Critical Role has announced “Age of Umbra,” an eight-part dark, survival fantasy Daggerheart mini-series premiering on May 29th. The show will air on Beacon, Twitch, and YouTube, promising a thrilling new adventure for fans of actual play.
“Age of Umbra” is set in the foreboding Halcyon Domain, a land where the souls of the dead are cursed to return as twisted, nightmarish monstrosities. A dark, ethereal mass known as the Umbra roams this world, holding these fiendish creatures and corrupting everything it touches. In this bleak landscape, small communities endure by huddling around Sacred Pyres that keep the corruption at bay. The series will initially follow five individuals from the isolated community of Desperloch as they fight to protect their own in the face of these rising horrors. Yet, amidst the despair, whispers of ancient secrets, lost powers, and wonders of a bygone age persist, beckoning those brave or perhaps foolish enough to seek them out.
Guiding this perilous journey is Game Master Matthew Mercer, who will lead his fellow Critical Role co-founders Ashley Johnson, Laura Bailey, Liam O’Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, Taliesin Jaffe, and Travis Willingham. Together, they will explore themes of hope, sacrifice, and survival in a high-stakes actual play experience where death is merely the beginning.
Viewers can get a special behind-the-scenes look with a “Session Zero” on Thursday, May 22nd at 7 PM Pacific. During this session, the Critical Role founders will create their characters and collaboratively weave them into the world of “Age of Umbra,” developing locations, adventure hooks, and narrative threads that will resonate throughout the mini-series. The official series premiere is slated for Thursday, May 29th at 7 PM Pacific, with new episodes airing weekly on Thursdays at 7 PM PT through July 24th. Fans can tune in on Beacon (beacon.tv), Twitch (twitch.tv/criticalrole), and YouTube ([youtube.com/criticalrole](https://youtube.com/criticalrole)).
For those who miss the live broadcasts, YouTube VODs will be available the Monday following each episode. Podcast versions will be released in a two-part format, with Part 1 available the Thursday after the premiere and Part 2 following on the subsequent Tuesday. Beacon subscribers will enjoy instant, ad-free access to the podcasts.
“Age of Umbra” utilizes the Daggerheart tabletop roleplaying game system from Darrington Press. This particular adventure is a playable campaign frame designed by Matthew Mercer and will be included in the Daggerheart Core Set, scheduled for release on May 20th. However, true to the spirit of Daggerheart, the game will be uniquely shaped through the collaborative worldbuilding of the players and Game Master. Daggerheart itself is designed as a flexible fantasy roleplaying system built for long-term campaign play and fostering emotionally rich storytelling. It aims for quick onboarding by blending classic fantasy themes with modern, streamlined mechanics, emphasizing fast, narrative-driven combat and collaborative worldbuilding.
This upcoming mini-series will showcase a darker tone for Daggerheart, offering a contrast to the brighter whimsy seen in “The Menagerie” one-shots or the holiday-themed “A Daggerheart Critmas Story.” “Age of Umbra” is set to delve into the system’s more haunting and heroic potential, where the stakes are exceptionally high, and every choice is fraught with danger, yet tinged with a glimmer of hope.
