Good enough for 5 stars, but not perfect for everything. Its great for helping people understand the tone/genre of the game. If you've seen Buffy, Supernatural, Lucifer, etc, etc then you know exactly how this will run. For GMs new to the system, it might seem uncomfortable to not roll any die yourself, but usually after a session or two it starts to feel more natural. The flavorful but limited number of things you can do helps players focus on options and move the scene along instead of getting lost in complex tactics. Thanks to that, and only ever needing 2d6 its a great game to pick up and play for a one-shot or convention. Unfortunately, one of its biggest weaknesses is that having playbook (your character's archetype/class) overlap really hinders things. Also this is really not a great idea for long campaigns without changing characters. A character can get an advancement (think level up) every other session pretty easily, and its not impossible for it to happen in back to back sessions. After 20+ sessions your players won't have many options for where to go next.

Dungeons & Dragons 5e

2 Stars seem harsh for the biggest game out there, but here me out. Its not all bad, but there's a lot that gets left out of the conversation. Its 2 stars for how its used, not what it is. Used as a medium-long term combat heavy game its 4-5 stars depending on DM and group. I'm delighted that your DM has wonderful character voices, thrilling intrigue, and NPCs that tug the emotions of the players. But that's the DM doing a good job, not the system. Pros/What this is built for - Indepth tactical combat - Characters where you can feel the growth from struggling adventurer to a hero capable of confidently punching the god of death right in the mouth - Good for medium length campaigns, one of the best for long (30+sessions) campaigns Cons/What it's not built for - Campaigns that don't emphasize combat. Critical role has trained actors and enough behind the scenes stuff going on that it can tricky you into thinking it HAS to be a roleplay heavy game. Unfortunately when most of the class abilities are only applicable in combat you miss out on that if your characters prefer diplomacy. - A hack/homebrew that sounds like a great setting or theme but the DM will "just add a few things to make the it work". 5e isn't the most rule heavy/crunchy game out there, but its not rules lite by any means and a lot of the non WotC content add so much to make it fit 5e that it might as well be a new system entirely. - Unless everyone is really familiar with the system (and shows up with premade characters) one shots are either too long or unsatisfying; likely both. - Its so number heavy that if its the first game someone new to TTRPGs play it might scare them away entirely. The character sheet is so dense with information it can glaze eyes over with analysis paralysis. - It takes a LONG time to feel like you actually know the rules. Hopefully you don't have a rules lawyer at the table too) Neutral - Easy to homebrew if you know the structure, but also very easy to break if you don't (or do and you just want to powergame) - Probably the first one that most people think of, unfortunately a shorthand for TTRPGs in general. - Gotta love an excuse to buy a full set of dice

Timothy

Tim really approached the game with a keen eye for making sure that everyone felt welcome at the table. He was my first GM for Kids on Brooms/Bikes, Numenera, and a Mazes so he's got a little bit of everything under his tool belt, he really felt like an expert and make learning the new systems an absolute cakewalk. I (and I assume the other players too) never felt like there was a stupid question, a pointless action, or a wasted opportunity. His "yes and" and "no but" storytelling and vibrant characters really kept me engaged. 5/5 would recommend