Critical Role Campaign 4 has a major flaw in its unique structure

And we doubt it will change anytime soon

After a week away, Critical Role returns with a brand-new arc. It was revealed during Cooldown episode 17 (available only to Beacon members) that the Seekers would be hanging up their spy glasses. Next up, audiences will be deep-diving into whatever swindling shenanigans the Schemers table has been up to in the city of Dol-Makjar.

There have been some jaw-dropping lore reveals during the Seekers arc, but this particular group has also unintentionally exposed a flaw with Campaign 4’s unique “table” structure. Worse, it won’t be a flaw that will necessarily disappear as the campaign continues.

[Ed. note. This article will contain spoilers of Campaign 4’s Soldiers and Seekers arc.]

It was established before Campaign 4 began that after a four-episode overture introducing the plot, characters, and cast, the 13-player cast would split into three tables for a more West Marches-style approach. These tables would be the Soldiers, Seekers, and Schemers. While the overture ran a little over five and a half episodes, by the time we hit episode six, the tables and their goals had been fully formed and confirmed.

Dungeon Master Brennan Lee Mulligan described the Soldiers table as players who were “interested in a traditionally charged combat and conflict-driven story mode where the nonviolent answers were few and far between.” The Seekers, on the other hand, are more of a “classical fantasy,” with a deeper exploration of lore, cosmology, and the nature of the world of Aramán. Last but not least, the Schemers would focus on “intrigue, espionage, skulduggery, and relationships with each other” and their pursuit in understanding “the machinations of power.”

Unlike previous Critical Role adventures, which featured smaller main casts and were therefore more balanced in their mix of lore, roleplaying, and combat. Campaign 4’s approach means that both the cast and Mulligan will emphasize what makes these tables distinct from one another. This helps give each table its own identity, but if you prefer combat to drive the story, you might find it hard to stay excited during lore dumps from the Seekers. Worse, since each table has its own set of episodes before another table takes over, if you’re not enjoying it, you’ll have to slog through several episodes before things change.

I realized this myself when, after enjoying my time at the Soldiers' table, which featured a dazzling blend of combat, lore drops, and memorable NPCs, I found myself struggling to fully engage with the Seekers table.

This wasn’t due to anything the cast had done; it was the realization that I’m a player who prefers goals and missions that feel more personal to the characters, rather than the world of the campaign as a whole. Knowing more about the Shapers is fascinating, but it didn’t quite hit as hard as Thimble slaughtering Casimir to get revenge for Thjazi.

Unlike the Soldiers, the Seekers' goal to find out what happened at the Golden Orchard. They were also tasked with learning more about Occtis’ vision of a lone orc warrior standing against hordes of undead, both of which sounded fascinating on paper but failed to grab my attention as the episodes went on. Discovering more about cosmology and lore should be fascinating, but when that’s the majority of what you get in each episode it starts to wear on you. When that tremendous combat occurred in episode 14 of the Seekers arc, I was ecstatic to get comedy and combat alongside some major reveals. It was truly one of the biggest highlights of the Seekers table.

I’m a player and audience member who enjoys my combat and roleplaying equally, with lore coming somewhere near the middle-to-the-bottom of what interests me in a campaign. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been blown away by the reveals or angst-filled tension of the Seekers table; they just aren’t my priority.

My love for role-playing and for intimate, personal relationships within Dungeons & Dragons is, however, exactly why I — and I suspect others who value these things — am excited about the upcoming Schemers episodes. Give us the drama of messy relationships and how it relates to the inner workings of the city of Dol-Makjar, a location which I can relate to far more than the inner sanctuaries of gods and angels.

Campaign 4 was always going to be a big change from previous Critical Role campaigns, and while I don’t believe this unique structure will deter avid fans, it seems that, depending on what you value when it comes to Dungeons & Dragons, some episodes (and some tables) will be harder to get through than others.

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Campaign 4 is available to watch live on Twitch, YouTube, and Beacon.tv on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. PDT. If you can’t catch the episode live, don’t worry — Critical Role posts the episode to YouTube the following Monday at 3 p.m. EDT/12 p.m. PDT.