53-513: Exandria Unlimited ( ExU ) is an American actual play anthology web series where the cast plays Dungeons & Dragons using the fifth edition ruleset. It is set in the Exandria campaign setting and is a spin-off of the web series Critical Role . The first season follows the Crown Keepers, a party of adventurers , in their travels across the continent of Tal'Dorei. It
106-545: A "unique style" and highlighted that "Iyengar's work here goes a long way toward proving that Critical Role doesn't always need Mercer at the head of the table to succeed". In a review of episode eight, The Geekly Grind highlighted that "this series wasn't to everyone's tastes, but overall I think it was a fun little mini-series to give the Critters nation a little taste of what the Critical Role channel could become in
159-424: A lot of other shit going on, not just on the other side of the planet but throughout time and history. So beyond just wanting to explore more of Exandria itself, we also wanted to explore more stories from different storytellers, and to show that anybody can create and build within the world of Exandria". Aabria Iyengar (known for other streaming shows such as Happy Jacks RPG , Dimension 20 , and Saving Throw )
212-481: A non-struck SAG-AFTRA contract. In 2018, the Diana Jones Award for excellence in tabletop gaming named the concept of actual play as that year's award winner, marking the first year the award was not awarded to a game, organization, or individual. Academic Emily Friedman, writing for Los Angeles Review of Books , highlighted that "there's the elemental pleasure of being told a story, intertwined with
265-555: A popular podcast and webseries format, and contributed to the resurgence of TTRPGs in the 2010s and 2020s. In 2008, the creators of Penny Arcade partnered with Wizards of the Coast to create a podcast of a few 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons adventures which led to the creation of the Acquisitions Incorporated . After the podcast was well-received, the players began livestreaming games starting in 2010 at
318-409: Is an actual play licensed by the publisher Paradox Interactive , and based on their role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade ; it premiered on Geek & Sundry in 2018. Rivals of Waterdeep is an official Wizards of the Coast actual play show, based on their Dungeons & Dragons system. Wizards of the Coast has also published collaboration sourcebooks based on actual play shows, such as
371-657: Is incredibly different from Critical Role 's main Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer [...]. While both approach Dungeons & Dragons wholeheartedly with the story in mind, Iyengar went above and beyond at times to see her players flesh out their in-game vision in ways some DMs may consider controversial – but it worked". Melzer highlighted that early poor dice rolls led to the characters' rough start, "however, their struggles became incredibly endearing". Melzer commented that "incorporating history, lore, story elements and even characters from past campaigns made
424-606: Is led by Mulligan as the Dungeon Master. It features Iyengar and Critical Role cast members Ray, Sam Riegel , Travis Willingham as players along with newcomers Lou Wilson and Luis Carazo. Their characters are high-level and showcase races and subclasses new to the Exandria setting. Carazo plays as the human paladin Zerxus Ilerus, Riegel plays as the changeling bard/warlock Loquatius Seelie, Iyengar plays as
477-521: Is regularly involved in the productions that Polygon spoke with, and therefore they will not be affected". Justin Carter, for Gizmodo , stated it was tricky as the "fate of an Actual Play show depends on the company behind it, and possibly what platform it's released on" – shows such as Dimension 20 on the streaming service Dropout and Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! on the "upcoming 24-hour Dungeons & Dragons Adventure streaming channel" are impacted by
530-401: Is the first season's Dungeon Master – it is the first Critical Role show to feature a Dungeon Master other than Mercer. On the design aspect for a limited series, Iyengar said, "It's the perfect thing because it creates this narrative scalpel. It's a very different type of storytelling in a familiar world". Brennan Lee Mulligan , the second season's Dungeon Master, told SyFy Wire that "he
583-519: The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount (2020) based on Critical Role and Acquisitions Incorporated (2019) based on the live play game by the same name. During the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike , Charlie Hall of Polygon commented that "actual play, which has grown in popularity since well before the pandemic, has often pulled in Hollywood types to fill seats at the table. But neither SAG-AFTRA nor AMPTP
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#1732798775965636-604: The Times-Herald Record , a 16 year-old Mulligan expressed conviction in theatrical gaming's potential to enable "kids [to] come out healthier beings than when they first arrive". In 2005, at 17 years old, Mulligan graduated from SUNY Ulster with an associate degree , having majored in philosophy and humanities . In 2009, Mulligan graduated from the School of Visual Arts with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in screenwriting. Mulligan and Molly Ostertag co-created
689-601: The Dread Trident: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Modern Fantastic , commented that shows such as Acquisitions Incorporated and Critical Role reflect "a wider phenomenon made clear by numerous Youtube.com videos of individual gaming sessions by random groups ... The confluence of these digital and analog streamed elements adds to the increasing archive of realized gametexts that can be consumed and analyzed with
742-519: The Hudson Valley Beltane Festival at age eleven. He started attending The Wayfinder Experience, a live-action role-playing summer camp , spending much of his teenage years working as a lead story writer, performer, and camp counselor there. At age 15, Mulligan and his brother co-founded Bootleg Adventures, organizing one-day live-action role-playing games to introduce children to theatrical gaming. In an interview with
795-464: The PAX festival. Acquisitions Incorporated went on to be described by Inverse in 2019 as the "longest-running live play game". Critical Role , a web series in which professional voice actors play Dungeons & Dragons , launched in 2015. Critical Role has been credited by VentureBeat as responsible for making actual play shows "their own genre of entertainment", and has since become one of
848-492: The Air Ashari, Carrero plays as the human warlock Opal, and Mercer plays as the dwarf sorcerer Dariax Zaveon. Daymond, Mercer, Carrero, and Iyengar reprised their roles for Exandria Unlimited: Kymal . Anjali Bhimani , who was previously an ExU guest star, also reprised her role as the fire genasi monk Fy'ra Rai. Erica Lindbeck joined the cast as Morrighan Ferus, a lagomore rogue . Exandria Unlimited: Calamity
901-523: The American version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and won $ 50,000 after incorrectly answering the $ 100,000 -question. By 2020, he lived in Los Angeles . On January 21, 2021, Mulligan announced his engagement to his fiancée, Izzy Roland, via Instagram . They married on April 1, 2023. On January 23, 2024, Brennan announced the birth of his and Roland's first child,
954-527: The Calamity, it was more about the end of the Age of Arcanum while Downfall occurs over a century into the Calamity and showcases that era. Zerxus Ilerez, played by Carazo, appears in the third season of The Legend of Vox Machina (2022) which is an animated adaptation of Critical Role 's first campaign . Petrana Radulovic of Polygon highlighted the "impactful" inclusion of Zerxus. Radulovic noted that in
1007-415: The Coast 's own Dungeons & Dragons podcast— Dragon Talk . Glen Weldon , in a review of Dimension 20 for NPR , commented that "Mulligan is such a good DM and he's got so many improv skills. He's such a close and responsive listener that no matter what the players throw at him, he can always roll with it, without breaking the game. And that is a very rare skill, so it's terrific stuff". Mulligan
1060-623: The Crown Keepers storyline with the guest cast; the main Critical Role cast returned after the ad break with Daymond as the only continuing guest star. At the end of Campaign 3 Episode 98, Critical Role announced the next episodes would be a three-part special titled "Downfall" with Mulligan as the Dungeon Master and player cast as Laura Bailey , Taliesin Jaffe , Johnson, Noshir Dalal, Nick Marini, and Abubakar Salim . Cheryl Teh of Business Insider highlighted that "Downfall" will focus on
1113-485: The Crown Keepers will reappear at some point, hopefully in a more permanent fashion". Actual play Actual play , also called live play , is a genre of podcast or web show in which people play tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) for an audience. Actual play often encompasses in-character interactions between players, storytelling from the gamemaster , and out-of-character engagements such as dice rolls and discussion of game mechanics. The genre emerged in
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#17327987759651166-721: The Motherlands are actual play shows with casts that are entirely made up of people of color. Death2Divinity is an actual play show with an all- queer , "all fat-babe " cast. Actual play shows have also been credited with improving representation of LGBT people in media more generally. Entertainment website Comic Book Resources has said that LGBT representation has been more easily incorporated into actual plays because they are often produced by independent creators and distributed online. The site named The Adventure Zone and Dimension 20 as two examples of actual plays which include LGBT characters. Friedman also commented that
1219-468: The SAG-AFTRA strike, while productions like Dimension 20 that hire talent and airs on a closed platform (i.e., one that's not open to anyone to post content on) are impacted by the SAG-AFTRA strike". In August 2023, Sam Reich announced that all Dropout shows (including Dimension 20 ) have resumed production as it was determined that their "New Media Agreement for Non-Dramatic Programming" was actually
1272-523: The alchemy of watching that story be created in front of your eyes (or ears). [...] We perceive simultaneously the character played and the player playing". Actual plays have contributed towards improving representation of people of color , women, and others in tabletop gaming, which has had a reputation of being primarily made up of white men. Maze Arcana's Sirens , with Satine Phoenix as dungeonmaster (DM), features an all-women group of players. Rivals of Waterdeep (DMed by Tanya DePass ) and Into
1325-471: The best places to discover the undersung 'ambitious middle' of actual plays — that is, shows that aspire to the same storytelling heights as the most popular troupes, but that lack the resources of time and production budget". TTRPG publishers have engaged with actual plays by licensing shows based on their products, running their own, incorporating content from actual plays back into source material, and playtesting games in actual play format. L.A. by Night
1378-571: The canon, the Calamity occurs "centuries before the events of The Legend of Vox Machina ", however, Zerxus as a character "didn't even exist till five years after the original Vox Machina campaign ended, so the entire interaction with Pike is new to the show". Chris King, for Polygon in July 2021, commented that the show's episode length is a potential barrier of entry and that the opening hook "can leave newcomers feeling as though they're missing something". King also called Iyengar "extraordinary" with
1431-420: The doom come or no?'". The first season is helmed by Iyengar and features Critical Role cast members Ashley Johnson , Liam O'Brien , Mercer as players. ExU also introduces two additional newcomers to Critical Role – Robbie Daymond and Aimee Carrero . Johnson plays as the faun druid Fearne Calloway, Daymond plays as the air genasi bard Dorian Storm, O'Brien plays as the halfling fighter Orym of
1484-545: The early 2000s and became more popular throughout the decade, particularly with the 2015 debut of Critical Role , an actual play webseries featuring professional voice actors . According to Evan Torner writing in Watch Us Roll , actual play is rooted in phenomena including magazine "play reports" of wargames and internet forums dedicated to role-playing games. With the emergence of esports , livestreamed gaming , and Let's Plays , actual plays of TTRPGs became
1537-489: The elf wizard Architect Arcane Laerryn Coramar-Seelie, Wilson plays as the human sorcerer/bard Guildmaster Nydas Okiro, Willingham plays as the eisfuura rogue Cerrit Agrupnin, Guardian of the Seventh, and Ray plays as the elf wizard Patia Por'co, The Keeper of Scrolls. Daymond, O'Brien, and Johnson reprise their ExU characters in Critical Role 's third campaign; while ExU 's first season takes place chronologically before
1590-553: The end of Critical Role 's second campaign and the start of the third campaign. In March 2022, Critical Role announced that the two-part adventure continuation, titled Exandria Unlimited: Kymal , would be released at the end of the month. In May 2022, they announced that the four-episode long second season, titled Exandria Unlimited: Calamity. It premiered on May 26, 2022 and aired during the hiatus of Critical Role 's third campaign. Marisha Ray , creator of ExU and creative director of Critical Role Productions , highlighted that
1643-410: The fall of the magocracy Aeor during the Calamity and suggested this will "allow Mulligan to flex his storytelling chops, perhaps reprising some elements of his first EXU: Calamity run". Mulligan commented that the two series wrestle with very different themes so while both are about the fall of flying cities, each has a distinct story. Mulligan also highlighted that while Calamity shows the trigger of
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1696-404: The franchise decided to run ExU to both explore new aspects of Exandria and to avoid burnout for the main Critical Role cast, especially Matthew Mercer —creator of the Exandria campaign setting and the main campaign's Dungeon Master . Ray said, "Realistically, we only get to experience Exandria through the eyes of a handful of people, in a very linear setting with each campaign. But there's
1749-480: The future. [...] This was a fun, crazy, surprisin [ sic ] and fantastic start to a great new series. I hope to see new GMs and players (both DnD vets and newbies) in future series. As much as I'm jonesing for another longform campaign, these quick mini-series have a real potential to snag many new friends and viewers to Critical Role". Jennifer Melzer, for CBR in August 2021, wrote that "Iyengar's style
1802-451: The largest "actual plays have viewer numbers that are the envy of some television networks". Amanda Farough wrote for VentureBeat that "the boundaries and barriers that have traditionally kept TTRPGs hidden behind an opaque divide have come tumbling down" and that actual play "long-form narrative is reshaping itself as an expression of both players and the audiences that accompany them on the journey ahead". Curtis D. Carbonell, in his book
1855-480: The modern fantastic". Both Farough and Carbonell highlighted that actual play shows have also increased sales of TTRPGs and related products. The Critical Role animated series The Legend of Vox Machina was crowdfunded on Kickstarter in 2019, where it raised US$ 11.39 million , setting the record for the most highly-funded film or TV project in the platform's history. Following this, Amazon streaming service Prime Video acquired exclusive streaming rights to
1908-579: The most prominent actual play series. Another popular series is The Adventure Zone , a comedic actual play podcast which has featured several TTRPG systems. As of 2021 , it received over 6 million monthly downloads, and ranked highly on Apple podcast charts. By 2021, there were hundreds of actual play podcasts. Many web festivals, such as New Jersey, Minnesota, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Cusco, and New Zealand, "now include actual play categories, and many have scholarship programs". Polygon highlighted that "web fest selections are quickly becoming one of
1961-451: The party's subsequent adventure in the Tal'Dorei city of Kymal. Exandria Unlimited: Calamity follows a new group of heroes from the Age of Arcanum who attempt to prevent the Calamity. It is set in the floating city of Avalir. Nerdist highlighted, "as the second age of Exandria, the Age of Arcanum is set about 1,500 years before the events of Critical Role . So they're digging way back into
2014-523: The plot threads that were revisited in Kymal , though, "Iyengar and the cast managed to leave fans with some serious cliffhangers and a brand new cast member they want to know more about. While it may not be entirely feasible for Critical Role to turn EU into a weekly campaign, there is certainly room (and fan desire) to at least see the cast more often. [...] The success of the side-series and number of plot threads left dangling make it all but inevitable that
2067-532: The series. The "Balance" campaign of The Adventure Zone was adapted into a series of graphic novels , the first of which was published in 2018. Brennan Lee Mulligan Brennan Lee Mulligan (born January 4, 1988) is an American comedian, actor, writer, and gamemaster . He often works with Dropout (formerly CollegeHumor ) as a writer, performer, and producer, and he is the creator and regular gamemaster for its Dungeons & Dragons -based actual play web series Dimension 20 . He also wrote
2120-559: The show until 2020. Mulligan was also a writer for several scripted shows on Dropout, including the Star Wars parody space saga Troopers , and the mockumentary Gods of Food. In 2023, Mulligan was a writer for Foul Play , an interactive murder mystery series created by Andrew Barth Feldman and Alex Boniello . In his twenties, he performed and taught comedy at the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB). It
2173-517: The strike as they "fall under SAG's Electronic Media contract, and are thus shut down". However, other actual plays such as Critical Role and shows on the Glass Cannon Network were not impacted by the strike. Christian Hoffer, for ComicBook.com , explained that YouTube and Twitch channels appear to be a "grey area" so " Critical Role and most Actual Play shows that air exclusively on YouTube and Twitch do not appear to impacted by
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2226-478: The superhero webcomic Strong Female Protagonist alongside artist Molly Ostertag . Brennan Lee Mulligan was born on January 4, 1988, in New York as the son of Elaine Lee and Joe Mulligan. He is of Irish descent. He was introduced to the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons by his mother at age nine, first gamemastering at age ten. Mulligan was introduced to theatrical gaming while attending
2279-510: The third campaign, Kymal is concurrent to the third campaign. Daymond's character Dorian exited the third campaign after fourteen episodes. Dorian's return to the Crown Keepers is then covered in Kymal . In Campaign 3 Episode 92, Mercer dismissed the main cast at the ad break including "himself as Dungeon Master". The episode then picked up with Iyengar as the Dungeon Master with Mercer, Daymond, Carrero, Bhimani, and Lindbeck reprising their player roles from Kymal . The following episode wrapped up
2332-569: The top 20 Patreon accounts in the world. He has received an "Excellence in Performance Award" from the New York International Fringe Festival , and won a 2019 Webby Award in the "Comedy: Shortform" category for his CollegeHumor skit, Tide CEO: You Gotta Stop Eating Tide Pods . Mulligan is the godson of comics artist and writer Michael Kaluta . In November 2015, Mulligan was a contestant on
2385-427: The webcomic Strong Female Protagonist , which was named one of io9 's Best New and Short Webcomics of 2012. In 2015, Strong Female Protagonist won an Autostraddle Comic and Sequential Art Award. In 2017, Mulligan joined CollegeHumor as a writer for Um, Actually: The Web Series. In 2018, CollegeHumor's streaming service Dropout launched Um, Actually as a game show, with Mulligan continuing to write for
2438-680: The wider Critical Role story, and 'will affect future environments and timelines across the overall lore of Critical Role.' So as fans await what may come from Campaign 3 of the core CR cast, Unlimited looks to offer a new vantage point into the world of Exandria". IGN also highlighted that "it's likely not the only such story planned; the announcement for the series teases that 'Within the world of Exandria, there are an unlimited amount of stories to be told - and we have only just begun'." Exandria Unlimited: Kymal follows Dorian Storm's return to his friends after his time in Campaign Three and
2491-464: The world familiar enough that it was easy for fans to fall in love with the story, the new players and the new DM even while missing those not at the table. [...] The mini-campaign did more than just hold fans over until the next full season – it was a successful experiment that deserves to come back in the future". Melzer, for CBR in April 2022, highlighted Exandria Unlimited: Kymal ; she commented on
2544-461: The world's past". The Calamity was an apocalyptic series of events caused by a civil war among the Exandrian pantheon and their followers. This war imperiled the entirety of Exandria and "only one-third of the [world's] population" survived. On June 10, 2021, Critical Role announced a new eight-episode limited series , titled Exandria Unlimited , which premiered on June 24, 2021. It aired between
2597-552: Was a part of the world he had envisioned that ExU would explore". Mulligan credits Mercer, Ray, lore keeper Dani Carr, and producer Kyle Shire for helping him "define this time period" and "supporting his vision". On setting Calamity during an apocalypse, Mulligan said, "If your only question is 'does the Calamity happen or not?' that's a different series. The question here is 'What is the nature of mortal beings when faced with this?' [...] There are different — and, in my opinion, more interesting — questions to be answered here than 'does
2650-405: Was inspired to set his potential ExU series in this mythical historical era following a conversation over dinner he had with Mercer in 2021 about the then-burgeoning idea for the spinoff series". Mulligan stated that Mercer "mentioned the Age of Arcanum and The Calamity and there was a little something in his voice. Like, 'Not idly do the leaves of Lórien fall.' With him saying it, I could tell it
2703-607: Was originally broadcast from June 24 to August 12, 2021 with a two-part continuation released at the end of March 2022. The second season, titled Exandria Unlimited: Calamity , was broadcast from May 26 to June 16, 2022. It follows a group of heroes from the Age of Arcanum who attempt to prevent the Calamity. Exandria Unlimited ( ExU ) is set in the city of Emon on the continent of Tal'Dorei 30 years after Campaign One and 10 years after Campaign Two . IGN reported, in June 2021, that " Exandria Unlimited will be considered canon within
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#17327987759652756-487: Was the Dungeon Master for Exandria Unlimited: Calamity , a weekly, four-part actual play web series spin-off of Critical Role that premiered on May 26, 2022. In January 2023, it was announced that Mulligan, along with Erika Ishii , Aabria Iyengar , and Lou Wilson , will star in the creator-owned actual play podcast Worlds Beyond Number . The show launched on March 1, 2023 and quickly became one of
2809-572: Was working at the UCB that led Mulligan to working at CollegeHumor , (premiering on December 14, 2017, with Who's the Real Cop? ). Since 2018, Mulligan has been an executive producer , writer, and gamemaster for Dimension 20 on Dropout (which also hosts his video podcast , Adventuring Academy ). In his capacity as a professional D&D gamemaster, he has been cited by Bleeding Cool , Comic Book Resources , Wired , and Wizards of
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