Matt Mercer effect Victim /u/EmoishBard DnD: Roll for Initiative!

Venting. I’m a victim of the Matt Mercer effect. I’ve been playing d&d for around 20 years now, DMing for about 15 years of that. I don’t regard myself as some all knowing or professional DM. But generally, when I run games my players are always excited, messaging me between sessions, losing themselves in my games.

I have my flaws and I figured out what they are. I started to ask my players questions about their thoughts on the game between chapters and handed out surveys at the end of my campaigns to see how I can better myself because I do pride myself at bringing as much fun and fairness to the table as I can.

Anyway, I have a close friend who is hyper obsessed with Matt Mercer and critical role and his various shows. Another name he mentioned a lot was Brennen Lee Mulligan. I just cannot get into watching people play d&d, it’s too much time to invest in such a thing for me so I barely know these people.

I was constantly being compared to them. “You do this like Brennan” or “well this is how Matt Mercer does this” anytime I mention rules or how something is handled. This is beyond the raw rules of course because I played mostly raw. It seemed like anytime I ran a session they were trying to show me some episode about something similar happening in their game and how they ran it.

I loved the idea that Matt Mercer and his associates were brining so much popularity to d&d and tabletops as a whole. When I grew up it was such a hushed topic and rare to find people to play with for me. But now I cringe every time I hear his name. I despise him and it’s not even his fault.

Edit: I appreciate the kind comments and thoughts. I no longer play tabletop games with this person. I’m just hoping some people see this and maybe reconsider comparing people, maybe taking a step back and look at your own actions before passing judgement. I have no interest in being Matt Mercer or friends, nothing wrong with him. But he’s him and I’m me and I’m fine with that.

Venting. I’m a victim of the Matt Mercer effect. I’ve been playing d&d for around 20 years now, DMing for about 15 years of that. I don’t regard myself as some all knowing or professional DM. But generally, when I run games my players are always excited, messaging me between sessions, losing themselves in my games.

I have my flaws and I figured out what they are. I started to ask my players questions about their thoughts on the game between chapters and handed out surveys at the end of my campaigns to see how I can better myself because I do pride myself at bringing as much fun and fairness to the table as I can.

Anyway, I have a close friend who is hyper obsessed with Matt Mercer and critical role and his various shows. Another name he mentioned a lot was Brennen Lee Mulligan. I just cannot get into watching people play d&d, it’s too much time to invest in such a thing for me so I barely know these people.

I was constantly being compared to them. “You do this like Brennan” or “well this is how Matt Mercer does this” anytime I mention rules or how something is handled. This is beyond the raw rules of course because I played mostly raw. It seemed like anytime I ran a session they were trying to show me some episode about something similar happening in their game and how they ran it.

I loved the idea that Matt Mercer and his associates were brining so much popularity to d&d and tabletops as a whole. When I grew up it was such a hushed topic and rare to find people to play with for me. But now I cringe every time I hear his name. I despise him and it’s not even his fault.

Edit: I appreciate the kind comments and thoughts. I no longer play tabletop games with this person. I’m just hoping some people see this and maybe reconsider comparing people, maybe taking a step back and look at your own actions before passing judgement. I have no interest in being Matt Mercer or friends, nothing wrong with him. But he’s him and I’m me and I’m fine with that.