What if Invincible were a high fantasy D&D game



Based on the popular D&D show, Critical Role, played by some of the most prolific voice actors in the video game and animation industry. This new show from Amazon prime is an adaption of their live game they have been airing on twitch for the last five years.

The team of **** ups are drunks that get roped into helping the realm fight off against a dragon terrorizing the region for the beginning of the show

The actors from the live game are reprising their own roles but included actors such as Dominic Monaghan, David Tennant, Stephanie Beatriz, Gina Torres, Tony Hale, Indira Varma and Khary Payton, among many others.

3 episodes are being released weekly and a season 2 is already purchased by Amazon

I watched the first three episodes, and it was good enough. The tone sometimes has whiplash between super-serious and slapstick, but I think that's partly due to the episodes only being ~22 minutes apiece.

We've watched quite a bit of Critical Role, so I'm curious to see how well it translates to an animated show.

I know nothing of the background, but for once I'm kind of pissed that they aren't dropping the whole thing at once. How long do I have to wait to get more?!?!????

C@LAg said:

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I love the character design and faces are very much in the style of Avatar: Legend of Korra

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The animation studio is Titmouse and they got the character designer from Young Justice. It is a major upgrade of when this was just a kick starter.

Having been a fan of many of these voice actors prior to Critical Role, and then finding out they were going to stream D&D (a game I very much enjoy playing), I was so excited for them.

Spouse and I watched on the couch last night and there was a moment where we looked at each other and were basically happy crying. All the little nods to the long term (and short term) viewers, they all looked just wonderful and you could really feel how big a hand the character creators (the players/executive producers) had in the animation.

I don't care if it bombs, or doesn't garner interest. I am just so happy for them to come so far. Never would have thought I'd be on the couch watching a Critical Role animated show on Amazon freaking Prime of all places... I certainly hope it gets picked up for more if thats a possibility. So many wonderful moments this community would love to share with the world.

I couldn't help but yell KIMAAAAAA every time she showed up. Both of us excitedly stupid grinning at the screen going "say the thing! say it!" It was a great time.

Very casual fan of critical role (cannot watch four hours of people playing a game, but enjoy dropping in from time to time).

How bad must it sucks for the guy that was a dragon mage in the first several episodes and then got kicked out of the group? He has to be kicking himself now. Do they mention him at all in the cartoon?

Orion Acaba (Tiberius) and no.

bangobango said:

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Very casual fan of critical role (cannot watch four hours of people playing a game, but enjoy dropping in from time to time).

How bad must it sucks for the guy that was a dragon mage in the first several episodes and then got kicked out of the group? He has to be kicking himself now. Do they mention him at all in the cartoon?

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Counterpoint - would it have taken off to the same level if he'd stuck around?

It did have a lot to do with what he brought to the game. It's difficult to put it into words really, you'd have to listen to the early podcasts or watch the early episodes.

He was very much the kind of player that would march off and do his own thing all the time, regardless of the other players input or situation. There is even a moment in a big boss fight where he refuses to participate for a good amount of it, despite him easily being able to. The kind of player that gets told "no, that doesn't exist in this 'world'" and then tries to find ways to work around it and has to be repeatedly told that's not going to work.

The frustration and awkwardness with the other cast members is visible early on. There was also the time a fan sent him a shirt related to his character's "catchphrase" and he jumped on that fan and threatened legal action.

I don't know the man, and I don't know what kind of guy he is, but he was definitely an issue at the table as well as in real life (for the group). Anyone whose played knows there are different kinds of players, not every one likes the same thing, and there are difficult players. He was the latter. It really is to the point where most people are told to "skip to episode 24 after Tiberius is gone" when looking to listen to the story.

C@LAg said:

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Claude! said:

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bangobango said:

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Very casual fan of critical role (cannot watch four hours of people playing a game, but enjoy dropping in from time to time).

How bad must it sucks for the guy that was a dragon mage in the first several episodes and then got kicked out of the group? He has to be kicking himself now. Do they mention him at all in the cartoon?

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Counterpoint - would it have taken off to the same level if he'd stuck around?

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i would say yes.

allegedly the problems were some interpersonal issues and substance abuse on his part.
nothing to do with what he brought to the game.

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There were a lot of issues with what he brought to the game. Fudging dice rolls, lying about spell slots, metagaming, etc. you can really start to see the way it was affecting the group in the last few episodes he was in. They kept a lot of it out of the public, but some came out after he left. Then there was the substance abuse and domestic abuse allegations, as well as some fundraiser misappropriation stuff, IIRC.

But weren't they playing together for like a couple of years before they started filming it? Was he just not part of the group when that was going in, or did it just come to a head when filming?

Dunno. Possible it only came to a head once it was being broadcast. I read a write-up of his time on the show, and it framed it as he had "main character syndrome", which doesn't work in an ensemble cast.

I think it really came out when they started broadcasting and it got worse and worse as they got more viewers. It's too bad. Tiberius was a great character at first, but Orion became really obnoxious as a player. Watching the last few episodes before he left, you can see some of it boiling to the surface, even though Matt and the others were trying to keep it under wraps.

If you liked it, you should give their gameplay videos on YouTube a shot.

What's the deal with the steampunk character? Seems out of place.

Percy? When they originally started playing, they played Pathfinder, which had a gunslinger character type. They converted over to D&D 5E when they started streaming their gameplay, but they kept the same characters. 5E didn't have that character type, so Matt Mercer, the DM, came up with the mechanics so that he could continue to play the character he started. As far as the character's backstory, that should be the focus of this arc of the story.

Duncan Idaho said:

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What's the deal with the steampunk character? Seems out of place.

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In the lore of the world, he is the one who effectively figured out how to use black powder and was enough of a tinkerer to create the first gun. I think we will see more of this as I believe he has a list very similar to Arya of who overthrew his family and his lust for revenge helped drive him creating this.

Saxsoon said:

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Duncan Idaho said:

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What's the deal with the steampunk character? Seems out of place.

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In the lore of the world, he is the one who effectively figured out how to use black powder and was enough of a tinkerer to create the first gun. I think we will see more of this as I believe he has a list very similar to Arya of who overthrew his family and his lust for revenge helped drive him creating this.

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Minor non-plot spoilers: One of his guns is literally called The List.

Was wild to see the Sun Tree moment animated

Episodes 10-12 are up. Great conclusion to the current arc and laid the foundation for the next.

maverick2076 said:

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If you liked it, you should give their gameplay videos on YouTube a shot.

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Enjoyong the heck outta the series.

Is watchung the gameplay videos truly worth the time with them being +3hrs an episode and 151 episodes for campaign 1?

It is significantly more involved, and there is a lot more depth to the stories. I think this 12 episode season covers 40-50 episodes of gameplay. A lot of story is cut out. Of course, watching them play out the story is a completely different experience, and one you might not enjoy. But I like it.

Thanks, maverick.

I'll give it a try. Can't be worse than 80% of "entertainment" content out there anyway.