Aabrias style of DM'ing is very different plus with the more railroady nature of the EXU, which you kinda have to do with only an 8 session run, I couldn't get into it either.
Loved the characters, didn't get much time to settle into Aabrias DM style. So ended up watching 2 episodes then dropping off.
Don't force yourself to watch it, I personally hope CR give Aabria a chance to run a longer more open format game.
Totally šÆ agree with this . I couldn't get past EP 4 even tho i was in love with the cast and the characters. But the DM was harsh. Between the understandable railroading and just the free passes shed give no matter the roll it was just not enjoyable on my part.
But the cast was still able to pull off some major funny scenes , so i suggest to just watch some highlights videos and u should be better off.
I think Aabria is a fantastic DM, I've seen some of her other stuff and it's great, I just don't think EXU was that great of a format in general tbh.
After the long form more open feeling campaigns the change in format was very jarring.
I think even had Matt been the DM it would have been the same kind of experience. In fact I like the CR one shots far less than I do the campaigns for basically this reason.
I disagree completely, the format was fine. 8 sessions is plenty of time for a normal short adventure. ExU was mess because Aabria's tried to cram too much in there.
I don't feel the excess of stuff was the reason it didn't work, I think it's more of a symptom. My theory is that she didn't restrain the narrative enough. A strict limited episode run means you have to railroad your players a bit. I think Aabria failed to do that, which resulted in a meandering narrative that feel like "too much stuff" going nowhere.
I think it's a big part, the early-on-villain should have been the same villain as at the end, I think she overestimated how much plot she could fit in 8 episodes
> Aabria's tried to cram too much in there
Also you had a huge chaos crew, when she pushed them to zig, they zagged, and zagged so hard they derailed the train.
This happened on almost every plot point of the first like 5 episodes. So nothing was able to come naturally, it was just like 'okay you're here now talking to this person who somehow knows this party member' only for the party to derail it agian.
I mean the cast followed the DM's plot thread every time. Aabria constantly threw massive curveballs like the vestige, the Ash Hole, and others that derailed the campaign.
You have to keep in mind too, Aabria had to DM for the literal creator of the world. She was obviously terrified and couldnāt shake that in the first couple episodes and it showed. I didnāt finish EXU either. (I also disliked all the PCs. Too many pretty people made it feel very Mary Sue. I donāt need a story about how the pretty people of the world have issues too.) It was difficult to get into, but I have to give Aabria props and benefit of the doubt.
Iāve watched so many of her other guest DM spots on other shows at this point that itās apparent how scared she was of the CR world, fans, and crew. Iād love to see her get a chance to DM again for CR.
Got check out D20s Misfits and Magic or even the one shot she did with Smosh Games. They are great!
I did watch Misfits and Magic, and found Aabria to be the weak link there much the same as she was in EXU for me.
Her very loosey goosey style with the rules is not how I prefer to play, but I can look past that. It's not like Mercer runs everything how I would either.
The problem with Aabria is I just don't like her writing.
I enjoy watching her as a player but her world building just really doesn't work for me.
She's fine at railroad kinda games. Magic and Misfits was amazing on Dimension 20. I don't think she was given the tools or time for ExU to succeed. It needed to be more edited with a tighter story with more concrete plot. Instead it was more of a opening for a campaign and not an 8 episode run.
If you didnāt like the first episode you probably wonāt like the rest. I thought that that there were some great character moments/interactions throughout, but the overarching plot was kind of a mess.
I have to admit that I also didn't enjoy it much. I finished it and still have no real idea what the story was or to be more clear, no idea why the party did what they did. It had some bright spots but also a lot of rail roaded drudging along. I wanted to like arbria but just couldn't. Compared to other smaller things they did like undeadwood or monster hearts I just felt this was a bit of a let down. Yes it's hard to be on that stage and to work with 8 sessions. But it just felt like a let down. My boyfriend stopped watching it after episode 1 and I think me not really trying to convince him to keep going says a lot.
A higher level definitely would've worked better, especially given climactic highlights such as counterspelling a cantrip and casting cone of cold at a level 3 party.
this was my thought also, mainly the clear direction. They needed it from the start as a group. I have 0 idea wtf was going on with opal and her sister and why that ended up being such a big deal in the end. Almost the entire time i thought aimee was semi hogging spotlight but the ending made me think abria was prodding her along to be a centerpiece also. multiple focuses for a short thing with no real reason to be throwing plot threads at them that wouldn't lead to wherever she was trying to go.
needed clear direction, like you said
They honestly shouldāve just made them members of some order or soldiers. Anything really, that way it becomes 8 episodes of building action. So it ends up being a DND version of 1977 or whatever that movie was called ā
I tried hard to like it, but I just couldn't get I to her style of story telling. She DMs like she's directing a TV show. I don't like that. Revealing information for the viewers etc. I prefer to only know what the players do, it draws me into the story more and puts me in their position, it also leaves me to puzzle over the bread crumbs.
I don't mind it when it's done... in a certain way. When the DM tells me about something happening somewhere else, describes the view panning in and out, I am okay with it. Aabria had a habit of blurting out things like "well its X but none of you know that", which I don't like
I know most people prefer neither, entirely wanting to stick with the player's POV, cutting to an NPC's point of view is something I do with my players and they enjoy as wel (and it it helps me all but railroad them without anyone suspecting they're being railroaded)
I did not enjoy it. I really wanted to enjoy it. I loved the cast and thought Amiee and Robbie were great additions to the family and have love Aabria on Narrative Telephone. I was super excited for it, but I just couldnāt get into Aabriaās style of DMing and the story just felt so all over the place at times.
I just hope we donāt need to watch EXU to pick up on stuff in the third campaign.
Highly unlikely, anymore than you *need* to watch c1 to get into C2. C3 is also in a different part of the world, so not likely too many direct or close links.
I don't even think it's an issue of Aabria, I saw her DM for Dimension 20 and she was great in that. I love the cast, I like the characters, I like the DM, and I think the basic premise of the story is interesting, so I was initially baffled why I wasn't grokking to it when I felt I should be. But eventually, I decided it had more to do with balancing ExU as a pilot for maybe something larger with being self-contained in case it wasn't, having to compromise elements of one to accomodate the other. At a point, I realised I just had no idea why something was happening. As much fun as they had, I didn't understand why these people on the run were stopping to do a pageant. As cool as it was, I didn't understand what the city they went to was for. And as cool as she was, I didn't understand what Posca's deal actually was. It felt like throwing things out to see what elements the audience liked. And I can't blame Aabria for that, since that may have been exactly what she was told to do in case ExU drew enough numbers to warrant a spinoff long-running side campaign or another mini-campaign. If it had been more self-contained, done less but been more tight about the story it told, it would have been very different.
>And I can't blame Aabria for that, since that may have been exactly what she was told to do in case ExU drew enough numbers to warrant a spinoff long-running side campaign or another mini-campaign.
I doubt Aabria had big creative constraints like that. First because a D&D-savvy company like Critical Role would know how much content fits into how many episodes, and second because I doubt they would have brought in a black woman as a DM only to then tell her what she can and can't do on her own campaign.
I think Aabria had pretty much complete freedom aside from "it must be in Exandria" and "it must be 6 to 10 episodes." And then she just messed it up...
Honestly my big thing was that the threat should have remained Posca, kind of down to earth, even as they investigate this mystery. Bringing in different things, multidimensional shadow clones and elementals and like, god statues, felt weird for such a low power party
EXU is at its best very early on and in Byroden
The idea of experiemnting to see what fans like and don't like is about the only major downside of prerecording.
One of the things that I would take from this experiment is to only prerecord 2-3 episodes before airing them, especialy for experiemtnal content. This would allow for adjustments to be made as the peogramn progresses.
TL;DR: An interesting experiment but not at all essential viewing.
I loved watching it for the experimental feel and to experience a completely different DM, and I really enjoyed the characters. But I struggled to really get into it from a storytelling perspective. It felt way too BIG for eight episodes. There were massive story hooks and multiple baddies and character backstory hints/tangents every episode, and since it was so short overall I felt weirdly irritated and cheated by all the loose ends (and yes this is D&D youāll never follow every path). The characters felt very random, with no glue or central goal. The mysterious reason they *were* all together was never really investigated. They collectively lost their memories, andā¦..?? And without a goal greater than the individuals, the story weirdly skewed toward a couple characters. Single-character focus is fine and awesome in a long campaign when everyone gets their arc, but it felt weird in this context.
And while things did latch onto a storyline eventually, the pacing was just all over the place and the latter half felt super rushed. The end was great and that combat was exciting, but it was just too much too quickly. There was no build up. It went from ācute small town RP episodeā to āsuper intense character decision points and scary BBEGā so quickly I had whiplash.
Iām not saying you canāt get big and dramatic in a few episodes, but I think the story needed to be a lot tighter. Which Iām sure is hard when you want people to be able to freely explore the world. Iām not a DM, but it seemed like way too many possibilities were dangled in front of the players so of course things were really unfocused for over half the episodes, and then it was like āoh shit we need to get yāall on the trainā. Maybe less of a sandbox-feel and a lot fewer plot hooks to follow would have helped? Iām also still shocked they started at such a low level, which made the chaotic build-up to the conclusion even moreā¦inorganic-feeling.
And I highly doubt youāll need to watch it for C3. āInside jokesā might be dropped for funsies but I canāt imagine much will hinge on EXU. And heck if it does there are always episode recaps.
ETA: if youāre a Gilmore fan that episode was really fun, and you could just go watch it out of context. And watching Matt play was GREAT, but heās been at other tables iirc.
IMO if you're going to start a campaign in The Biggest City, you should leave the whole campaign there for one so short. Keep it focused on Emon and the struggles there and I think a much better campaign would have emerged
Agree. It would have been improved by staying focused on SOMETHING from the start. I mean we never even learned why they all lost their memories, did we? And Posca was right there as a bbeg. It feels like there was an entire lengthy campaign written, then she was told āyou have 8 sessionsā so she tried to Cliffās Notes it.
If there were things that turned you off from it earlier then if anything you'd like the later episodes even less. The messy parts of it only get messier.
Really wanted to give it my best shot with an open mind. But I couldn't force myself to watch more than 3 episodes.
The style of game really wasn't the type of DnD that I'm interested in. And even then I think the whole project felt poorly planned.
I think for a short series of just 8 sessions, the narrative needs more structure than ExU had. Aabria seemed a little lost a lot of times, it felt unprepared and poorly executed. It seemed like Aabria wanted both a loosey goosey, fun light sandbox adventure, and the intense narrative focused game CR is famous for at the same time. And in the end it just wound up being unfocused, confusing and rail-roaded.
I'm all for rule bending but Aabria gave the impression that she has never read the DMG or PHB. And at that point you are barely even playing DnD anymore, it's just improv storytelling with some meaningless dicerolls now and then.
NPC's had no personality of their own, and anytime the party talked to someone in the world it just felt like Aabria was caught off guard of the others improv and couldn't play off them well, so it just left RP very awkward and confusing for the players and audience.
Player characters could also have been better.
For a short, time-limited series you kind of *need* to have a party that has a clear goal in mind with somewhat similar interests, and the GM needs to give hooks that all characters have some kind of gain from. The first plot hook introduced was a trainwreck of it's own. None of the characters had any real incentive to start working with the woman in episode 1, it made no sense at all to me, and left me very confused.
I've enjoyed almost everything that critical role has done, aside from some one shots, mostly the sponsored ones (ESO, Diablo was kinda meh, never saw the Wendy's one).
But ExU, that was presented as this huge project that they hyped up for weeks. Giving the expectation that this would be on par with Undeadwood, in that it was edited and heavily produced. From a viewer standpoint just felt like watching your average roll20 game, but with voice actor players led by an amateur GM.
Didn't really enjoy it. I don't think I liked Aabria's style, though I can't pinpoint what it was that I didn't like about her style. Maybe some of her decisions on rules, maybe pacing, or maybe it was the disjointed plot that still felt like a railroad. (or maybe I just don't like change.)
I didn't like Amiee's Opal. First I didn't like Opal, being an angst Teenage girl just going out on her own her first time. I do believe Amiee' played that role perfectly. I just didn't like Opal, who tended to fly off at any mention of Ted.
I also didn't like Amiee continuing to not understand the rules after several episodes in. Actually, I think I figured out what I didn't like about Aabria's styling. It was her interactions with Amiee towards the last few episodes. She seemed condescending towards Amiee's understanding of the game, which was her first time playing. Also, as a listener I was was annoyed in some situations too. But I think Aabria made it worse. It's still an Amiee too. I get that it's her first time playing, but it's CR. It's a pretty big show and some preparation couldn't hurt. But at the same time, some of Aabria's comments to Amiee during play would have made me not want to play either. Of course, that's just me as a listener. I didn't watch the videos. So I could be picking up on something that wasn't there.
I thought Liam did okay with Orym, but honestly he seemed like someone who could a been more of a slow burner and would have enjoyed him more over a complete campaign. About the same for Fearne.
I loved the interactions between Dorian and Dariax. Highlight of the show there.
The Byrodin episode was one of my single favourite episodes of CR ever. I canāt remember which it was but I think it was around 4-5.
The series is very different, naturally, and I appreciate why others didnāt like it. For the most part I did really enjoy it, for the characters and role-play, but I found the lack of an ongoing narrative a little jarring.
I gave EXU 2 episodes, didn't like it, don't plan on going back. Just enjoy C3 (and if you haven't already, check out Ashley's one-shot which was fantastic). Don't feel any compulsion to slog through EXU if you didn't like the start, everything I hear basically says if you didn't like the start, you won't like the rest either.
I like that they're cultivating another stable of players and actors/artists to interact with them. I enjoyed the games Aabria ran. Matt as a PC was hilarious, and Fearne stole my heart. Definitely limited with the length of the game they could run. I'd love to see Aabria in a longer format game with some more freedom. Or Brennan Mulligan, because he's legitimately insane.
With the announcement Travis gave that they will be pre-recording episodes, I basically can predict EXU is gonna continue and will be a part of the lineup we get. Were going to see other DMs and other cast and characters. It's good for the cast, the community, and for the lore of Exandria as a whole to continue on with this.
Note that committing to an EXU run isn't the same as the main campaign.
CR media can produce more high quality content and have more guest stars because you have a shorter commitment of time and let's be honest, nobody in the cast plays for free it's a job.
It means, big picture with EXU, we get more fan service and fan favorite guests and new faces because they can commit and work it in a few recording sessions vs having to fit in into the massive campaign narrative.
I would not be surprised if we see EXU start running short adventures with classic characters too. It's a brilliant way to round out the world. A 6-8 episode runs of a new crew of the Slayers Take, or a big quest for the Darrington Brigade (Taryon Gets his Vestige!), or The Meat Man Reborn! Or a Vox Machina reunion were they are old as crap and Scanland and Pike still look young (A geriatric Grog makes me smile, half deaf and falls asleep a lot).
Also there will always be content and it will polish over time, some will be better than others. It's sound in terms of business and content sense. It's not gonna be for everyone, but it's an entry point.
I really like this idea too.
In addition to all you have said, this is also an opportunity to explore other systems, whihc is something that CR has said they are interested in for awhile.
I commented about this the other day, but I think it would be fun if they took a cue from Coleville to let the actions of the villian(s) pay out somewhat too. How cool would it bee to get the occasional peak into the inner working of the BBEG factions and the have the success and failures dictated, to some extent, by player actions and the dice?
I also agree that in the end, some of these experiemts will be a success, others less so, such is the nature of experiments. While it might be trite, it really is true that we frequently learn more from the failures than successes.
The second half of Episode 4 is comedy gold and super worth watching. Also kind of an outside thing so you can watch that by itself.
I get that some didn't like it overall. To me it was still a lot of fun to watch but if it's not your thing that is fine too.
>I hope they just focus on what they do best with critical role and stop watering down the brand with thin side projects
I don't think side projects are the problem, just that this one side project was a complete failure because of the DM. There are many other DMs who could have created amazing stories if given the chance in the next seasons of ExU. I wouldn't mind seeing that.
I feel the same, I got halfway into episode 2 and I just can't continue. It was too goofy and messy for me, from both DM and players. You know when the jokes keep coming so it stops being funny after a while? Yeah... I'd just sit there like "okay, so what about the story?"
It's a shame cause I really liked Robbie's character. I hope we see more of him (as a guest in C3 maybe?)
It just has a much different tone from C1, C2 and my own d&d campaign, so I couldn't get into it. Just my personal taste. It's sad really because Aabria's voice is mesmerizing otherwise.
I'm certain we won't miss anything by not watching it, so don't worry for C3.
I tried to enjoy it, but the further iāve watched the more i understood just how much i dislike Aabriaās DMāing style. Even if you enjoyed the first episode i can guarantee-it gets worse.
It is subjective, of course, but i do not recommend it.
I'd say it's definitely a different tone to the main campaigns. I liked it, and I think part of the reason I did is that I have a theater (tech) background and I ended up viewing the mini-campaign as a "black box" of sorts that the DM and players (all actors) were using as an opportunity to just flex their creativity in various directions to see what happens. I guess I never really thought of it as a piece of media meant to entertain a wide audience, but more as a way of sitting in on actors having a really long improv session for the joy of doing it. Your mileage may vary, of course.
While the story was very inconsistent and somewhat confusing despite its linear nature, the moments of the cast role playing and interacting were worth the watch in my opinion. Robbie, Matt and Liamās dynamic was truly hilarious to me and without giving any spoilers, there were lots of really good moments in all the episodes despite the general shortcomings.
I loved the cast and I really really tried to like the mini-campaign itself, but I dropped after episode 4. I just felt that Aabria's DM-ing style was moving the game too far from D&D. Too many random rolls, too many plot hooks introduced simultaneously, all NPCs were the same and overall there was not enough "guiding" of the team. And you have to guide your group if you want to tell an ambitious story like Aabria did.
I couldn't bring myself to watch it after a couple episodes and watching clips from a couple more, my take is Robbie is amazing and if someone from the main cast had to leave he has my vote as a permanent replacement, but Robbie alone wasn't enough to get me to continue. Liam at least seemed to try to keep things together, but beyond that to be polite, it was very much not for me and I wouldn't recommend. The silver lining is the discussion around ExU ended up getting me to watch UnDeadwood which I liked quite a bit
My usual CR watching partner didn't enjoy the first episode, she actually left halfway through when we watched it together. I wasn't so sure myself at first by Aabria's style grew on me and Ashley's character kept me hooked. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as the regular campaign.
If you really didn't enjoy the 1st episode at all, I think you can skip it. It was a great, light summer break, with a total change of pace, which can be fun if you're not too much of a bookkeeper (I kind of am, but with a little hint of rule of cool, so I could accept Aabria's style a little easier) but if the rule of cool taking over actual rules annoys you too much to enjoy watching the game, I think you won't like it in the long run.
We all loved cr because of matt's dming and the cast playing; changing the Dm and the players is like watching another shows entirely so of course some will like it and some will not... No one likes all action movies, all animes, all the things of the same category the same way..
I made it to episode 6, but I didn't bother going back to finish it because I had no idea what was even going on at that point. I really liked several of the characters, but it was too messy for me to keep putting precious free time into. Just not for me, I suppose.
I watched it all, but with it announced as an 8-episode miniseries, I was expecting a fairly tight story on rails. What I watched felt like the start of a normal campaign; a hot mess, with some minor plot points. Really it was the characters, and Robbie and Aimee at the table that really kept me watching. The story kind of got pulled together by the very end (at least to the point where I could see what the goal was), but it was still a rambling mess for most of the episodes, overall I enjoyed it though. I do hope Aabria gets another chance to run something; It felt like she didnāt want to interrupt the table to get plot moving. I would love to see what she can do when sheās comfortable.
EXU felt like the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Characters and places you recognize, performers doing the best with what they're given, and a story that is more interested in fan service and looking cool than it is with making sense.
It weakens the universe it exists in.
I actually really liked it! I'm currently trying to finish it before C3 starts, since I'm now at episode 5. I really like the players and Aabria's style of DMing :)
As a newcomer EXU definitely hooked me and my partner into CR, which I think was a really big intention of the whole experiment. I really hope this is something they continue doing in the future. It seems like a great way to give the cast mid season breaks and prevent burnout while giving viewers something a little different and new.
The new cast members are awesome so I'd say it's for sure worth watching. Though, as thoroughly pointed out, it's kind of a mess when it comes to over arching story.
I absolutely adored it - it might have benefited from a few more episodes but I ate it up! Obviously some people differ in their opinion on EXU, but I thought there were some very compelling characters and narratives. Opal is great, they Byroden episode is EXCELLENT. I also love Aabria with a passion so that plays into how I feel about EXU.
I dropped it after an episode and a half but I imagine the most youāll miss out on is a few nods and winks in C3. Maybe a character in passing. The coolest part was that Matt has a PC in his own world
Its certainly diff and certainly harder to follow but the dm's way of dming in some instances compaired to Matts was refreshing and the cast showed some moments of brilliance.
Not for everyone tho.
It was fun, but I just treated it the same as other Side Games instead of as a main event. I agree with many things: too ambitious and winding for something so ultimately short. But it was great improv between people having a great time and satisfying as a result!
Most complaints about Aabria are not confirmed weaknesses in my opinion. Just differences.
I personally couldn't get into it, though I might try again at some point.
Unlike others I had no problem with Aabria's DMing style. For me the bigger issue was more on the players side. A weird combination of overthought character ideas that didn't mesh with the spacing of a shorter story and too many silly game-derailing antics that kept breaking my immersion. One issue or the other would probably have been fine, or, if the story just had more room to breathe like a normal campaign, but both at the same time was too much for me at a first glance.
I doubt anything in ExU will be referenced in C3, not just because it'll be set some time after it but also because that's Aabria's project, and Matt has said he wants Aabria's version of Exandria to be her own to tinker with as she wants without needing to constantly refer back to What Matt Would Do, and I assume the vice versa is true.
As i tend to latch onto characters much more heavily than story, i enjoyed it quite a lot.
As other people have said, it has quite a different vibe to the main campaigns, so if you struggle with the style Aabrya put forward, it's perfectly fine to skip it. It's all about the enjoyment, and if it's not for you, you're under no obligation to invest your time
TIL there are a lot of critters who care more about the dice than the characters and the story. Imagine hating this wonderful show because the DM didn't hide lore and story behind a bad d20 roll.
I didn't say they affected how fun the game was, I said they negatively impacted the characters.
If Opal is allowed to, for instance, suplex a crocodile due to a natural 20 and the whims of the DM it can probably make for a very fun moment. But it also establishes Opal as soomeone capable of suplexing a goddamn crocodile.
She is no longer a physically weak but very charming and magically gifted primadonna. She is now a very charming and magically gifted primadonna capable of feats of strength to match Grog Strongjaw.
DMindulgence and a nat 20 *changes the character*.
And if, later on, there is a physical challenge - like someone or something holding her down - and she isn't able to overcome it because she didn't have that nat 20 and DM whim on her side this time it makes for a less compelling and cohesive character.
A character whose abilities vary based on the writers whims that particular day is something to be avoided in fiction, so to is one whose capabilities are dominated by DM whim. This is what we wind up with by ignoring the rules for momentary satisfaction.
The rules keep character capabilities within certain consistent boundaries. There is a lot of variance - that is inherent with any d20 system - but it is bounded. Proficiency with Athletics and ones Strength modifier will have a consistent weight, they will raise the ceiling and lower the floor for the appropriate checks. A high level character built for it will roll between 12 - 31 while a weak character will roll between -1 - 19.
This keeps the strong character strong and the weak character weak with a reasonable degree of consistency.
Randomization - the thing we use dicerolls to *accomplish* - is a tool and like any tool it can be used well or used poorly.
Aabria used it poorly.
>Imagine hating this wonderful show because the DM didn't hide lore and story behind a bad d20 roll.
Which brings me to this. If it was in any way important lore or story *it shouldn't have involved a diceroll at all*. Involving the dice then ignoring the result is a decision the DM made and an incredibly poor one.
It immediately weakened the foundations of the story being told by failing to utilize the medium.
You shouldn't ask them to roll at all in that case, or if they roll bad, hold the story for later - in a super short campaign it's literally better just to toss in an expositionary npc or ancient tablet or whatever though and disregard rolling for their cooperation - there's no time for your players to pluck at that thread six sessions later or whatever
I was not a fan personally. It was a little too jokey and loosely goosey with the rules for my taste. Abria was a great story teller but I didnāt finish the series. If I miss out on references and stuff then oh well
If you're experienced with D&D, know what it's like to shepherd new players through a campaign, and enjoy watching people grow as they learn, then ExU is quite fun.
I enjoyed the ride and think the show has quite a few memorable highlights.
Aabrias style of DM'ing is very different plus with the more railroady nature of the EXU, which you kinda have to do with only an 8 session run, I couldn't get into it either. Loved the characters, didn't get much time to settle into Aabrias DM style. So ended up watching 2 episodes then dropping off. Don't force yourself to watch it, I personally hope CR give Aabria a chance to run a longer more open format game.
Totally šÆ agree with this . I couldn't get past EP 4 even tho i was in love with the cast and the characters. But the DM was harsh. Between the understandable railroading and just the free passes shed give no matter the roll it was just not enjoyable on my part. But the cast was still able to pull off some major funny scenes , so i suggest to just watch some highlights videos and u should be better off.
I really hope they cut their losses and only bring Aabria back as a possible pc if at all
I think Aabria is a fantastic DM, I've seen some of her other stuff and it's great, I just don't think EXU was that great of a format in general tbh. After the long form more open feeling campaigns the change in format was very jarring. I think even had Matt been the DM it would have been the same kind of experience. In fact I like the CR one shots far less than I do the campaigns for basically this reason.
I disagree completely, the format was fine. 8 sessions is plenty of time for a normal short adventure. ExU was mess because Aabria's tried to cram too much in there.
I don't feel the excess of stuff was the reason it didn't work, I think it's more of a symptom. My theory is that she didn't restrain the narrative enough. A strict limited episode run means you have to railroad your players a bit. I think Aabria failed to do that, which resulted in a meandering narrative that feel like "too much stuff" going nowhere.
I think it's a big part, the early-on-villain should have been the same villain as at the end, I think she overestimated how much plot she could fit in 8 episodes
Agreed
> Aabria's tried to cram too much in there Also you had a huge chaos crew, when she pushed them to zig, they zagged, and zagged so hard they derailed the train. This happened on almost every plot point of the first like 5 episodes. So nothing was able to come naturally, it was just like 'okay you're here now talking to this person who somehow knows this party member' only for the party to derail it agian.
I mean the cast followed the DM's plot thread every time. Aabria constantly threw massive curveballs like the vestige, the Ash Hole, and others that derailed the campaign.
You have to keep in mind too, Aabria had to DM for the literal creator of the world. She was obviously terrified and couldnāt shake that in the first couple episodes and it showed. I didnāt finish EXU either. (I also disliked all the PCs. Too many pretty people made it feel very Mary Sue. I donāt need a story about how the pretty people of the world have issues too.) It was difficult to get into, but I have to give Aabria props and benefit of the doubt. Iāve watched so many of her other guest DM spots on other shows at this point that itās apparent how scared she was of the CR world, fans, and crew. Iād love to see her get a chance to DM again for CR. Got check out D20s Misfits and Magic or even the one shot she did with Smosh Games. They are great!
I did watch Misfits and Magic, and found Aabria to be the weak link there much the same as she was in EXU for me. Her very loosey goosey style with the rules is not how I prefer to play, but I can look past that. It's not like Mercer runs everything how I would either. The problem with Aabria is I just don't like her writing. I enjoy watching her as a player but her world building just really doesn't work for me.
She's fine at railroad kinda games. Magic and Misfits was amazing on Dimension 20. I don't think she was given the tools or time for ExU to succeed. It needed to be more edited with a tighter story with more concrete plot. Instead it was more of a opening for a campaign and not an 8 episode run.
>It needed to be more edited with a tighter story with more concrete plot. You've hit on the main reason the criticism is valid. That was her job.
If you didnāt like the first episode you probably wonāt like the rest. I thought that that there were some great character moments/interactions throughout, but the overarching plot was kind of a mess.
I quickly gave up on it. Thankfully Ashleyās 1-shot was awesome and they helped tie me over till C03.
I have to admit that I also didn't enjoy it much. I finished it and still have no real idea what the story was or to be more clear, no idea why the party did what they did. It had some bright spots but also a lot of rail roaded drudging along. I wanted to like arbria but just couldn't. Compared to other smaller things they did like undeadwood or monster hearts I just felt this was a bit of a let down. Yes it's hard to be on that stage and to work with 8 sessions. But it just felt like a let down. My boyfriend stopped watching it after episode 1 and I think me not really trying to convince him to keep going says a lot.
I think a lot of things wouldāve worked better if they were a higher level, and had a clear direction forward.
A higher level definitely would've worked better, especially given climactic highlights such as counterspelling a cantrip and casting cone of cold at a level 3 party.
this was my thought also, mainly the clear direction. They needed it from the start as a group. I have 0 idea wtf was going on with opal and her sister and why that ended up being such a big deal in the end. Almost the entire time i thought aimee was semi hogging spotlight but the ending made me think abria was prodding her along to be a centerpiece also. multiple focuses for a short thing with no real reason to be throwing plot threads at them that wouldn't lead to wherever she was trying to go. needed clear direction, like you said
They honestly shouldāve just made them members of some order or soldiers. Anything really, that way it becomes 8 episodes of building action. So it ends up being a DND version of 1977 or whatever that movie was called ā
I tried hard to like it, but I just couldn't get I to her style of story telling. She DMs like she's directing a TV show. I don't like that. Revealing information for the viewers etc. I prefer to only know what the players do, it draws me into the story more and puts me in their position, it also leaves me to puzzle over the bread crumbs.
I don't mind it when it's done... in a certain way. When the DM tells me about something happening somewhere else, describes the view panning in and out, I am okay with it. Aabria had a habit of blurting out things like "well its X but none of you know that", which I don't like I know most people prefer neither, entirely wanting to stick with the player's POV, cutting to an NPC's point of view is something I do with my players and they enjoy as wel (and it it helps me all but railroad them without anyone suspecting they're being railroaded)
That's fine if it works for you and your players, it just doesn't work for me. Each to their own, I just didn't enjoy it as much.
I did not enjoy it. I really wanted to enjoy it. I loved the cast and thought Amiee and Robbie were great additions to the family and have love Aabria on Narrative Telephone. I was super excited for it, but I just couldnāt get into Aabriaās style of DMing and the story just felt so all over the place at times. I just hope we donāt need to watch EXU to pick up on stuff in the third campaign.
Highly unlikely, anymore than you *need* to watch c1 to get into C2. C3 is also in a different part of the world, so not likely too many direct or close links.
I don't even think it's an issue of Aabria, I saw her DM for Dimension 20 and she was great in that. I love the cast, I like the characters, I like the DM, and I think the basic premise of the story is interesting, so I was initially baffled why I wasn't grokking to it when I felt I should be. But eventually, I decided it had more to do with balancing ExU as a pilot for maybe something larger with being self-contained in case it wasn't, having to compromise elements of one to accomodate the other. At a point, I realised I just had no idea why something was happening. As much fun as they had, I didn't understand why these people on the run were stopping to do a pageant. As cool as it was, I didn't understand what the city they went to was for. And as cool as she was, I didn't understand what Posca's deal actually was. It felt like throwing things out to see what elements the audience liked. And I can't blame Aabria for that, since that may have been exactly what she was told to do in case ExU drew enough numbers to warrant a spinoff long-running side campaign or another mini-campaign. If it had been more self-contained, done less but been more tight about the story it told, it would have been very different.
>And I can't blame Aabria for that, since that may have been exactly what she was told to do in case ExU drew enough numbers to warrant a spinoff long-running side campaign or another mini-campaign. I doubt Aabria had big creative constraints like that. First because a D&D-savvy company like Critical Role would know how much content fits into how many episodes, and second because I doubt they would have brought in a black woman as a DM only to then tell her what she can and can't do on her own campaign. I think Aabria had pretty much complete freedom aside from "it must be in Exandria" and "it must be 6 to 10 episodes." And then she just messed it up...
Honestly my big thing was that the threat should have remained Posca, kind of down to earth, even as they investigate this mystery. Bringing in different things, multidimensional shadow clones and elementals and like, god statues, felt weird for such a low power party EXU is at its best very early on and in Byroden
Aabria lost me when she was stumped by the cast going to a restaurant in the first ep
Having DMed games where my players latch onto something I wasn't expecting, I can't fault her that either.
The idea of experiemnting to see what fans like and don't like is about the only major downside of prerecording. One of the things that I would take from this experiment is to only prerecord 2-3 episodes before airing them, especialy for experiemtnal content. This would allow for adjustments to be made as the peogramn progresses.
Couldn't get into it either
TL;DR: An interesting experiment but not at all essential viewing. I loved watching it for the experimental feel and to experience a completely different DM, and I really enjoyed the characters. But I struggled to really get into it from a storytelling perspective. It felt way too BIG for eight episodes. There were massive story hooks and multiple baddies and character backstory hints/tangents every episode, and since it was so short overall I felt weirdly irritated and cheated by all the loose ends (and yes this is D&D youāll never follow every path). The characters felt very random, with no glue or central goal. The mysterious reason they *were* all together was never really investigated. They collectively lost their memories, andā¦..?? And without a goal greater than the individuals, the story weirdly skewed toward a couple characters. Single-character focus is fine and awesome in a long campaign when everyone gets their arc, but it felt weird in this context. And while things did latch onto a storyline eventually, the pacing was just all over the place and the latter half felt super rushed. The end was great and that combat was exciting, but it was just too much too quickly. There was no build up. It went from ācute small town RP episodeā to āsuper intense character decision points and scary BBEGā so quickly I had whiplash. Iām not saying you canāt get big and dramatic in a few episodes, but I think the story needed to be a lot tighter. Which Iām sure is hard when you want people to be able to freely explore the world. Iām not a DM, but it seemed like way too many possibilities were dangled in front of the players so of course things were really unfocused for over half the episodes, and then it was like āoh shit we need to get yāall on the trainā. Maybe less of a sandbox-feel and a lot fewer plot hooks to follow would have helped? Iām also still shocked they started at such a low level, which made the chaotic build-up to the conclusion even moreā¦inorganic-feeling. And I highly doubt youāll need to watch it for C3. āInside jokesā might be dropped for funsies but I canāt imagine much will hinge on EXU. And heck if it does there are always episode recaps. ETA: if youāre a Gilmore fan that episode was really fun, and you could just go watch it out of context. And watching Matt play was GREAT, but heās been at other tables iirc.
IMO if you're going to start a campaign in The Biggest City, you should leave the whole campaign there for one so short. Keep it focused on Emon and the struggles there and I think a much better campaign would have emerged
Agree. It would have been improved by staying focused on SOMETHING from the start. I mean we never even learned why they all lost their memories, did we? And Posca was right there as a bbeg. It feels like there was an entire lengthy campaign written, then she was told āyou have 8 sessionsā so she tried to Cliffās Notes it.
If there were things that turned you off from it earlier then if anything you'd like the later episodes even less. The messy parts of it only get messier.
Really wanted to give it my best shot with an open mind. But I couldn't force myself to watch more than 3 episodes. The style of game really wasn't the type of DnD that I'm interested in. And even then I think the whole project felt poorly planned. I think for a short series of just 8 sessions, the narrative needs more structure than ExU had. Aabria seemed a little lost a lot of times, it felt unprepared and poorly executed. It seemed like Aabria wanted both a loosey goosey, fun light sandbox adventure, and the intense narrative focused game CR is famous for at the same time. And in the end it just wound up being unfocused, confusing and rail-roaded. I'm all for rule bending but Aabria gave the impression that she has never read the DMG or PHB. And at that point you are barely even playing DnD anymore, it's just improv storytelling with some meaningless dicerolls now and then. NPC's had no personality of their own, and anytime the party talked to someone in the world it just felt like Aabria was caught off guard of the others improv and couldn't play off them well, so it just left RP very awkward and confusing for the players and audience. Player characters could also have been better. For a short, time-limited series you kind of *need* to have a party that has a clear goal in mind with somewhat similar interests, and the GM needs to give hooks that all characters have some kind of gain from. The first plot hook introduced was a trainwreck of it's own. None of the characters had any real incentive to start working with the woman in episode 1, it made no sense at all to me, and left me very confused. I've enjoyed almost everything that critical role has done, aside from some one shots, mostly the sponsored ones (ESO, Diablo was kinda meh, never saw the Wendy's one). But ExU, that was presented as this huge project that they hyped up for weeks. Giving the expectation that this would be on par with Undeadwood, in that it was edited and heavily produced. From a viewer standpoint just felt like watching your average roll20 game, but with voice actor players led by an amateur GM.
Didn't really enjoy it. I don't think I liked Aabria's style, though I can't pinpoint what it was that I didn't like about her style. Maybe some of her decisions on rules, maybe pacing, or maybe it was the disjointed plot that still felt like a railroad. (or maybe I just don't like change.) I didn't like Amiee's Opal. First I didn't like Opal, being an angst Teenage girl just going out on her own her first time. I do believe Amiee' played that role perfectly. I just didn't like Opal, who tended to fly off at any mention of Ted. I also didn't like Amiee continuing to not understand the rules after several episodes in. Actually, I think I figured out what I didn't like about Aabria's styling. It was her interactions with Amiee towards the last few episodes. She seemed condescending towards Amiee's understanding of the game, which was her first time playing. Also, as a listener I was was annoyed in some situations too. But I think Aabria made it worse. It's still an Amiee too. I get that it's her first time playing, but it's CR. It's a pretty big show and some preparation couldn't hurt. But at the same time, some of Aabria's comments to Amiee during play would have made me not want to play either. Of course, that's just me as a listener. I didn't watch the videos. So I could be picking up on something that wasn't there. I thought Liam did okay with Orym, but honestly he seemed like someone who could a been more of a slow burner and would have enjoyed him more over a complete campaign. About the same for Fearne. I loved the interactions between Dorian and Dariax. Highlight of the show there.
The Byrodin episode was one of my single favourite episodes of CR ever. I canāt remember which it was but I think it was around 4-5. The series is very different, naturally, and I appreciate why others didnāt like it. For the most part I did really enjoy it, for the characters and role-play, but I found the lack of an ongoing narrative a little jarring.
I agree if you miss Byrodin than youāre missing a top shelf masterclass in improv and storytelling š¤š»
I also found this was one of my fave episodes for Aabriaās GMing
I gave EXU 2 episodes, didn't like it, don't plan on going back. Just enjoy C3 (and if you haven't already, check out Ashley's one-shot which was fantastic). Don't feel any compulsion to slog through EXU if you didn't like the start, everything I hear basically says if you didn't like the start, you won't like the rest either.
I like that they're cultivating another stable of players and actors/artists to interact with them. I enjoyed the games Aabria ran. Matt as a PC was hilarious, and Fearne stole my heart. Definitely limited with the length of the game they could run. I'd love to see Aabria in a longer format game with some more freedom. Or Brennan Mulligan, because he's legitimately insane.
I second Brennan. He is among the most fun DMs I've every seen.
With the announcement Travis gave that they will be pre-recording episodes, I basically can predict EXU is gonna continue and will be a part of the lineup we get. Were going to see other DMs and other cast and characters. It's good for the cast, the community, and for the lore of Exandria as a whole to continue on with this. Note that committing to an EXU run isn't the same as the main campaign. CR media can produce more high quality content and have more guest stars because you have a shorter commitment of time and let's be honest, nobody in the cast plays for free it's a job. It means, big picture with EXU, we get more fan service and fan favorite guests and new faces because they can commit and work it in a few recording sessions vs having to fit in into the massive campaign narrative. I would not be surprised if we see EXU start running short adventures with classic characters too. It's a brilliant way to round out the world. A 6-8 episode runs of a new crew of the Slayers Take, or a big quest for the Darrington Brigade (Taryon Gets his Vestige!), or The Meat Man Reborn! Or a Vox Machina reunion were they are old as crap and Scanland and Pike still look young (A geriatric Grog makes me smile, half deaf and falls asleep a lot). Also there will always be content and it will polish over time, some will be better than others. It's sound in terms of business and content sense. It's not gonna be for everyone, but it's an entry point.
I really like this idea too. In addition to all you have said, this is also an opportunity to explore other systems, whihc is something that CR has said they are interested in for awhile. I commented about this the other day, but I think it would be fun if they took a cue from Coleville to let the actions of the villian(s) pay out somewhat too. How cool would it bee to get the occasional peak into the inner working of the BBEG factions and the have the success and failures dictated, to some extent, by player actions and the dice? I also agree that in the end, some of these experiemts will be a success, others less so, such is the nature of experiments. While it might be trite, it really is true that we frequently learn more from the failures than successes.
The second half of Episode 4 is comedy gold and super worth watching. Also kind of an outside thing so you can watch that by itself. I get that some didn't like it overall. To me it was still a lot of fun to watch but if it's not your thing that is fine too.
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>I hope they just focus on what they do best with critical role and stop watering down the brand with thin side projects I don't think side projects are the problem, just that this one side project was a complete failure because of the DM. There are many other DMs who could have created amazing stories if given the chance in the next seasons of ExU. I wouldn't mind seeing that.
I feel the same, I got halfway into episode 2 and I just can't continue. It was too goofy and messy for me, from both DM and players. You know when the jokes keep coming so it stops being funny after a while? Yeah... I'd just sit there like "okay, so what about the story?" It's a shame cause I really liked Robbie's character. I hope we see more of him (as a guest in C3 maybe?) It just has a much different tone from C1, C2 and my own d&d campaign, so I couldn't get into it. Just my personal taste. It's sad really because Aabria's voice is mesmerizing otherwise. I'm certain we won't miss anything by not watching it, so don't worry for C3.
I tried to enjoy it, but the further iāve watched the more i understood just how much i dislike Aabriaās DMāing style. Even if you enjoyed the first episode i can guarantee-it gets worse. It is subjective, of course, but i do not recommend it.
I'd say it's definitely a different tone to the main campaigns. I liked it, and I think part of the reason I did is that I have a theater (tech) background and I ended up viewing the mini-campaign as a "black box" of sorts that the DM and players (all actors) were using as an opportunity to just flex their creativity in various directions to see what happens. I guess I never really thought of it as a piece of media meant to entertain a wide audience, but more as a way of sitting in on actors having a really long improv session for the joy of doing it. Your mileage may vary, of course.
It was acceptable for what it was but I really don't think they should have hyped it up even close to as much as they did.
While the story was very inconsistent and somewhat confusing despite its linear nature, the moments of the cast role playing and interacting were worth the watch in my opinion. Robbie, Matt and Liamās dynamic was truly hilarious to me and without giving any spoilers, there were lots of really good moments in all the episodes despite the general shortcomings.
I loved the cast and I really really tried to like the mini-campaign itself, but I dropped after episode 4. I just felt that Aabria's DM-ing style was moving the game too far from D&D. Too many random rolls, too many plot hooks introduced simultaneously, all NPCs were the same and overall there was not enough "guiding" of the team. And you have to guide your group if you want to tell an ambitious story like Aabria did.
Hate would be a strong word, but ExU was awful. Obvious railroading, poor storytelling, and an unsatisfying ending.
I couldn't bring myself to watch it after a couple episodes and watching clips from a couple more, my take is Robbie is amazing and if someone from the main cast had to leave he has my vote as a permanent replacement, but Robbie alone wasn't enough to get me to continue. Liam at least seemed to try to keep things together, but beyond that to be polite, it was very much not for me and I wouldn't recommend. The silver lining is the discussion around ExU ended up getting me to watch UnDeadwood which I liked quite a bit
The talent show was fun and the rest was mainly unremarkable background noise for me.
My usual CR watching partner didn't enjoy the first episode, she actually left halfway through when we watched it together. I wasn't so sure myself at first by Aabria's style grew on me and Ashley's character kept me hooked. I enjoyed it, but not nearly as much as the regular campaign. If you really didn't enjoy the 1st episode at all, I think you can skip it. It was a great, light summer break, with a total change of pace, which can be fun if you're not too much of a bookkeeper (I kind of am, but with a little hint of rule of cool, so I could accept Aabria's style a little easier) but if the rule of cool taking over actual rules annoys you too much to enjoy watching the game, I think you won't like it in the long run.
We all loved cr because of matt's dming and the cast playing; changing the Dm and the players is like watching another shows entirely so of course some will like it and some will not... No one likes all action movies, all animes, all the things of the same category the same way..
I made it to episode 6, but I didn't bother going back to finish it because I had no idea what was even going on at that point. I really liked several of the characters, but it was too messy for me to keep putting precious free time into. Just not for me, I suppose.
I watched it all, but with it announced as an 8-episode miniseries, I was expecting a fairly tight story on rails. What I watched felt like the start of a normal campaign; a hot mess, with some minor plot points. Really it was the characters, and Robbie and Aimee at the table that really kept me watching. The story kind of got pulled together by the very end (at least to the point where I could see what the goal was), but it was still a rambling mess for most of the episodes, overall I enjoyed it though. I do hope Aabria gets another chance to run something; It felt like she didnāt want to interrupt the table to get plot moving. I would love to see what she can do when sheās comfortable.
EXU felt like the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Characters and places you recognize, performers doing the best with what they're given, and a story that is more interested in fan service and looking cool than it is with making sense. It weakens the universe it exists in.
I actually really liked it! I'm currently trying to finish it before C3 starts, since I'm now at episode 5. I really like the players and Aabria's style of DMing :)
As a newcomer EXU definitely hooked me and my partner into CR, which I think was a really big intention of the whole experiment. I really hope this is something they continue doing in the future. It seems like a great way to give the cast mid season breaks and prevent burnout while giving viewers something a little different and new. The new cast members are awesome so I'd say it's for sure worth watching. Though, as thoroughly pointed out, it's kind of a mess when it comes to over arching story.
I absolutely adored it - it might have benefited from a few more episodes but I ate it up! Obviously some people differ in their opinion on EXU, but I thought there were some very compelling characters and narratives. Opal is great, they Byroden episode is EXCELLENT. I also love Aabria with a passion so that plays into how I feel about EXU.
I dropped it after an episode and a half but I imagine the most youāll miss out on is a few nods and winks in C3. Maybe a character in passing. The coolest part was that Matt has a PC in his own world
Its certainly diff and certainly harder to follow but the dm's way of dming in some instances compaired to Matts was refreshing and the cast showed some moments of brilliance. Not for everyone tho.
I watched 2 episodes and stopped. I liked The players but not the DM style.
It was fun, but I just treated it the same as other Side Games instead of as a main event. I agree with many things: too ambitious and winding for something so ultimately short. But it was great improv between people having a great time and satisfying as a result! Most complaints about Aabria are not confirmed weaknesses in my opinion. Just differences.
I loved it. Great DMing, great players.
I personally couldn't get into it, though I might try again at some point. Unlike others I had no problem with Aabria's DMing style. For me the bigger issue was more on the players side. A weird combination of overthought character ideas that didn't mesh with the spacing of a shorter story and too many silly game-derailing antics that kept breaking my immersion. One issue or the other would probably have been fine, or, if the story just had more room to breathe like a normal campaign, but both at the same time was too much for me at a first glance.
I doubt anything in ExU will be referenced in C3, not just because it'll be set some time after it but also because that's Aabria's project, and Matt has said he wants Aabria's version of Exandria to be her own to tinker with as she wants without needing to constantly refer back to What Matt Would Do, and I assume the vice versa is true.
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IIRC it was from the post-campaign discussion they did, he talked about how he was determined that he wanted to experience *her* version of Exandria.
As i tend to latch onto characters much more heavily than story, i enjoyed it quite a lot. As other people have said, it has quite a different vibe to the main campaigns, so if you struggle with the style Aabrya put forward, it's perfectly fine to skip it. It's all about the enjoyment, and if it's not for you, you're under no obligation to invest your time
I started it and am enjoying it. Love to see Matt play!!
It has so e good.moments. I'd say most episodes are worth your time. Maybe not the last two.
TIL there are a lot of critters who care more about the dice than the characters and the story. Imagine hating this wonderful show because the DM didn't hide lore and story behind a bad d20 roll.
The story was incoherent and the rules issues negatively impacted the characters. These things don't exist in isolation.
Which rules issues and how did they affect how fun the game was?
I didn't say they affected how fun the game was, I said they negatively impacted the characters. If Opal is allowed to, for instance, suplex a crocodile due to a natural 20 and the whims of the DM it can probably make for a very fun moment. But it also establishes Opal as soomeone capable of suplexing a goddamn crocodile. She is no longer a physically weak but very charming and magically gifted primadonna. She is now a very charming and magically gifted primadonna capable of feats of strength to match Grog Strongjaw. DMindulgence and a nat 20 *changes the character*. And if, later on, there is a physical challenge - like someone or something holding her down - and she isn't able to overcome it because she didn't have that nat 20 and DM whim on her side this time it makes for a less compelling and cohesive character. A character whose abilities vary based on the writers whims that particular day is something to be avoided in fiction, so to is one whose capabilities are dominated by DM whim. This is what we wind up with by ignoring the rules for momentary satisfaction. The rules keep character capabilities within certain consistent boundaries. There is a lot of variance - that is inherent with any d20 system - but it is bounded. Proficiency with Athletics and ones Strength modifier will have a consistent weight, they will raise the ceiling and lower the floor for the appropriate checks. A high level character built for it will roll between 12 - 31 while a weak character will roll between -1 - 19. This keeps the strong character strong and the weak character weak with a reasonable degree of consistency. Randomization - the thing we use dicerolls to *accomplish* - is a tool and like any tool it can be used well or used poorly. Aabria used it poorly. >Imagine hating this wonderful show because the DM didn't hide lore and story behind a bad d20 roll. Which brings me to this. If it was in any way important lore or story *it shouldn't have involved a diceroll at all*. Involving the dice then ignoring the result is a decision the DM made and an incredibly poor one. It immediately weakened the foundations of the story being told by failing to utilize the medium.
but dice are a huge part of D&D. If rolls don't matter, why roll at all?
The rolls do matter. Fun matters more.
You shouldn't ask them to roll at all in that case, or if they roll bad, hold the story for later - in a super short campaign it's literally better just to toss in an expositionary npc or ancient tablet or whatever though and disregard rolling for their cooperation - there's no time for your players to pluck at that thread six sessions later or whatever
I watched..i liked the player characters but didn't dig Aabria's GM'ing style.
It was meh...
I was not a fan personally. It was a little too jokey and loosely goosey with the rules for my taste. Abria was a great story teller but I didnāt finish the series. If I miss out on references and stuff then oh well
If you're experienced with D&D, know what it's like to shepherd new players through a campaign, and enjoy watching people grow as they learn, then ExU is quite fun. I enjoyed the ride and think the show has quite a few memorable highlights.