{"id":114391,"date":"2025-08-03T01:24:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-03T01:24:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/114391\/"},"modified":"2025-08-03T01:24:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-03T01:24:09","slug":"critical-role-adds-brennan-lee-mulligan-as-campaign-4-game-master","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/114391\/","title":{"rendered":"Critical Role Adds Brennan Lee Mulligan as Campaign 4 Game Master"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tContrary to popular (internet joke<\/a>) belief, \u201cDimension 20<\/a>\u201d Brennan Lee Mulligan<\/a> is not abandoning his career to make custom American Girl doll shoes. No, not only has Mulligan struck a new three-year development deal at his longtime home media company Dropout<\/a> (formerly CollegeHumor) but he\u2019ll be visiting the team at Critical Role<\/a> as their Game Master for the next core campaign of the tabletop role-playing game, actual-play series\u2019.<\/p>\n

\n\tPremiering Thursday, Oct. 2, the currently untitled Campaign 4 will be \u201cushering in a new era with new legends to be forged in a brand new world,\u201d per Critical Role<\/a>. The fourth installment follows the previous core campaigns: \u201cVox Machina\u201d (Campaign 1), \u201cThe Mighty Nein\u201d (Campaign 2) and most recently \u201cBells Hells\u201d (Campaign 3).<\/p>\n

\n\tBest known as the dungeon master for his Dropout actual-play series \u201cDimension 20,\u201d Mulligan will serve as Game Master for the full duration of Campaign 4, \u201cbringing his signature depth, humor, wit, and high-stakes drama to Critical Role\u2019s next grand adventure.\u201d Mulligan takes over the role from Critical Role\u2019s staple Game Master, Matt Mercer, who will be taking \u201ca bit of a breather\u201d this campaign as the actual-play series explores the world outside its usual Exandria setting.<\/p>\n

\n\tDetails on the cast, world, game system, format and more for Campaign 4 will be revealed in the coming months. The season will be available for streaming on Critical Role streamer Beacon.tv, as well as Critical Role\u2019s YouTube and Twitch channels on Oct. 2. The VOD available for everyone the following Monday and podcast episodes will drop in two parts: the first one the week after the premiere, and the second on the following Tuesday. <\/p>\n

\n\tPer Critical Role, Beacon subscribers will also get \u201cexclusive access to all episodes of Critical Role Cooldown for Campaign 4, where the cameras keep rolling and you get a front row seat to the cast\u2019s post-show reactions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition to \u201cDimension 20,\u201d Mulligan\u2019s notable projects include his popular podcast \u201cWorlds Beyond Number,\u201d and other Dropout original series including \u201cGame Changer,\u201d \u201cMake Some Noise\u201d and \u201cVery Important People.\u201d Mulligan recently signed a new three-year deal with Dropout, which includes continuing to lead \u201cDimension 20\u201d creatively and strategically, as well as an overall development deal to create and produce new Dropout series.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve been enormous fans of Brennan\u2019s for many years now, and when it came to giving both Matthew Mercer and the world of Exandria a bit of a breather, Brennan felt like the perfect storyteller to take our community somewhere entirely new,\u201d Critical Role CEO, co-founder and cast member Travis Willingham said. \u201cCritical Role has always been about genuine connection through storytelling first and foremost, and as Brennan himself will tell you, he\u2019s still played more TTRPGs away from a camera than in front of it. His passion and drive for worldbuilding is infectious, and it\u2019s been an absolute joy to spark off him as we forge ahead. \u201c<\/p>\n

\n\tCritical Role creative director, co-founder and cast member Marisha Ray added: \u201cWe\u2019re not just turning a page \u2013 we\u2019re starting a whole new book. Everything about Campaign 4 is fresh; new world, new tone, new possibilities. We can\u2019t wait for the fans to experience what we\u2019ve been building.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSee below for Variety\u2018s Q&A with Mulligan about his new deal with Dropout and plans for his temporary takeover at Critical Role.<\/p>\n

\t\tExciting times! First off, you\u2019re pretty busy right now \u2014 will your role as Game Master for Critical Role\u2019s Campaign 4 affect production on Dropout\u2019s \u201cDimension 20\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWe are at the beginning of an epic adventure. I am about to embark \u2014 once again, to my great honor and privilege \u2014 behind the screen over at Critical Role for the beginning of Campaign 4. Oh my God, I cannot wait to share with everybody what we\u2019re cooking up. And I can also say, over at \u201cDimension 20,\u201d we are cooking up multiple seasons right now. <\/p>\n

\n\tThe future is very bright. Just signed a new three-year deal, not only to continue to lead creatively and strategically with my beloved Intrepid Heroes and all our amazing friends that work with us in the dimensional dome for many, many, long years to come, but also a new development deal for even things and projects beyond, waiting in the mist for us to discover. Because things at Dropout are just going awesome, and we have so many amazing people there to collaborate with. The future is very bright.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn terms of either of these projects impacting the other, the primary and I think sole way that the excitement and enthusiasm around Campaign 4 of Critical Role is impacting all the amazing things cooking up at \u201cDimension 20\u201d is that I\u2019m maybe too lucky for a person that I get to have all this fun. That\u2019s the number one, and sole impact is I\u2019m having a fucking ball. It\u2019s very exciting. <\/p>\n

\n\tWe\u2019re also wrapping up Book One of \u201cThe Wizard, the Witch and The Wild One\u201d for \u201cWorlds Beyond Number,\u201d which I\u2019m so enormously proud of. I\u2019ll also get to be a player at the table of the one, the only, the inimitable of Aabria Iyengar, who I\u2019m so excited to be a PC for in the next big, main campaign of \u201cWorlds Beyond Number.\u201d So that\u2019s very exciting.<\/p>\n

\t\tSo would you say there has been plenty in the pipeline \u201cD20\u201d-wise that it wouldn\u2019t affect production or release schedule?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWe just shot an awesome season of \u201cDimension 20\u201d earlier this month. And I hate to brag, but while you\u2019re asking, it\u2019s one of the most delightful, funny, tears were shed beautiful performances. Also, it was a gorgeous production experience. We were going home on time. We weren\u2019t even going over on our schedule. The reason that I am able to play in the epic adventures and fantasy worlds of Critical Role, and that I am able to tell these wild million different dimensions of candy \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d and high school for heroes, all this stuff over at \u201cDimension 20,\u201d is because truly of the diligence, brilliance and incredible work ethic of the cast, crew and staff of both of these incredible institutions. <\/p>\n

\t\tHow did this Critical Role opportunity come about?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt started a while ago. Critical Role has \u201cThe Legend of Vox Machina,\u201d \u201cThe Mighty Nein,\u201d comics and shows and live shows and stories and the incredible work that\u2019s gone into Darrington Press and \u201cDaggerheart.\u201d Just the amount of achievement, creatively and artistically over at Critical Role is so profound. The experience I had creatively with \u201cCalamity\u201d and \u201cDownfall\u201d and \u201cDivergence\u201d was just so positive and such a joy to share that with everybody there, that as the company expands and the founding cast has this incredible creative empire to manage, I think it was looking to me to come in and take the reins, largely so that the incredible creative minds there can tend to all of these astounding endeavors that they have going on. And it\u2019s a delight and a privilege for me to be able to do that. I know this is glib, but I\u2019m finally playing almost as much TTRPG as I\u2019d like. We\u2019re getting close.<\/p>\n

\t\tCan you say what game system you\u2019re thinking of using for this one?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI will be glad to share that that announcement is scheduled and on route.<\/p>\n

\t\tGoing back to the renewal of the deal with Dropout \u2014 can you hint at what new series and projects you\u2019re excited about pursuing in the future for Dropout, outside of \u201cDimension 20\u201d?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt has been the honor and privilege of a lifetime to be the creator and EP of \u201cDimension 20\u201d and my work there as well on all of our shows, \u201cMake Some Noise\u201d and \u201cGame Changer.\u201d And there are so many projects there that, as Dropout continues to expand and thrive \u2014 we have now this incredible development team, not only of the senior leadership at the company, but like Paul Robalino, Rosie Keller and Elise Finley, who are amazing. They\u2019re so brilliant. <\/p>\n

\n\tAnd in terms of what I personally am excited for, the worlds along the horizon for Dropout, I think we have this amazing facility with unscripted content. And there are a lot of ideas that I have from my background in LARPing, or my background in other pursuits and hobbies that I look at and I go, \u201cWe work with the greatest improvisers on the planet, can we find unscripted venues that tell a story we haven\u2019t gotten to tell yet?\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tBut then beyond that, this is a big, multi-year deal. Dropout is my home. Sam Reich gave me that phone call and changed my life, so I\u2019ll be there. They will have to drag me kicking and screaming out of Dropout, American Girl-doll-shoes jokes notwithstanding. Nothing could compel me to leave. And I\u2019m so proud to be associated with a company like Dropout and the horizon is so broad. Maybe different kinds of storytelling, even beyond unscripted? Are there things on the far horizon for our company that maybe makes sense?<\/p>\n

\t\tRecently, \u201cDimension 20\u201d released a Webtoon comic series based on its \u201cFantasy High\u201d season. Are there any other \u201cDimension 20\u201d storylines that you\u2019re looking at adapting for another format in a similar way?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tYou know what, I hate not giving you stuff to talk about so I\u2019ll take a risk here and say: In different ways to share our world, there is more than one world that is currently receiving TLC in terms of what other corners might be explored within it, even beyond the bounds of actual play.<\/p>\n

\t\tEloquently put. A few more important questions here: Which American Girl doll<\/a> do you most enjoy making custom shoes for?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tJosefina, and it\u2019s because I learned how to pronounce her name correctly. I said it wrong in the video and people really let me have it, let me tell you. So that\u2019s my mea culpas. We\u2019ll get Josefina\u2019s name right, and we\u2019ll get those shoes right.<\/p>\n

\t\tWhich of those sketch videos do you hope ultimately wins the \u201cFool\u2019s Gold\u201d episode of \u201cGame Changer\u201d<\/a>? \t<\/p>\n

\n\tI have to say I think Izzy Roland\u2019s \u201cEven More Buttholes\u201d video<\/a> is going to be a dark horse. I think that people should pay attention. Izzy Roland is the funniest comedian on the planet. And anybody who doesn\u2019t think so, they got a problem with me.<\/p>\n

\t\tAnd finally, will you be green-lighting a full season of Katie Marovitch\u2019s \u201cDimension 20: On a Bus\u201d<\/a>?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWow, it\u2019s an amazing question. I\u2019m not gonna lie, I have reservations about green-lighting a full season, only because Katie is so much a better \u201cDragon Master\u201d than me that I think it will dim my light and make me look bad in comparison. And I know that Katie is coming from my throat. I mean, Marovitch is one of the most ruthless operators out there, don\u2019t get it twisted. It\u2019s a knives out bloodbath, that\u2019s why they call her Bloodbath Marovitch. And you can quote me on that. <\/p>\n

\t\tAre you considering implementing Katie\u2019s strictly D6 rolling method moving forward in your work?\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m waiting to see if Katie can add in a tactical movement element, because battle sets are an important part of the design aesthetic of \u201cDimension 20.\u201d I also would love there to be just more than one rule, one feels like kind of not enough. I\u2019ve asked if Katie could make even two or three additional rules. She hung up on me and then vandalized my home. But that\u2019s Katie Bloodbath Marovitch. And, again, I\u2019m hoping the name sticks.<\/p>\n

\n\tThis interview has been edited and condensed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Contrary to popular (internet joke) belief, \u201cDimension 20\u201d Brennan Lee Mulligan is not abandoning his career to make…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":114392,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[71929,71930,71931,71932,171,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-114391","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-brennan-lee-mulligan","9":"tag-critical-role","10":"tag-dimension-20","11":"tag-dropout","12":"tag-entertainment","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114962226595791633","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114391","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114391"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114391\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114392"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114391"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114391"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114391"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}