Brennan Lee Mulligan DMs Campaign 4's noble-house intrigue across serialized, multi-part D&D sessions.
Critical Role follows a sprawling tabletop campaign through Ahriman, Dolmakia, Tanisar, and other perilous corners of its fantasy world. The table moves fast: grave prophecies, magical murals, political errands, and sudden jokes all jostle for room.
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Critical Role is an actual-play tabletop role-playing podcast in which a cast of players works through an ongoing Dungeons & Dragons campaign, with Brennan Lee Mulligan serving as Dungeon Master for Campaign 4. Episodes are released as multi-part installments covering a single session each, running roughly 60 to 90 minutes, drawn from a video stream on the Beacon platform ahead of podcast release. The narrative follows the party investigating rival noble houses -- Royce, Devinos, Taconis, and Einfassen -- through cities such as Dolmachia and Riesengirdle, tracking assassination cover-ups, forged letters, and a stolen relic called the Stone of Nightsong. Recurring player characters include Julian, Tysha, Aranessa, Azunay, and Belair, whose personal arcs (flashback recruitment scenes, druidic circle allegiances, card readings from a figure named Temelo) run alongside the main political plot. Combat and magic are described in specific mechanical terms -- tremorsense, Pass Without Trace, Speak with Animals, Call Lightning -- reflecting close attention to D&D rules alongside improvised storytelling. The tone throughout is serialized and narrative: episodes assume familiarity with prior sessions and carry plot threads (a hidden cavern, a spy's carrier pigeon, masked conjuration magic) across weeks rather than resolving cleanly within one episode. There is no interview or panel format; the show is built around live collaborative storytelling captured as it happens, not commentary or discussion. Listeners typically already follow Campaign 4's specific plot and cast rather than sampling single episodes at random. The show's own material also references related spinoff programming (Exandria Unlimited, 4-Sided Dive, one-shots), though the sampled episodes here are mainline Campaign 4 sessions. Production is unscripted and session-based, with each episode functioning as a continuation of an ongoing serial.
Made for: Long-form D&D actual-play listeners already following Critical Role's Campaign 4 storyline and cast.
What sets it apart: Unlike shorter actual-play or one-shot shows, it sustains a single serialized campaign (Campaign 4, within a 425-episode run) with continuous political and character arcs across multi-part weekly sessions.
Welcome to Critical Role, home of a bunch of nerdy-ass voice actors playing tabletop roleplaying games! Enter a world of glorious imagination and improvisation with a group of the finest collaborative storytellers around. Here you’ll find our TTRPG and adjacent shows, including Critical Role, Exandria Unlimited, 4-Sided Dive, and a growing selection of one-shots.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Critical Role makes collaborative fantasy storytelling legible through consequential choices, intricate world logic, and an ensemble willing to follow every surprising turn.
Critical Role turns an actual play campaign into a dense fantasy drama where character choices, dice-driven uncertainty, and table talk continually reshape the story.
A bloody-beaked vulture becomes a clue, if your ideal fantasy rewards suspicious minds.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
"King of Cards" turns fairy warnings, street-level clues, and a foul trail below Dolmachia into sharp tabletop suspense.
Part two of "King of Cards" drops Critical Role back into Dolmachia with Brennan Lee Mulligan steering the table out of the Seven Stars and toward the Okramok Marketplace.
A tense Dolmakia investigation follows a damaged witness into magical paint, custom amphora, and one loaded mural.
The Vanishing drops back into Dolmakia with Inspector Grotto bleeding, shaken, and trying to spit out what he saw: a young man, a recording in the floor, something bad enough to leave him barely coherent.
A patient actual-play installment where school politics, museum favors, and civic unease tighten into one anxious thread.
Critical Role settles into a chapter of favors, paperwork, and soft power, with house Cormoray, the Pen Temporal, and Blair Lothalia's museum work becoming pieces in a mutually useful arrangement.
A tense, lore-heavy Critical Role chapter where a failed mission curdles into ritual dread.
Vindicta & Vale sits in the uneasy space after a bad mission and before a worse revelation. The House of Taconis has taken command of Tanisar, the Barrow Guard will not be swayed, and what began as a desperate move for Mara now looks like part of a larger trap involving old…
A tense, low-lit Critical Role chapter where a humble druidic charm says as much as any speech.
Flight to Castle Torch opens in a half-burned town square, with too many people for too few dwellings and a battered armed figure pacing through the wreckage.
A cold, combat-focused Critical Role chapter that rewards listeners already settled into the campaign.
A Bridge Too Far drops into Critical Role mid-stride, with a frozen, high-altitude borderland giving way to the table's familiar combat rhythm.
Castle intrigue, fey improvisation, and a sinister carriage give this mid-arc Critical Role episode a lively charge.
Seeking Sanctuary catches Critical Role in a deliciously unstable corner of the castle, with Julian frayed, Aranessa calmly drafting an exit strategy, and a bloodied vulture turning an intercepted message into a sharper clue than anyone expected.
A formal introduction curdles into funny, status-conscious Critical Role roleplay with a hint that old relationships have shifted.
The Giant's Belt finds its pleasure in a social scene that keeps slipping out of shape. Sir Davinos approaches Lady Ingrid with formal politeness, only for her to wonder whether she is being called on.
Brennan Lee Mulligan sends Critical Role back into part two by steering the party from Dolmachia to the Okramok Marketplace, then toward Caravan Hill and the Guard Tower Tavern.
Grotto collapses in Azunay's arms, bleeding and trying to explain a young man and a recording in the floor.
The hosts of Weird Kids engage in a casual, humorous conversation about their childhoods, collecting habits, and quirky personal items like patterned shirts and mugs.
Paperwork becomes leverage.
This episode begins a fantasy role-playing adventure in the world of Aramon, where characters on a snowy mountainside face dangers while traveling with companions and a mysterious stone body.
This episode of Tailgate features host Whitney Moore discussing Campaign 4's first arc with the cast of Critical Role, including live streaming details and exclusive content for Beacon members.
This episode continues a Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying adventure in the world of Ahriman, where the characters face challenges in the sepulchral veil at Tanisar.
The mission runs out of clean answers.
The episode continues a Dungeons & Dragons fantasy adventure where the characters confront a skeletal horde in Tanisar, with Julian taking a daredevil subclass and engaging in combat.
This episode continues a Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying adventure where characters deal with a halfling's vision about Tanishar during a wedding setting.
Critical Role Campaign 4, Episode 15 Part 1 moves from a starvation-era childhood memory in a burnt town square to a tense escape from Risenkirtle on the back of a giant eagle.
The party engages in a chaotic battle on a bridge against Taconis soldiers and three demons—Enmity, Agony, and Cruelty—who are mistakenly hunting them.
This is a promotional segment for various sponsors including Rakuten, Reliance Homes, and Kia, with no substantive content from the Critical Role podcast episode itself.
Julian is halfway through the bottle.
Brennan Lee Mulligan introduces Campaign 4 of Critical Role, set in the world of Aramon, and begins a scene at a harvest festival during wartime.
Critical Role Campaign 4, Episode 12 Part 2, run by Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan, follows the party through the city of Riesengirdle as they infiltrate the Einfasen noble house to retrieve impounded carriages and imprisoned men-at-arms.
The cast of Critical Role hosts a talkback show discussing the latest arc of Campaign 4, answering fan questions and reflecting on the story.
Brennan Lee Mulligan introduces Campaign 4 of Critical Role, an actual-play tabletop RPG set in the fantasy world of Aramon.
The cast continues a combat encounter in a tabletop RPG, with a player using a risky 'desperate measures' ability that trades death save failures for powerful bonuses.
The cast continues a fantasy adventure in the town of Ty Breeze Lee, describing a festival preparation and a hospital.
A fantasy fiction podcast where voice actors read stories, including a tale about fey giants in a mountain town.
A group of voice actors continue their tabletop RPG adventure in the fantasy world of Exandria, dealing with the aftermath of a battle.
A group of voice actors continue their improvised tabletop RPG adventure in the world of Aramon.
A group of voice actors play a tabletop RPG, engaging in a combat encounter with a giant creature.
The episode begins with an ad for Reliance Homes and a BMO game show parody, then transitions into the start of Campaign 4 of Critical Role, an actual-play D&D podcast.
A group of voice actors play a tabletop roleplaying game, continuing their fantasy adventure in the world of Ahriman.
Brennan Lee Mulligan introduces Campaign 4 of Critical Role, a fantasy actual-play RPG set in the world of Aramon, as the party rides out into a storm.
Brennan Lee Mulligan introduces Campaign 4 of Critical Role, a fantasy actual-play RPG set in the world of Aramon.
Brennan Lee Mulligan narrates the continuation of a fantasy adventure in the city of Dolmakyar, describing the Arknod museum and the history of the Old Path.
Introduction to Campaign 4 of Critical Role, a new actual-play TTRPG series set in the world of Ahriman.
This episode is a promotional segment for Critical Role's new Beacon membership service and the new show Weird Kids.
A group of voice actors play a tabletop roleplaying game, with this episode featuring announcements about a new membership service and a spin-off podcast.
A special announcement about a new membership service and a preview of a new podcast series called Weird Kids.