Popverse's top stories

• What happens to Dropout after its core cast moves on? Sam Reich isn't worried
• A controversial DC Comics boycott over Black-led comics ended after 6 days with an apology from organizers
• MEMBERS ONLY: The perfect introduction to Akira Toriyama isn’t Dragon Ball [Popverse Jump]

The Legend of Vox Machina season 4, the latest animated adaptation of a Critical Role adventure, is just a few hours away from debuting as of this writing. And according to much of the cast, one of the biggest things Critters have to look forward to is this season's introduction to Taryon Darrington as played by comedy legend Wayne Brady. The Whose Line is it Anyway star is joining the Prime Video series as a self-proclaimed Critter and D&D player himself, although interestingly, his approach to high fantasy TTRPGing is a little different from the guy currently captaining Critical Role's tabletop storytelling: Campaign 4 GM Brennan Lee Mulligan.

We found about about the divergence from the good folks over at Gamereactor UK, who sat down with Brady head of Vox Machina season 4 (and Taryon Darrington's) Prime debut. At one point in the discussion, Brady's interviewer asked him about what it was like working with the OG Critical Role cast - all of whom have major role in Vox Machina - and Brady pointed to their shared experience as improvisers as making the process go smoothly.

"Being an improviser," Brady said, "Which improvisation is what D&D is based upon, there's a spirit of 'Yes, And,' that permeates the entire project. So even though I was doing my work solo, I knew that they would be open to anything that I bring to the table."

(For clarification's sake; when Brady says he was "doing his work solo," he's talking about recording lines from home, not in a studio. Just in case that needed clearing up.) 

Interestingly, though, Brady's comment made us remember an interview of our own with Critical Role's Mulligan, who originated the comedian-driven TTRPG actual play series Dimension 20 and, like Brady, has extensive experience in the improv world. 

"'Yes, And' isn't always appropriate for D&D," Mulligan told us in our discussion. "Sometimes there is a dungeon that has been pre-drawn, and the traps are either there or they're not there. We can fudge it a little bit; we can have some fun, we can make an NPC where maybe there wasn't one before. But occasionally, if you're making a big scheme for your evil villain, you don't always want to wing that, because it might start to sap away at the reality of the world. You need a little pre-established something."

So does this mean there's going to be some beef in the hallowed halls of Critical Role soon? Not in the least. For one thing, there are many different schools of thought behind both improv comedy and TTRPGs, and to arbiltrarilly  say one is better than another is just foolish. But we should also point out that, even within the same philosophy, Brady and Mulligan are approaching D&D with very different objectives: as a player, Brady seeks to learn new information and respond to it truthfully with the character he's built, while as a frequent GM, Mulligan's job is to have the world already built out for when players like Brady arrive.

But does that mean we'd say no to a full-on debate between two of the funniest D&D nerds working today? Absolutely not - there are some bardic spells out there that we're pretty sure are intended for exactly that purpose.

The Legend of Vox Machina season 4 debuts on Prime Video June 3. Critical Role Campaign 4 is streaming now on the group's Beacon, YouTube, and Twitch channels.  

With two animated series on Prime Video, Campaign 4 in full swing, and so much more Exandrian lore to come, Critical Role is showing no signs of slowing down. That's why the adventuring party at Popverse are here to bring you everything we can from those nerdy-ass voice actors & Bo., including:

• Critical Role release schedule
• Critical Role's Campaign 4 characters ranked
• How to watch Critical Role in order
• Ways for you to relive the Critical Role panel from ECCC '26
• Taliesin Jaffe on playing Mollymauk Tealeaf for Campaign 2 vs. playing him for Prime Video
• Matt Mercer's homebrew warrior class (created originally for Vin Diesel)

...and much, much more. Roll initiative, player. Magic awaits.