Months after its first announcement in May, Critical Role’s gothic and foreboding Age of Umbra: Sallowlands has arrived — and it’s just as creepy as we expected.

Coming shortly on the heels of Campaign 4, Sallowlands' arrival has felt like a breath of fresh air. Not only do we get to explore a new setting (The Halcyon Domain) with fresh faces like Baldur’s Gate 3’s Jennifer English and House of the Dragon star Abubakar Salim, but we also got a rather poignant reminder: TTRPG fans need to stop sleeping on Daggerheart in favor of Dungeons & Dragons.

It’s fair to say that Geek & Sundry’s 2015 broadcast of Critical Role’s Campaign 1: Vox Machina played a key role in introducing many people to Wizards of the Coast’s tabletop role-playing game, with some critics noting that Critical Role’s campaigns have helped bring D&D into mainstream culture. With popular voice actor Matthew Mercer as the Dungeon Master and other fan-favorite actors like Ashley Johnson and Laura Bailey as players, their adventures in Exandria’s fantasy world likely inspired viewers — some of whom had never heard of the dungeon-exploring game before — to try it themselves.

I was introduced to D&D through a friend’s love for Critical Role, even though I wasn't watching the actual play series at the time. Years later, despite having played a few other RPGs, such as Fantasy Flight Games' Star Wars and Possum Creek Games’ Wanderhome, D&D is still my TTRPG of choice.

Yet, after watching the first episode of Sallowlands, it’s clear that Critical Role and Darrington Press’s Daggerheart is a force to be reckoned with. This isn’t just D&D with a new coat of paint. Daggerheart delivers a fresh and spirited take on decades-old........

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