Dungeons & Dragons fans can play the new Critical Role adventure online

Critical Role fans who don’t have a regular gaming group are in for a treat. Dungeons & Dragons Adventurer’s League, Wizards of the Coast’s organized play program, will be running players through the entire Call of the Netherdeep: Critical role story. The adventure module has been released and it is now being used for organized play. Sessions will begin March. 18.

The latest iteration of D&D Adventurer’s League is run by Baldman Games. Players can pay a small fee of $15 to reserve a table at the table and enjoy a four hour session with a skilled DM. David Christ, the founder, led the online push in 2020. The entire program was moved to virtual tabletsops such as Roll20 and Fantasy Grounds. The League continues to thrive, and much of the League’s activity is organized via Discord.

Polygon met with Spencer Navarra-Chew to discuss Baldman, explaining that the 224-page campaign manual has been cut into manageable chunks by contractors for Wizards. It is planned to break it up into four hour chunks, each with a start, middle and finish. They will be played in order by players who sign up for them. Each time they are played with another group. Character progress — including leveling up and loot — will carry over.

The result is a D&D game that isn’t quite as open-ended as ones you might play at home. Players aren’t encouraged to wander from the main storyline, mainly due to the need to wrap things up in a timely fashion and prepare players for the next part of the campaign. But the benefit is that you don’t need a regular group to experience the full story. It’s possible to show up at the table alone with your character, knowing that the rest of the group is also up-to-speed and eager to continue the story.

Sign-ups are open now at The Yawning Portal, the official online registration tool for the D&D Adventurer’s League. Those starting at level 1 can sign up for the “Frozen Sick” adventure to get started right away. There will soon be options for higher-level players. Head to Baldman’s Discord for more information, including a list of the books and rules that will be allowed for building your character.