D&D Live Streaming "Critical Roll" Announces Next Charity One-Shot; Donors Vote on Class and Story, Confusing Celebrity Guests

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D&D Live Streaming "Critical Roll" Announces Next Charity One-Shot; Donors Vote on Class and Story, Confusing Celebrity Guests

Critical Role, the hugely popular game that spawned the official Dungeons & Dragons campaign setting and animated series, will be hosting another charity one-shot. The Critical Roll Foundation is teaming up with Red Nose Day and Comic Relief US for the one-shot with a twist: donors can vote on how the adventure should proceed.

Last year, comedian, TV host, and admitted nerd Stephen Colbert's character was burdened with bee buddies, pacifist living weapons, and a burning need to restore dignity. This year, voters can also choose a class of gangsters.

In addition to Liam O'Brien, Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, and DM Matthew Mercer, the principal cast of Critical Role, Sam Richardson ("I Think You Should Leave," "Veep," "Ted Lasso"), Tony Hale ("Arrested Development," "Veep," "Toy Story 4"). This is not Hale's first foray into the world of Exandria (the group's stage), as he voiced Sir Gregory Finns in the animated series "The Legend of Vox Machina."

Voting is open from now until November 3, with the one-shot itself airing on November 28. The void will likely be a breather for the ridiculous curveballs that Mercer has been thrown so far. Donations can still be made through the Critical Role Foundation's donation box after the polls close.

As of this writing, donations have already raised more than $11,000, with the most going toward the head-to-head race between Laura Bailey playing the Barbarian or the Paladin. [Her past characters Vexaria, Jester, and Imogen were rangers, clerics, and sorcerers; it's nice to see that Critical Role's resident goth, Taliesin Jaffe, is likely to play rogue. It's about time.

Red Nose Day (and its charity telethon, Comic Relief) is part of an annual fundraising campaign to end child poverty. Originally based in the UK, Red Nose Day began in the US in 2015, but the UK-inspired US Comic Relief charity ran from 1986 to 2010. I'm from the UK and grew up with its fundraising efforts (and silly plastic red noses), so it's both strange and heartwarming to see this charity and my favorite live-streaming planet collide.

Still, the Critical Role Foundation does good work. In the past, it has partnered with charities like OutRight Action International, 826LA, and the First Nations Development Institute to leverage Critical Roll's runaway popularity to "leave the world better than we found it." The goal was to.

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