Darrington Press

In October 2020, Critical Role Productions announced a "new board and card game" imprint called Darrington Press; it was led by Ivan Van Norman with Matthew Mercer as the creative advisor. ICv2 commented that "Critical Role has broadly influenced tabletop gaming since splitting from Geek & Sundry in 2018". During the launch, Van Norman stated, "Darrington Press is not looking to utilize crowdfunding for any game releases". Darrington Press initially announced a slate of four upcoming games: ''Uk'otoa, Critical Role Adventures, Syndicult, and Guardians of Matrimonia''. In January 2022, Darrington Press released the campaign setting sourcebook ''Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn which is a revised edition of the out of print Critical Role: Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting sourcebook published by Green Ronin Publishing. In June 2022, A Familiar Problem was released for Free RPG Day. The label also announced that they would reprint two out of print Critical Role art books in 2023: The Chronicles of Exandria Vol. I: The Tale of Vox Machina (2017) and The Chronicles of Exandria Vol. 2: The Legend of Vox Machina'' (2018). The imprint's first "State of the Press" in April 2023 released updates on previously announced games and revealed new games in development; this included two new roleplaying game systems – Illuminated Worlds for short campaigns and Daggerheart for longer campaigns – which were scheduled to have a public playtest during Gen Con in August 2023. The announcement stated that while Guardians of Matrimonia, being redesigned by Banana Chan and Yeonsoo Julian Kim, and Syndicult are still in development, Critical Role Adventures is now on indefinite hold. Charlie Hall, for Polygon, stated that "Darrington Press has had mixed success so far with its creations" and commented that Illuminated Worlds was "perhaps the most interesting of the three new products" announced given co-designer Layla Adelman's background as "an accomplished game developer" who is also a member of the Off Guard Games team which has produced titles such as "the well-regarded Band of Blades and Scum and Villainy". In May 2023, Critical Role Productions announced a new monthly horror–themed actual play web series titled Candela Obscura which will use the Illuminated Worlds System. Darrington Press released the Candela Obscura Quickstart Guide on May 25, the show's premiere date, which introduces both the Candela Obscura campaign setting and the game system. Hayley McCullough, for the American Journalism, speculated that Daggerheart may allow Critical Role "to fully sever its connections to Dungeons & Dragons and allow Mercer and the other players to use Daggerheart as their go-to system going forward". She commented that the "potential rippling consequences of such a move" is worth keeping an eye on. Additionally in 2025, Darrington Press signed a sales and distribution agreement for U.S. and international markets with Macmillan Publishers to expand the release of their roleplaying game books in "the book channel, in addition to its existing distribution in the hobby channel". Lin Codega of Rascal noted this included both "their new fantasy heartbreaker, Daggerheart," and "their backlist" titles. In June 2025, it was announced that both Jeremy Crawford and Chris Perkins would be joining Darrington Press. Crawford became the company's Game Director while Perkins became the Creative Director which matches their former roles at Wizards of the Coast. Perkins succeeded Travis Willingham, who is additionally CEO of Critical Role Productions. Multiple outlets highlighted Perkins and Crawford's decades long careers at Wizards of the Coast. Benjamin Abbott of GamesRadar+ noted that Perkins and Crawford "were heavily involved in the design and direction of D&D during that time, leading the charge for Fourth and Fifth Edition alongside the 2024 revamp. With that in mind, it's a significant coup for Critical Role". Darrington Press also announced an upcoming Kickstarter, scheduled to launch in September 2025, for a Daggerheart play accessory. == Games ==

Darrington Press games are set both inside and outside of Critical Role's Exandria setting. Reviews Charles Theel, in his review of ''Uk'otoa for Polygon'', wrote: "The good news is that, as a visually attractive curio, this product makes a great collector's item. The bad news is that the gameplay itself isn't all that much fun. [...] I was hoping for a design that captured some of the feel of friction-heavy board game classics, such as Lifeboats or Survive: Escape From Atlantis, dressed up in the trappings of Exandria. What I got was a Critical Role bauble which can chew up a half hour of time. Sadly, anyone seeking out a truly noteworthy tabletop experience is better off looking elsewhere". However, Tommy Williams of GeekTyrant viewed it as "a fun game" with "very interesting" gameplay; Williams called ''Uk'otoa "a great start to Darrington Press’ library". Chris King, for Polygon, called the sourcebook "The Silmarillion of campaign settings" and commented that the Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn is over 150 pages longer than the original edition; it includes updates to various factions in the world along with new threats and organizations. King concluded that "despite not being a truly system agnostic book, this is an incredibly well-realized world filled to the brim with interesting characters and stories to tell. Even if it just ends up sitting on your coffee table to peruse during regular Thursday-night livestreams, Tal’Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn'' is well worth the $49.99 price tag". He wrote that the book is worth purchasing — "even if you're not a huge fan of Critical Role, it'll impress with its skillful worldbuilding and overall design-quality. Indeed, it's rather lavish and looks fantastic. Sure, I enjoyed our last look at the world of Exandria in ''Explorer's Guide to Wildemount''. But this is a step up in many ways, and I'm eager to dig in more". Theel, in his review of Till The Last Gasp for Polygon, wrote that the game "bleeds potential. This is a singular design which offers a structured yet story-oriented tabletop experience that pulls from traditional board games as well as indie RPGs. [...] After the misstep of ''Uk'otoa'', I'm frankly shocked at how effective and moving this game manages to be". == References ==