As everyone probably knows by now, there is not going to be a new episode of Critical Role tonight. They are spending the week hastily moving to their brand new set. Since Critical Role is such a large part of my Thursday, I have found myself at a loss.
Never fear though, I have found some solutions. While there will not be four hours of delicious D&D storytelling happening this week, there are a lot of good things to do during that time. These are not focused solely on that four-hour block on Thursdays, either. You can do any of these while waiting for the next new episode.
Though some of them do have time limitations so watch out for that.
Without further ado, here are the five things you can do while Critical Role is on break this week.
Support their Kickstarter campaign before 12 pm (noon) Pacific Time on Friday.
If you haven’t already heard the Critical Role team has partnered with Steamforged Games to produce a limited series of minis related to the show. For $60 plus shipping, fans can own full unpainted sets of minis featuring Vox Machina, the Mighty Nein, and a few extra Kickstarter exclusive friends.
This super limited Kickstarter campaign will close on Friday, July 6th at noon Pacific Time and after that, it is unclear when fans will have access to these again. So spend a few minutes, pledge your $60, and get ready to relive your favorite Critical Role moments with beautifully crafted minis.
Play Dungeons & Dragons with friends.
This one might be a bit obvious, but it is definitely how I plan to spend my extra time this week. Whether you have a group around a table or are meeting digitally through a platform like Roll20, I think the Critical Role crew would be proud to know their fans are getting together to play the game we all love. You can pick up on an ongoing campaign, try out a one-shot, or do what I’m doing and attend a session zero for a potential new campaign. The options are endless.
Give back to the community.
Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in our day-to-day lives, rushing from one thing to the next and forgetting to pause and consider ways to give back to our communities. The Critical Role cast and crew have made it abundantly clear through their own charitable giving that giving back is an important aspect of the show.
Maybe giving back means getting the kids in the neighborhood together to run a one-shot and teach them how to play D&D. Maybe it means volunteering at your local 826 chapter or finding another community-based organization to offer your time to. This is probably a bigger commitment than just this week, but it is good to take some time to reflect and research options while Critical Role is off this week.
Love on your fellow critters.
At the end of every Talks Machina host Brian W. Foster reminds us to love each other. Since Talks is also off this week due to the move it seems logical to take his advice to heart and show some love in light of our favorite shows being off this week. It can be as simple as sending a tweet to your favorite fan artist, checking out the #CriticalRole hashtag and complimenting one of your fellow fans, or looking for ways to support the awesome members of the community who might be struggling.
You can start by checking out Void Merch and sending some love out to the critter behind it by tweeting at him.
Create something.
Oftentimes I feel a little less than when I look at my abysmal artistic skills compared to some of the amazing talents in the Critical Role community. I’ve learned over time though that the best way to deal with those feelings is to keep creating. I might not be that great at art, or crafts for that matter, but I enjoy writing, putting together encounters for future D&D games, and sometimes I even love the process of attempting to create something outside of my comfort zone.
Whatever your skill, talent, or aspiration – take some time this week to go and do it. Share it with the community. You can never go wrong when you try something earnestly.
I can only imagine what Critical Role fans went through when the first campaign ended and there was a long span of time where there were no new episodes. In some ways I’m somewhat grateful I became a fan during the second campaign.
However, there are ways to make the best of this break. Along with the top five suggestions above, fans can go back and watch the adventures of Vox Machina either for the first time or the tenth time. Everyone can also wind back the clock on the second campaign and refresh memories of recent events.
Whatever you do, always follow the infamous Talks Machina advice: don’t forget to love each other and stay turnt.
Just one more week until Thursday, y’all.
English