New players, new dynamics, and a brand-new GM – Critical Role Campaign 4 is changing everything, and the cast spills the details!
Attention Critters! A new era of storytelling is on the horizon. Critical Role’s highly anticipated fourth campaign is just around the corner, promising a fresh start and a bold new direction for the beloved Dungeons & Dragons actual-play series.
The campaign, which premieres on October 2, 2025, features a mix of returning fan favorites and new faces, a new Game Master, and a groundbreaking campaign structure that will change the way we experience Critical Role.
Mama’s Geeky caught up with some of the cast – Travis Willingham, Whitney Moore, Liam O’Brien, Taliesin Jaffe, Luis Carazo, Ashley Johnson, as well as the new GM, Brennan Lee Mulligan, to discuss what fans can look forward to.
Critical Role Campaign 4 Switches Things Up
This new season moves away from the traditional single-party format and embraces a West Marches-style campaign. This means the players will be split into smaller, rotating groups, allowing the story to unfold across different tables and perspectives. Ashley Johnson expressed her excitement for this new style: “I feel like knowing that there will be rotations, and knowing that, eventually, I’ll be with this person, and this person, hopefully, or maybe not. I think the unpredictability of it is really exciting and fun.”
The cast also revealed how this unique format influenced their character creation. They collaborated during a session zero to weave interconnected backstories, creating “cobwebs stretching between” characters to ensure the world feels lived-in from day one.
Whitney Moore, a new cast member, found this particularly fortifying: “The session zero was so great, because hearing everybody’s ideas, I really wanted to have dynamics with people, and hearing what everyone had set up, it felt like actual magic unfolding in real time.”
Luis Carazo, who is also new to a main campaign, added to this, saying the multi-table nature made him excited about “having relationships with people that are potentially going to be at different tables, because I like the idea of worrying about them while they’re gone, and missing them while they’re gone, and just having to experience their absence while I’m still playing the game with other people at the table.”
As Matthew Mercer Sits At The Table, Brennan Lee Mulligan Takes The Reins
For the first time in a main campaign, Matthew Mercer will not be the GM. Instead, the masterful storyteller Brennan Lee Mulligan is taking the helm. Brennan shared his excitement for the challenge, revealing that he has experience running a massive, multi-year campaign with over 40 players in the past. When asked about the daunting nature of this new campaign, Brennan said, “The dauntingness was far from being something that made me trepidatious about this; it made me salivate to do this. Like, let’s go.”
Brennan also explained that this type of storytelling is not new to fantasy fans, comparing it to the Fellowship of the Ring splitting up in The Two Towers or the rotating character perspectives in Game of Thrones. “This type of storytelling within fantasy is as tried and true, almost as any,” he said. “Literally, we recognize this from the greatest instances of the genre of storytelling.”
One of the most exciting aspects of Campaign 4 is seeing Matt Mercer finally get to play as a character. The cast expressed both delight and suspicion about Matt’s new role, teasing his character’s chaotic energy. “I don’t trust him. I don’t trust him,” said Travis Willingham.
Ashley Johnson shared, “It’s so fun and weird playing alongside him, because you’re just like, wait, what?” She added, “There was a moment, the first game that we had, he was sitting at the other side of the table, and [I’m] like, oh, I could romance Matt.”
The long-time GM has been “cooking for 10 years,” and it seems his character is going to be anything but predictable. Liam O’Brien’s simple, honest reaction to Matt’s character was, “Bro, what the f*ck?”
With new players, a new GM, and a new world to explore, Campaign 4 promises to be an unforgettable adventure. As Brennan Lee Mulligan put it, “This amazing genre and medium [is] surging forward to new adventures unknown.”
Be sure to watch our full Critical Role Campaign 4 interview to get a glimpse at the cast dynamic and more.