Editorial Standards
How Rolling Realm handles accuracy, reviews, spoilers and corrections
Rolling Realm is an independent fan publication. The standards behind the site are straightforward: use the best available sources, keep canon separate from interpretation, correct meaningful mistakes and keep editorial judgement independent from financial support.
Accuracy and sourcing
Primary sources come first
Wherever possible, Rolling Realm goes back to the original source. For Critical Role coverage, that may mean the released episode itself, a transcript, an official announcement, published press material or a direct statement from the people or organisations involved.
Other reporting can provide useful context, but it should not replace an available primary source. Names, dates, release details, quotations and other factual claims are checked before publication, and important sources are identified or linked where useful to the reader.
Canon, theory and interpretation
If the story has not answered something, neither have we
Critical Role rewards speculation. Rolling Realm does too — but speculation should not quietly become fact.
Coverage distinguishes between confirmed canon, character belief, player theory, Game Master implication and editorial interpretation. A character saying something does not automatically make it objectively true, and a convincing theory remains a theory until the story provides stronger evidence.
When an episode leaves a question unresolved, the aim is to preserve that uncertainty rather than write past it.
Corrections and updates
When something is wrong, we correct it
Mistakes can happen. When Rolling Realm gets a meaningful fact wrong, the article is corrected once the better information has been verified.
Corrections or clarifications that materially change what an article says are noted on the page with a date and a plain explanation of what changed. Developing stories may also be updated as new information becomes available.
Minor spelling, formatting or clarity edits may be made without a formal correction note.
If you think something is wrong, send the page, the detail in question and any useful supporting source through the contact page.
Reviews
Reviews are editorial judgement
Reviews reflect Rolling Realm's own critical judgement. Scores, verdicts and conclusions are not submitted to Critical Role, rights holders, sponsors or commercial partners for approval before publication.
If Rolling Realm receives complimentary access, a review copy, an invitation or another material benefit that a reader could reasonably consider relevant, that relationship will be disclosed.
Criticism is also kept separate from canon research. A review may argue that a character made a terrible decision; the site's lore coverage should still describe what happened accurately rather than inherit the review's opinion as fact.
Spoiler handling
Spoiler protection is part of the publication
Rolling Realm is designed for readers who may be at different points in a campaign. Where supported, spoiler settings protect headlines, summaries, article cards and images according to the episode a reader has reached.
Articles that discuss later material provide clear spoiler warnings before detailed coverage. When an official title, source or other necessary information can itself reveal something, the aim is to make that risk clear rather than surprise the reader.
Images and attribution
Images should support the coverage
Rolling Realm primarily uses relevant promotional material and images that directly support reporting, criticism or commentary. Sources and credits are retained or identified where appropriate.
Questions about attribution, ownership or removal are handled separately from editorial corrections.
Support and commercial relationships
Financial support does not buy editorial influence
Reader contributions help fund Rolling Realm, but they do not determine what the publication covers, change review scores or conclusions, or affect how factual corrections are handled.
If advertising, affiliate links or sponsorships appear in future coverage, relevant commercial relationships will be disclosed clearly and kept separate from editorial judgement.
How reader support works →Assisted tools
Tools can assist the work. They are not sources.
Software and AI-assisted tools may help with tasks such as organising research, working with transcripts, developing site features or preparing drafts.
They are not treated as evidence. Published claims, final wording and editorial decisions remain subject to human review, with responsibility for the finished publication resting with Rolling Realm's editor.