Why the Critical Role/Wendy's One Shot is such a "BIGGIE DEAL"...

Why the Critical Role/Wendy's One Shot is such a "BIGGIE DEAL"...

I was getting ready for Fanaticon (https://www.alabamafanaticon.org/) today and prepping to bring the Wendy's RPG "Feast of Legends" (https://feastoflegends.com) with me when I noticed a seemingly strange message from Matt Mercer's Twitter...

And then a statement from the official Critical Role twitter shortly there after...

"heavy sigh"

As I realize what's happening, I jumped onto the Critical Role Subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/criticalrole) to get the details of what feels like another installment of "Why we're going to hate on the cast/crew of Critical Role this week".

Folks - this has got to stop.

Now, please don't misunderstand me. Voicing concerns about social issues like workers' rights (see http://www.boycott-wendys.org/) is important. We do vote with our dollar, like the community investing $11 million into Critical Role because we trust them to do the right things, WHICH THEY ARE DOING.

However, if we can set this aside for just a moment, I'd like to point out a few reasons how obscenely important that this "Feast of Legends" thing really is for the RPG community. And it was Critical Role and many other content creators who have made this possible.

REASON 1) More National Visibility

Role-Playing Games have been on a precipice for the last five years, thanks in no small part to D&D's launch of 5th Edition. The new edition made it the easiest it had ever been to get into the hobby with the "least" amount of commitment.

But a lot of other things have been helping as well. Stranger Things, Twitch.tv, The MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Critical Role, and more have started to penetrate the thinning barrier between "geek/nerd" culture and the mainstream.

All of us who grew up on video games, Mountain Dew, and comics are now droning away at our full-time jobs. We're looking to escape to the gaming mentality of our youth and share that with those we love (partners, children, etc).

This is also starting to happen on the corporate side of organizations as well. Because let's be honest, the fact that Wendy's came up with its own RPG has to be the brainchild of some geek/nerd in a pitch meeting somewhere thinking "this will NEVER happen."

And yet, Wendy's has enough snark in the social media department that it knows that taking chances in the geek/nerd space pays off. And that's why it took the chance here. They took a chance to build a very legit RPG and took a chance to launch it on a beloved channel like Critical Role.

This national brand has essentially shared it's "list" with Critical Role, giving more eyes to the Critical Role brand. Which, as fans of the show, is what we should want. We should want to share the lightning in a bottle that was the first campaign, the lore, and history that makes up a LOT of the second campaign, and the inevitable splash that the animated series will have when it's finished and being distributed.

REASON 2) Professionalizing the hobby

Let's be honest. Most of us have walked into a gaming store and seen a group of "typical" RPG players. Great people once you get to know them, but most aren't going to be on the cover of Maxim or compete in the Crossfit Games. Most of these people (myself included) are happy living their lives just the way they built them. Go in, punch a clock, go home and play their games with their friends and family.

But content creators, such as Geek and Sundry and Critical Role, are more like entrepreneurs. They are constantly looking to build and grow professional relationships.

And that's exactly what Critical Role had positioned themselves to do - leverage the relationships that have built to do cool things they like. Such as build their own studio, do their own animated series, or HAVE THEIR OWN FREAKING SERIES OF FUNKOS AND I WANT THEM ALL SO BADLY... but I digress.

Just as Travis and Sam have outlined before, they are working to leverage these to grow the Critical Role brand just like the entire cast has helped grow the community we enjoy.

And as Matt said, it's trial and error. But the fact that they got enough attention that a multi-national brand reached out to them to run a one-shot, provided them with food/props and even professionally printed books (Yes, I want one!) means they are making headway into industries. This means more money will be continuing to pour in and grow the hobby.

REASON 3) It opens up our community

As a (mostly silent) cis white male member of the Critical Role Community, I couldn't be more proud of the inclusivity that the community provides.

I was born in the Southeastern United States. As they say in the Reese Witherspoon movie "Sweet Home Alabama"...

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And trust me, I feel like it's true.

The pride I feel in knowing I'm part of this kind of community and seeing what it means to be an ally to the community warms my heart. I love our little inside jokes (Bidet!) and the feeling of shared experience when I help induct another critter into the fold.

But that being said, I do feel as if, to a certain extent, we're an "exclusive" community of our making. We can be a bit "snob-ish" when it comes to certain things. And we definitely don't tend to speak at other people's levels.

While these things are OK, I feel we should be more open and inclusive when it comes to trying to help and welcome people into the greater RPG community and start to address concerns.

Time commitment to much an issue? Throw the rules out the window and run a one-hour game for that friend.

Math to much? Literally just roll two D6 and have the player do the same with opposing checks.

Scared to Improv? Run/learn a pre-built module!

We, as one of the more prominent RPG communities, need to take advantage of opportunities like these to welcome more people into the fold.

The more people we bring into the fold, the more perspectives we have. And the more perspective, the better the conversations... It's like that's the whole reason I play RPGs. #PlayMoreRPGs

Why Improv for D&D?

When I'm working with a new player or DM, and I see they have a passion for the RPG hobby, I'll ask them something like "Have you ever taken an improv class before? No? well, you should..."

Inevitably, instead of just taking me at my word and doing what I say without question, they will ask their obvious question "Why?".

Since "Because I said so" typically doesn't work, I've decided to list my top 5 reasons you "why" improv will help you become a better RPG player or DM/GM.

1) No, you didn't "do badly"

Making this suggestion doesn't mean I don't like you. Or I don't like what you did. Or how you acted. Far from it.

Most of the time, when people start to play RPGs, they think in "adult terms" - "Should I do what I'm thinking about doing?", "What if that's the wrong thing to do", and (the worst) "What if I look stupid doing it?"

More often than not, they have forgotten the "basics for play" - mainly learning the act of "taking a chance".

NEWSFLASH - Everyone is scared (at first) of screwing up and looking for a fool. But let me let you in on a little secret from around the table - it's the people who take a chance that typically has the most fun...

And improv is all about taking chances. One of my improv teachers would always see the wheels turning in my eyes and would tell me, "Even if you don't have a plan, step in and see what happens".

So what if you look stupid. So what if you do the wrong thing. So what if you "look stupid". The RPG table is a safe space to do all of those things... and more.

2) Having "rules" to follow literally makes everything better

Many times, people new to RPGs are just scared because they aren't used to it. It's something new that they haven't had hours of practice with or understanding about. After all, learning a new skill can sometimes be uncomfortable.

Sitting down at a table to play a new game, generally, you go over the "rules of the game". But that's the trouble with RPGs. There are almost quite literally NO RULES.

In the game, you can do literally whatever you want. If someone wronged you, you could find their house and take a dump on their pillow. I've seen it done (in-game, of course).

So, having some basic "rules" in place, like the ones that improv provides, helps new (and existing) players feel more at ease. They have something to fall back on when they're not sure of what to do.

3) Having "rules" to break literally makes everything better

Plus, you learn that you can literally do anything. If someone wronged you, you could find their house and take a dump on their pillow. I've seen it done (in-game, of course).

4) You'll learn how to make "more interesting decisions"

You may laugh at this, but it's true.

The most likely choice to make isn't always the most interesting choice to make. A slave girl who is "freed" logically should choose to leave. But what if she chose to stay and lead the other freed slaves. See, that's an interesting decision. It opens the door for more conversation (maybe convincing her to leave), more conflict (between the former slave owners and the former slaves), and more options for a DM to build a deeper storyline (assuming you're playing for storyline and not just murder hobos)

5) Practicing skills like improv at the table just makes you a better person

Taking an improv class showed me just how "bad" at improv I was. And don't get me wrong, I'm not a world-class improviser by any means. But it did show me where I lacked some key skills?

What skills do you ask? Well, mine was connecting my mouth to my body was a big one for me. You see, I was a college mascot back in the day and I was great at improvising using my body. I would see the situation and communicate through my body actions (pantomime is what we called it). And I was great at it.

But in improv class, connecting that to my mouth was really hard. I was used to thinking on my feet to do something, but when adding the simplest details (names, locations, actions) my mind simply vanished.

But that was ok because I was learning the tools to fall back on, such as "Yes, and..." or "Raising the Stakes". Learning these tools made me a better improviser, a better DM, and also a better communicator.

- - -

And that's the beauty of D&D, it's amazing practice for improv - you're constantly having to adjust to situations and flex the skills you learn. These are great skills for literally any workplace, home life, volunteer situation, or (insert your topic of choice here).

I'll never forget my first improv class. I was just as nervous as the first day of school in 5th grade. And then the instructor got us up to do "warmups".

As we all stood up and moved to the front of the room, we introduced ourselves, then looked at them with wide eyes and bated breath. That's when they announced we would be playing a game called "Big Booty".

Over the course of the next few minutes, we learned the simple rules and started playing. We played, laughed, and enjoyed the game, together.

10 strangers, who hadn't met before that night, were all indoctrinated into the same "culture" of silliness within minutes.

It was in those few minutes we all learned that we were in it together. It didn't matter how ridiculous we sounded or looked. We were all there for each other, success or fail (and there were some FAILS, but I digress).

And that's what it's like to sit down at an RPG table for the first time. It's scary. But after that first session, you know it's going to be ok. And having the tools that improv provides just makes the experience even better because you'll know how to succeed. And you'll know how to fail, in the best ways possible.