Critical Role has launched its own membership service that will house all existing shows – and a few new ones – under the same umbrella, while offering additional perks and access to paying subscribers.
Longtime cast member and the Dungeon & Dragon actual play series’ CEO Travis Willingham said Beacon “just really allows us the flexibility to create fun additional perks, stay connected to all of [the fans] and offer a more unfiltered experience.” Current Twitch and YouTube subscribers will still be able to watch Matt Mercer and Co.’s adventures (currently in its third season) via streams and VoDs, but they won’t enjoy the extra access unless they shell out a bit more to the tabletop company housed under Darrington Press.
Some of those perks include invitation to a private Discord server, discounts on official merchandise within the company’s digital store and access to live event ticket presales – avoiding the issue of surge pricing and scalpers, one hopes. Critical Role stresses that Beacon is an extension of its push for independence and bringing business in-house, which means divesting from third-party video services such as YouTube and Twitch and their many “ups and downs here recently”, as Marsha Ray put it.
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Dodging language-based demonetization and avoiding the issue of ad placement makes sense and will likely be appreciated by devoted Critters. Those not as fussed by breaks in D20-based roleplay might be more interested in Beacon’s two exclusive series: Critical Role Fireside Chat will be a filmed Q&A with one member of the cast each episode answering question submitted to the aforementioned Discord; and Critical Role Cooldown’s after-show peek into what the crew says and does immediately after the main cameras cut.
Beacon subscriptions grant early access to a few other shows, such as the kid-friendly audio shenanigans in The Re-Slayer’s Take and Critical Role Abridged’s 60-90 minutes condensed episodes for folks who don’t have three spare hours each week to commit. All core Critical Role episodes will also be available as audio-only streams and downloads.
Beacon’s service is available now and costs $5.99 per month, or $59.99 per year. A seven-day free trial (which will auto-renew immediately afterward) is available on Beacon’s main website. More information about the service, perks and individual shows can be found here. The main website hosts a mix of free and paid articles and videos, including horror-tinged mystery show Candela Obscura – which just wrapped up its latest season – and the latest info on the currently-in-development Daggerheart RPG.
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