Nebraska Dave News and Reviews

I have a friend who has never played D&D but loves Critical Role. She recently learned that I DM for a couple other mutual friends and she’s made some hints that she would really like to join.

I’m hesitant to invite her because I believe Critical Role leaves players (and DMs) with very high standards since it’s practically a movie set with many other people behind the scenes. I’m not a voice actor or a writer and my other players are not voice actors either. The pace of my games can be slow at times, and my imagination is occasionally lacking. I don’t have fancy maps or a bunch of miniatures. Etc, etc, etc.

I feel if I have a conversation with her about this, she’ll still go in to the campaign and be bored, which sucks for everyone.

How do you feel about Critical Roles influence on new players? Has anyone else had any issues with high expectations with players? How would you deal with this?

Edit: After reading some of the responses, I feel I should add that this is not a stab at CR. I also watch them occasionally when I need inspiration and enjoy their campaign. They are really good at what they do and that’s why I’m concerned that my friend will have high expectations since this is her only exposure to the game.