Critical Role promises a "fresh update" to fantasy RPGs with its new system
A new board game and two tabletop RPG systems have just been announced by the publishing arm of Critical Role, Darrington Press. A game based on a design used in the wedding of Critical Role's own Matt Mercer and Marisha Ray was also teased.
As revealed through the company's first 'State of the Press' video hosted by Mercer and Mica Burton (who you may recognise from the latest season of Star Trek: Picard), most of these games will be launching at some point in 2023. That lineup includes a deck-building board game where you play as princesses battling to become queen before the clock strikes midnight, a quick roleplaying system using d6 dice and designed for shorter campaigns, and a more expansive RPG for long-term play that will be a "fun and fresh update to the fantasy genre of RPGs".
It's unclear whether any of these are connected to the world of Critical Role like Darrington Press' first game, Uk'otoa. However, we should be able to find out soon - they're all appearing at this year's Gen Con. That event takes place in early August, so mark your calendars for then.
First up is 'Queen by Midnight', designed by Critical Role producer Kyle Shire. Described as a battle royale in the press release, players fight each other as princesses in a "magical free for all." The most powerful princess left standing at midnight will be crowned queen, winning the game. From what was shown during the State of the Press video, it has an ornate, baroque style reminiscent of board games for adults like Mysterium.
Next comes 'Illuminated Worlds', a quick-fire roleplaying system that uses a pool of d6 dice (much like Free League's Mutant: Year Zero) for much shorter story arcs. Little else was revealed, but we did find out from Mercer that
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