Critical Role Returns to Ravenloft for a New Horrified Special

Critical Role is heading back to Ravensburger’s Horrified series, this time for a trip through Barovia.

A new #EverythingIsContent special will bring together Marisha Ray, Jennifer English, Jasmine Bhullar and Taliesin Jaffe for Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft. Critical Role announced the programme in its schedule for the week of 20 July 2026.

The group will try to stop Strahd von Zarovich and free Barovia from his influence. The special airs on Tuesday, 21 July at 7pm Pacific on Critical Role’s Twitch and YouTube channels. Beacon receives the VOD at the same time, while the public YouTube VOD follows on Thursday, 23 July at noon Pacific.

For viewers in the United Kingdom, the live broadcast begins at 3am BST on Wednesday, 22 July. The public YouTube release is scheduled for 8pm BST on Thursday, 23 July.

What is Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft?

Ravensburger describes Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft as a standalone cooperative board game for one to five players, with an estimated playing time of 45 to 60 minutes.

Players defend Barovia against four mechanically distinct threats: the Carrionette, the Gulthias Tree, Baba Lysaga and Strahd von Zarovich. The game also introduces five hero classes and new mechanics called “Dark Gifts”, alongside the custom d20 used by the earlier Dungeons & Dragons edition of Horrified.

Each monster presents a different cooperative puzzle. During the hero phase, players move around the board, guide villagers, collect useful items and work towards the conditions needed to defeat their enemies. The monster phase then puts both the heroes and villagers under pressure.

Critical Role has not announced which combination of monsters or hero classes will appear during the special. Strahd is, however, explicitly positioned as the central threat in the programme description.

Critical Role has played Horrified before

This will not be Critical Role’s first programme built around the series.

An earlier #EverythingIsContent special aired on 24 June 2025, when Ashley Johnson, Liam O’Brien, Alex Ward and SungWon Cho played the original Horrified: Dungeons & Dragons. That edition focused on a different group of classic D&D monsters.

The new special therefore acts as a follow-up, shifting the game to Ravenloft’s gothic-horror setting and placing Barovia’s most recognisable villain at the centre of the table.

Why the special stands out

The combination is a natural fit for a one-night actual play. Barovia supplies a clear setting and objective, while the game’s cooperative monster puzzles should give the four players distinct problems to solve without requiring a longer campaign.

The cast is also broader than a standard Critical Role table, pairing Marisha Ray and Taliesin Jaffe with Jennifer English and Jasmine Bhullar. That makes the programme useful both as a showcase for the new Ravenloft game and as a self-contained Critical Role special that viewers can watch without Campaign 4 knowledge.

When to watch

• Live: Tuesday, 21 July at 7pm Pacific on Twitch and YouTube
• Beacon VOD: Tuesday, 21 July at 7pm Pacific
• Public YouTube VOD: Thursday, 23 July at noon Pacific

Rolling Realm will update this article if Critical Role publishes an event-specific VOD page or additional programme details.