called Exandira Unlimited: Divergence. Brennan Lee Mulligan is the DM with Matthew Mercer, Liam O’Brien, Jasmine Don, Alex Ward, and Celia Rose. Alex Ward is coming back to Critical Role!! I could not be more excited. Alex Ward is one of my favorite TTRPG players in this space. He specifically is in Vampire: The Masquerade live plays and I like that Alex brings focus to other TTRPG systems. I will watch the heck out of this series even if I have not seen or watched any of the other Exandria short series. I may not understand everything, but I will be here for it. This was easily the most exciting thing that came out of State of the Role.

Campaign #4 Predictions

This leads me to the final discussion point, what will Critical Role’s 4th campaign be? The big question is whether Critical Role will do another Dungeons & Dragons campaign or will they highlight their system, Daggerheart? I would watch campaign #4 regardless of the TTRPG system. If Critical Role were to use Daggerheart, I think it would be smart from a business perspective. TTRPGs remind me of trading card games in the sense that for them to be successful, you need players to play them regularly. If players aren’t playing Daggerheart, books won’t be bought and the system could fade into obscurity. However, if Critical Role does use Daggerheart, will they isolate fans who aren’t interested in Daggerheart at all?

As mentioned, I would watch Critical Role whether they use Dungeons & Dragons or Daggerheart. I like the chemistry of the cast and I want to put my Beacon subscription to good use. As a side note, whatever happened to Candela Obscura? I’d love another Circle or Candela mini-series. If I had to predict, I think Critical Role would utilize Dungeons & Dragons still, but I could see Daggerheart popping up again as it gets closer to its full release and Gen Con specifically.

I’m curious to see what happens and how everything unfolds. I will be waiting for Exandria Unlimited: Divergence to drop on Beacon in the wake of Bells Hells and their choices made in the grand finale.