As founding cast members of Critical Role, Matt Mercer and Marisha Ray are some of the most influential Dungeons & Dragons players in the world. Currently they act as the Chief Creative Officer and Creative Director for Critical Role, and have always centered their fans in their creative endeavours. When asked about the movement in the wider D&D fandom to Open D&D (by either removing the Open Gaming Licence from the auspices of Wizards of the Coast, or irrevocably enshrining the OGL 1.0a), their response was measured, but came down strongly on the side of creators.
“We thoroughly believe that the more systems, the more RPGs that are out there, the more variety that people have to choose from, that only strengthens the entire community,” said Ray. Critical Role put out a statement last week that many found ambiguous:
From all of us at Critical Role. pic.twitter.com/PDi9tDF4dc
— Critical Role (@CriticalRole) January 13, 2023
Ray said that the whole team had lengthy discussions about what to say and when to say it in order to convey support to the community. She continued, stating, “it’s important to have an environment that does allow these creators; independent, big, small, to create and make new things. Whichever way allows the community to do that, that’s where we’re going to stand and support.” She recalled that Critical Role started as a small independent project. “We’re never going to forget our roots.”
Mercer added that he is “definitely interested in watching where it goes.” He mentioned that the choice to separate the Open Gaming Licence between the OGL 1.2 and a Creative Commons licence was “a grandiose step in a grandiose direction. And I am very eager to see where it goes from here.”
The first three episodes of Critical Role’s animated series The Legend of Vox Machina are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. New episodes air every Friday.
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