Critical Role Campaign 4 Takes Aim at Capitalism as the BBEG
Critical Role’s fourth campaign has officially named its villain. And no, it’s not a lich, a god, or a plane-devouring beast. It’s capitalism. Yep. Brennan Lee Mulligan, stepping in as dungeon master for Campaign 4, confirmed it himself. The party’s biggest threat isn’t hiding in a dungeon—it’s embedded in the system.
New DM, New Stakes
Campaign 4 marks a major shift for Critical Role. With Mulligan taking over from longtime DM Matthew Mercer, the tone has already changed. More deaths. More chaos. More political teeth. And now, a villain that’s less about claws and more about contracts.
In a recent interview, Mulligan was asked directly about the campaign’s BBEG. His answer? “Capitalism is the big bad of this campaign.” Not a metaphor. Not a theme. Its a whole business and political mindset. And not just the surface-level version. Mulligan went deeper, calling capitalism “a recent civilizational system” and pointing out that commerce and money existed long before it. What the party’s facing is something more entrenched—proto-mercantilism, corporate guilds, and the illusion of inevitability.
It’s Not Just Satire
WHO’S THE REAL VILLAIN OF CAMPAIGN 4? 🤔⚔️ 🧭 🪶
Robbie Daymond and Game Master Brennan Lee Mulligan break down the true sinister forces at work in the world of Aramán and beyond as they go on the record about the ultimate big bad of #CriticalRole Campaign 4!
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— Critical Role (@CriticalRole) October 22, 2025
This isn’t just Mulligan being cheeky. It’s a deliberate design choice. Critical Role has always flirted with political allegory, but this campaign leans in. The villain isn’t just a monster—it’s a machine. A system. A structure that rewards exploitation and punishes resistance. And the party? They’re the disruptors of the machine that every big boss capitalist is scared of!
Robbie Daymond, who plays one of the new characters, jumped in during the reveal with “Campaign 4, late-stage capitalism! You’re going down!” It’s a joke, sure. But it’s also a reflection of modern society. The campaign isn’t just about fighting monsters. It’s about fighting the idea that monsters wear suits and own property (wait, that is exactly irl!).
No Natural 20 Will Save You
GamesRadar summed it up best: “No amount of natural 20s is gonna beat this one.” Because this isn’t a fight you win with dice alone. It’s a slow burn. A systemic unraveling. And that’s what makes it compelling. The party isn’t just up against a villain—they’re up against a whole worldview that everyone is subjected to on the daily.
And Mulligan knows how to build that kind of tension. His past campaigns (Dimension 20, EXU Calamity) have always layered personal stakes with political ones. This time, he’s doing it on Critical Role’s biggest stage.
The Monster Is the Market
So here we are. Campaign 4’s villain is capitalism. Not just as a theme, but as a literal force shaping the world. And that means the party’s journey won’t just be about swords and spells. It’ll be about systems. About power. About what happens when adventurers try to change the rules instead of just playing the game (viva la revolution!).
