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Neither Critical Role diehards nor Hololive vtuber fans could’ve predicted that they’d work together to film a new tabletop roleplaying series. Shattered Legends is the product of a collaboration that might sound bizarre at first but makes perfect sense when you consider vtubers are basically just voice actors, like just about everyone else in Critical Role’s orbit.
Matt Mercer certainly sees them that way. He tells PC Gamer that filming Shattered Legends with Hololive vtubers gave him a “deeper understanding and appreciation for the skill and talent that each of these performers has.” The only challenge, he says, was the technical logistics of filming a show with a mix of humans and 2D anime girls.
The original idea for Shattered Legends, before it even had a name, was a pitch from Nerissa Ravencroft, Hololive’s “Demon of Sound” vtuber. A long-time fan of Critical Role, Ravencroft says she could barely believe it when her manager told her they were up for it: “I was in awe for multiple days.”
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“Growing up, I never had friends or knew anybody who ran a TTRPG campaign, so it’s been a heavy desire to play one for a long time,” she says. “I just so happen to be one of the luckiest girls in the world, as I get to play with not only my fellow [Hololive vtubers], but Critical Role!”
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Ravencroft took the lead on Hololive’s side, creating her own character, working with artists on the visuals and unique vtuber models based on everyone’s characters, and helping produce an original song.
The story of Shattered Legends was inspired by Berserk and Soulsborne games. All the vtubers—which includes Ravencroft, Mori Calliope, Gigi Murin, and Shiori Novella—wanted to tell a darker story than fans might’ve expected. Mercer and Marisha Ray, who played alongside the vtubers, helped them fit it into Critical Role’s existing setting Exandria as a self-contained “canon-ish” campaign.
The group will be playing Daggerheart, Critical Role’s own fantasy TTRPG. For those unfamiliar with it, Daggerheart eschews D&D’s d20 rolling system for two 12-sided dice, one representing your ‘hope’ and the other your ‘fear’. If your hope roll is higher, you can spend a point of it to do something beneficial, but if fear is higher, the GM can use it whenever they want to challenge the players.
Mercer prefers Daggerheart when playing with new players and likes how the narrative dynamics “allow for baked-in tension and release, while also inviting players to collaborate in extremely creative ways.”
Ravencroft, who is one of those new players, says she was “a bit intimidated” as someone who normally plays videogames, but found it easy once things got going, especially with Mercer and Ray at the table. “Having Matt as a GM for my first Daggerheart campaign is already crazy enough,” she says, “but with an incredibly experienced and talented roleplayer and actress like Marisha, we were truly in the best hands possible.”
Although the story fits neatly into six episodes, Mercer says there’s “much promise of a wider world for these characters,” and that “there’s always room to pick up these seeds for future adventures” if people want it.
Shattered Legends will premiere on Ravencroft’s YouTube channel in mid-November.