ABSTRACT
There is more give-and-take between new media and traditional media depending on what the medium allows users to do. For example, a highly digital community, the previously intimate public of Critical Role (CR) has now become a mainstream, traditional media property. This chapter explains how CR, a live-play tabletop role-playing Dungeons and Dragons game streamed on platforms like Twitch and YouTube, initially developed an intimate public online, making use of digital affordances to create a unique culture and community distinct from traditional Dungeons & Dragons (D&D). (D&D) is a table-top role playing game where players take on the personality and actions of a character in the fictional game designed by the Game Master, or GM. Players interact with each other and the GM in a fantasy-based setting. The intimate public of CR was so drastically different from the traditional public that it revitalised and renewed popular culture interest in D&D as a whole.
