On April 3, Critical Role dropped the debut episode of Wildemount Wildlings, a new Dungeons and Dragons mini-series GMed by mainstay cast member Sam Riegel. So far, it’s a low-level summer camp romp where hapless teens test their adventuring mettle against monsters designed by Riegel’s children.
In-universe, Wildemount Wildlings is the brainchild of the Mighty Nein’s Veth Brenatto, who runs the camp for young would-be adventurers with her family. Former colleagues Beau and Yasha have dropped by to help with camp counselor duties while they decide whether they’re ready to have children, and the D&D mini-series depicts their attempts to help the most unfortunate campers of all find their spark.
With episode two airing on April 10, we caught up with Riegel to ask what’s coming next. His answer? The future is a mixture of “wholesome” and “horrifying”.
WG: For anyone who hasn’t seen episode one yet, can you give us an overview of how it went?
SR: “I think it went great. Wildemount Wildlings is a pet project of mine because it’s loosely based on the home game that I play with my kids and their friends. I was so happy that I got to share it with the world last night. I set myself up for a hard time because I had three players who had never played D&D before, and also I let a bunch of children come up with my encounters and monsters.”
I’m getting a chaotic vibe from that description.
“There’s always a little chaos with anything I do.”
Can you share any hints about what’s coming in episode two?
“One thing that I’m excited about for episode two is that we tried to experiment with the form a little bit. Instead of all six players at the table at the same time, some players were kidnapped – or ‘pig-napped’ – and now they’re at a separate location.
For episode two, we’re going to cut away to them in a separate location, and we actually filmed it in a separate location. That’s something we haven’t done before, and it was really weird and fun and interesting.”
Wait, did you say ‘pig-napped’?
“The monster at the end of episode one is a gigantic flying pig that was created for me by a bunch of six-to-12-year-olds. They came up with a gigantic flying pig with four rows of teeth and half chicken feet, half cat feet – named Gub-Gub.”
The characters are young campers, so it makes sense for them to start at level one. This level can be beginner-friendly, but it can also be swing-y and deadly. Were there any challenges to balancing the adventure?
“Well, I’m not a very good GM, so I didn’t think about any of that. I figure it’s a summer camp, so I don’t want a bunch of children dying in the first episode, so that first episode didn’t have anything that could kill them straight out.
But there are dangers with level one, and it does get hairy for a couple of the kids coming up. That’s part of the fun of tabletop roleplaying games – you put them in peril and see what they do. I hope they figure a way out of it.”
Would you say Wildemount Wildlings is a good introduction to Critical Role for newcomers?
“You don’t need to know any lore or real backstory. It’s a bunch of young, level-one characters, so it’s a great place to start if you’ve never watched Critical Role. It’s an easy way to get into the world of Exandria and Wildemount.
Hopefully it will be a good place for younger viewers to start too. There is a little bit of cursing, but only a little, and the rest is pretty wholesome – we even have a swear jar. Any time anyone curses, I get one dollar.”
You’ve mentioned that your children helped create the setting and encounters for Wildemount Wildlings, but you also have your sister at the table as a player. What was that like?
“Eden did a great job. This is her first game, and she really took to it. She even carried on the Riegel family tradition of trolling.
She had a canteen at the table that had some secret messages on it, just like I do. She got me good, but that was great. She also carried on the Riegel tradition of trying to do an accent that is way too difficult.”
What’s your favorite off-the-wall creation your kids have contributed?
“One of my kids came up with the final boss in the final episode, which is bizarre, and then my other child came up with a monster for episode two that is really horrifying. It’s a doll that is split down the middle and does all sorts of disgusting things.
They also drew a picture of it. It was horrifying, but it was great to see them use their creativity and help their Pop come up with a fun show. [My kids] also helped me sing the theme song. It’s a real family affair.”
If you had to award a Scout’s badge to each of your players, what would it be and why?
“Brennan [Lee Mulligan] probably gets all the badges because he was so knowledgeable. Even though he was a player, he helped me adjudicate some of the GM rulings. I would give him the counselor badge.
For Marisha [Ray], she’s so tough, if there was some sort of perseverance or strength badge, that would be for her. Ashley [Johnson] did a fantastic job, and she’s always the heart of everything we do. I think some sort of school spirit badge – except it’s not school, so table spirit.
And then the newbies, Eden [Riegel] and Aleks [Le] had never played D&D before, especially not in front of other people. They had a lot of bravery to come and play this game in front of so many thousands of people, having never done it before. For each of them, some sort of bravery badge, because they were incredible, and they really put themselves out there.”
For more upcoming Critical Role goodies, here’s all you need to know about Vox Machina season 4, as well as Matt Mercer’s upcoming charity stream, Lost Odyssey: Godfall.
Or, if you’d like to play some RPG games of your own, here’s all you need to know about DnD classes and DnD races. You can also join the discussion about this new Critical Role episode in Wargamer’s Discord.
Source: Wargamer
