Adventuring Academy S07E02 Getting Thrown to the Wolves with Robbie Daymond DRPO H 264

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00:00:07Hello and welcome to Adventuring Academy.

00:00:09I'm your humble dungeon master, Brennan Lee Mulligan.

00:00:11With me today, a man who needs no introduction,

00:00:13but he's gonna good and goddamn get one.

00:00:15You know him as a prolific voice actor

00:00:17who's appeared in numerous movies, shows, and games.

00:00:19You've heard his voice in Sailor Moon, Persona 5,

00:00:24Cyberpunk 2077, and many more.

00:00:26In, we believe that this will be airing in 2026.

00:00:29We hope and pray, we might say things on camera

00:00:32that means this cannot air, but if it airs,

00:00:34it will be in 2026, where a new season has just dropped

00:00:37with Robbie as Megumi Fushiguro in Jujutsu Kaisen,

00:00:41and Virgil in Netflix's Devil May Cry series.

00:00:44The co-founder of Sassy Chap Games,

00:00:47where he was kind enough to cast me

00:00:48in the hit video game Date Everything.

00:00:51Oh, what a hoot I had.

00:00:53And of course, a cast member at Critical Role

00:00:56known as Dorian Storm from EXU in Campaign 3,

00:00:59Howard Margrove from Canelo Obscura,

00:01:01and my own player in Campaign 4 as Cadigan Vale,

00:01:06my friend and yours, Mr. Robbie Damond.

00:01:09Oh, we're here in the neon thunderdome

00:01:13I've dreamed of this day.

00:01:14It's good.

00:01:15I thought I was the king of dynamic vocal modulation,

00:01:18and you got me cooked.

00:01:20What?

00:01:20Your voice is so beautiful and sonorous, but it bounces around like a racket, ball, ball,

00:01:27ping, bang, boom, boom.

00:01:29It comes from, my training, my theatrical training as an actor,

00:01:34how to use the instrument, was from getting kids to pay attention to instructions,

00:01:40as an evil wizard.

00:01:42Okay.

00:01:43Picture a villain at a LARP camp being like,

00:01:46You fools!

00:01:47Tonight, the kingdom of Jada falls.

00:01:50I will seize your castle.

00:01:53And when I do remember, don't flee out the back of the castle.

00:01:59The hill is very steep and very slippery.

00:02:03I'm just picturing this not in any official capacity.

00:02:05You were just at a public park and these kids are like, who is this guy?

00:02:09You fools!

00:02:11Do you not behold my billowing cape?

00:02:14Just kicking a soccer ball, really furrowed brows.

00:02:17Yeah, someone being like, you can't do that here!

00:02:20He's back again.

00:02:21He's back again.

00:02:22He's got a cloak this time.

00:02:22Call the Rangers!

00:02:25Yeah, I know a little bit of your backstory, too.

00:02:27Yeah, yeah.

00:02:28Well, but we're not here to discuss my backstory, Robbie.

00:02:31We're here to discuss, speaking of backstory, our first time getting to play with each other

00:02:38really seriously was that one-shoddy stuff that we did in a charity game or something.

00:02:44During the COVID era, I think we did a charity game once.

00:02:47A little Zoom-y something or other.

00:02:48Yeah, but that's not, listen, it matters and the charity's good, but it's not the same as this.

00:02:52I have been so delighted to get a chance to play with you.

00:02:57I've been so delighted, speaking of backstory, to not only get to play with Cadigan Vale, where I got such

00:03:04a delightful backstory from you for that character.

00:03:08And it was really funny, because this is coming out after the campaign has come out, where, like Cadigan, a

00:03:14stoic, strong, silent type.

00:03:16And I think people, in the BTS we did for it, were surprised when I was like, oh, Robbie had

00:03:20a very textured, layered backstory for this character.

00:03:23Because people see this silent ranger, and I think it was very telling about the kind of theater kids that

00:03:29watch actual play, where they're like, what do you mean a quiet person could have a complicated interior?

00:03:35Yeah, that's an interesting thing, right?

00:03:37Like, especially if you're in something for the long haul.

00:03:40I hint, I'm such a confession, I hate it.

00:03:44I'm a vague poster.

00:03:46I really do, like, I don't post a lot.

00:03:49You're a hinter.

00:03:50But I, yeah, I like to hint, I like to seed.

00:03:53And, like, six months ago, I was like, gee, it's going to be tough to play a character that's not

00:03:59immediately likable, which is a specialty of mine.

00:04:02Maybe that's typecasting, I don't know.

00:04:04But, like, I wanted someone that you could sink your teeth into that takes a little bit of time, a

00:04:08little bit of slow burn.

00:04:10We had to, we only had eight episodes to shoot EXU.

00:04:13So when we were creating these characters that we didn't know were going to transition into C3, we felt like,

00:04:20God, we've got to come out of the gates just so hot.

00:04:22And I was like, well, I've earned a little bit of trust with the CR fandom, I feel like.

00:04:28And the people that really know the way I play and the way I've talked about this role, hopefully they

00:04:33understand that there's stuff coming, that still waters run deep, you know?

00:04:37And I feel like we're getting there.

00:04:39Yeah.

00:04:39It's really, I think that's absolutely the nail on the head.

00:04:43And I think what's really lovely is the creative choices that you make are made based on the parameters of

00:04:50the project.

00:04:50I mean, certainly that's been my experience as a GM for Campaign 4 is so much of the fun of

00:04:54it is when you have something with hard parameters, where it's like, here's what we're trying to do, here's who

00:04:59we're trying to do it with, here's the format and the structure that's going to work best for us as

00:05:03a show, a cast, and a company.

00:05:04And you go, oh, rad, these parameters now actually give shape and form to the creativity.

00:05:11Sure.

00:05:11Talk to me about the, well, I want to talk about how you make characters, but I also want to

00:05:17talk about why you make characters.

00:05:19Sure.

00:05:19Take me back through your creative origins.

00:05:22Oh, yeah.

00:05:22Was TTRPG always in the cards, or is that something that you discovered on your journey as a creator and

00:05:28a performer?

00:05:28TTRPG was never on the cards.

00:05:30Yeah, it's, listen, it was brought to me.

00:05:34And as an opportunity that I didn't expect.

00:05:37I know the people from CR, that we work in the same, you know, field.

00:05:42But even though there were moments where it was hinted, like, oh, come and guest on the show, and they

00:05:46were kind of playing with it in the early campaigns.

00:05:49I just, I know and love nerds because I have been one for a long time, and I know they

00:05:54can smell a fake from a mile away, right?

00:05:57Yeah.

00:05:57So I guess I wouldn't say it was fearful, but I was trepidatious because I would, if I went in

00:06:02there with these people that love this stuff so much,

00:06:04they're going to know that I'm not an OG like that, and that I'm learning to be a part of

00:06:09the storytelling process.

00:06:11But when the opportunity came along, when Marisha asked me to sign up the show, the timing was right, and

00:06:15I felt like, well, I am a gamer.

00:06:17I do love games, and I do love storytelling.

00:06:18And I'm a theater kid through and through.

00:06:21This is the time.

00:06:22So then you talk about parameters.

00:06:25You learn how to tell stories within a system and one you're unfamiliar with.

00:06:28And for me, after 15 years of doing voiceover, it really sparked something creative in me that was new, which

00:06:35is really cool.

00:06:35When you're in your late 30s and you get a chance at a new creative spark, that does not happen

00:06:39all that often.

00:06:40So for me, creating characters is a joy because I've mostly only embodied them through the majority of my career

00:06:48until later on in life.

00:06:50When I started making video games, when I started doing role-playing games, it gave me that chance to do

00:06:56that in a way that I didn't imagine myself having.

00:06:59I was content as a performer for the most part.

00:07:01Yeah, I mean, because we also, and this is very fun, we had, I'm going to say, I'm going to

00:07:06give a superlative here.

00:07:07Oh.

00:07:08Best airplane companion.

00:07:11I think, truly.

00:07:12Honestly, yeah.

00:07:13Best, coming back from Gen Con, I sat next to you and your brilliant and fascinating wife and had the

00:07:20time of my fucking life.

00:07:21Us too.

00:07:22Just cutting it up and sharing stories.

00:07:24It was really delightful and the, but you have a extreme, I'll say this, you have an extremely lore-rich

00:07:36life.

00:07:37You have a storied life.

00:07:40And it's very cool because you come armed to the teeth for storytelling.

00:07:43Yeah, well, I have really low risk aversion.

00:07:48I've just always been like, not to say that I would ever endanger others.

00:07:53I'm a good dad.

00:07:54But as far as myself goes, I'm a very much, you know, as an improv guy, I'm a yes and

00:07:59to life.

00:08:01And that has opened up so many opportunities for me and pathways that I feel like if I had any,

00:08:08like, boon stat that was given to me, it was, I'm not overly fearful.

00:08:13And I think it's because I had really good parents who taught me that my internal capabilities as a person

00:08:20would always outweigh any system that I was a part of, right?

00:08:23What a lesson.

00:08:24That's fucking rules.

00:08:25And then they're good parents who also lived a rich and storied life.

00:08:29So, like, I was very fortunate to have a tumultuous childhood but with a really good foundation of parents.

00:08:36So, when it comes to storytelling, they gave me the opportunity to know that even though I had the capacity

00:08:42to do other things, I wanted to pursue the performing arts.

00:08:45Yeah.

00:08:45And I got to be real.

00:08:47As someone who ended up teaching it at the university level, that's hard for a parent to do.

00:08:51Yeah.

00:08:51Because the likelihood of you and I being in this scenario is so low for anybody out there.

00:08:57But at the same time, anybody can do it.

00:09:00Yeah.

00:09:00It's an interesting thing.

00:09:03But, yeah, when it comes to creating a character, I feel like I've lived a life that I can thematically

00:09:11tell stories without necessarily having to self-insert.

00:09:14I think that's one of the pitfalls of being a performer but maybe a poorly trained performer from, like, a

00:09:20pedagogy standpoint is if you're always trying to insert your own personal experiences into a performance,

00:09:25that's going to come off of – it's just going to be derivative of you.

00:09:28Yeah.

00:09:28So – but if you have lived a life and you can understand what those experiences were as you get

00:09:33older, you can craft a character that can tell those kind of stories without having to be about you, right?

00:09:38I always felt that way of whenever I encountered performance styles or methodologies that tried to do an end run

00:09:46around imagination and the fact that people can just be very different from each other.

00:09:52You know, like, there are certain people where it's like, oh, it can all come from something that you've experienced.

00:09:56And you go, not quite, though, right?

00:09:59Yeah.

00:10:00Yeah, no, well, there's this idea of, like, how in the weeds are we getting here?

00:10:05By – for God's sake, into the weeds we must go.

00:10:08Sure.

00:10:08It was just a simple concept.

00:10:09But there's this idea of, like, a first and second function when it comes to, like, playing an action, right?

00:10:13Like, I could say to you right now, go chase.

00:10:15And you would go chase something, right?

00:10:17And it would make sense, and I would understand watching it that you were chasing.

00:10:20It was very simple, kindergarten stuff.

00:10:22But then if I said, go chase the bus because you're late to your grandfather's graduation, it's bad.

00:10:30He's been putting in so much work, man.

00:10:32He's been held back.

00:10:33He's been held back for 70 years.

00:10:35I was going to say funeral, but I felt like it was too blue.

00:10:38But you're late, whatever.

00:10:40It's going to be different.

00:10:41It's going to have a richness of emotion and all of that stuff.

00:10:43So I think there is a way to sort of cook those things in.

00:10:47And if you're just crying because you're thinking about something sad, you're not crying the tears of that character in

00:10:54the right way.

00:10:55And I think people that are really trained actors and performers understand that those truly imaginary circumstances lead to a

00:11:02specificity in a performance that you cannot replicate by just generating an emotion.

00:11:07So it's interesting.

00:11:08No, you're absolutely right.

00:11:09The color and texture of that is so important and critical.

00:11:12And it's very funny because we're here to talk about TTRPGs, but there's no way to talk about TTRPGs in

00:11:16the way that we play them where I feel heavily informed by our performance background.

00:11:21Oh, sure.

00:11:22And for me, hearing you talk about the acting thing, I think about improv and the things I did in

00:11:27improv that I realized were created for this comedy form, but fundamentally were acting lessons.

00:11:32Like you're talking about that, I used to say the reason you have to find motivation and justification in a

00:11:37scene is if you don't pick it, if you don't have one, the motivation is going to bleed through from

00:11:47you, the performer, whose motivation is always, please God, let this scene be good.

00:11:51And that will fuck everything up.

00:11:54Again, low risk aversion is very helpful.

00:11:58Yeah.

00:11:59I want my audience to have a great time.

00:12:00But at a certain point, like if what you're making, if you don't have the artistic integrity to divorce the

00:12:06audience from what you're doing, you're always going to make choices that are going to feel like sort of like

00:12:12you're trying to placate the audience instead of being yourself.

00:12:15You want it to be a banger, but you've got to trust in the art, right?

00:12:17What I love about the backstory you submitted, and again, backstory gets a weird, backstory's in a moment where it

00:12:22has a rap for some reason in TRPG's, you need a fucking backstory, you need a fucking backstory, you need

00:12:28a fucking backstory.

00:12:28But the reason for that is, like you're saying, you're talking about the idea of the circumstances of a character.

00:12:35I used to think about that in improv where a character is the most fabricated, you literally can't have written

00:12:40a backstory.

00:12:40Sure.

00:12:41I would talk about the thing that reminds me, like you're saying, the texture added when you know you're catching

00:12:47the bus to go to a funeral or your grandfather's graduation that he's worked so hard for, he's worked so

00:12:52hard for.

00:12:52I used to talk about speech versus speech actions.

00:12:56Oh, interesting.

00:12:57And I would say in improv all the time, you will get 10 times better at this when you stop

00:13:04focusing on what is being said and start focusing on why people are saying it.

00:13:11Oh, yeah, sure.

00:13:12Right?

00:13:12Just in that way, I would say all the time where I would say it's very rare for an article

00:13:18of speech to completely map to the action behind it.

00:13:22Oh, yeah.

00:13:22The examples I would give is maybe the most honest form of speech I regularly practice is, can I get

00:13:28a bacon, egg, and cheese and a cup of coffee?

00:13:30Because that's one-to-one with the action.

00:13:32Like, you know, I'm going like, I am asking for bacon, egg, and cheese with a cup of coffee because

00:13:36I want a bacon, egg, and cheese with a cup of coffee.

00:13:38Yeah.

00:13:38Right?

00:13:39But anything else, you're in an elevator, someone presses the wrong button, and you go like, oops, I guess we're

00:13:45taking the local and not the express.

00:13:46And you go, right, but what is that?

00:13:48Yeah, well, there's entire techniques built around, you know, understanding what that is.

00:13:53Because I fully believe if, you know, if I'm in a two-and-a-half-hour play and I have

00:13:56a script, everything I need is in the script, in the words that are there, but it's in the words.

00:14:03Yes.

00:14:04It's not the words.

00:14:05It's there, and understanding the motivation and intent and super objective of the characters that you're involved with under these

00:14:12imaginary circumstances and then embodying them whichever way you can.

00:14:16I'm not one of those where you have to go into a play and you necessarily, it's all there for

00:14:21you.

00:14:21You can write some stuff that'll make you sink into the character, but understanding that there's language and intent and

00:14:28it's all different.

00:14:29And it's fun, that's being truly connected in that moment, I feel like, is what makes us people.

00:14:35Because people, not lie, but, like, we don't always, it would be a very weird world where everything that came

00:14:40out of our mouths is exactly what we meant.

00:14:42Yeah.

00:14:43Yeah, and again, to understand that, like, when you say, it's okay to acknowledge that a lot of language is

00:14:50expressing something, and therefore there's something you're trying to use language to do.

00:14:55Yeah, sure.

00:14:56Right? If I, you know, if I go to someone and I go, like, I go, like, hey, you know,

00:15:02it was rainy out there, the field was muddy, it was hard to, I'm trying to cheer you up.

00:15:07If I look at you and say, hey, can I talk to you for a second? I'm furious.

00:15:11Sure, sure, sure.

00:15:12There's things that where you go, like, there are these moments of looking at what someone is trying to say

00:15:19and what they're trying to do with what they're trying to say.

00:15:22In that a lot of times language is trying to accomplish something.

00:15:25But we definitely also judge each other in those ways.

00:15:27In a positive way, I'm going to say something about you that I mean from the bottom of my heart.

00:15:33I knew I instantly liked you because of the way you speak.

00:15:36I could tell immediately you're an honest and forthright man.

00:15:40And I was just like, this guy is speaking from the heart and there's no artifice.

00:15:47So immediately, not only does that make you charismatic for good stuff like this, but as a person, it makes

00:15:52me trust you.

00:15:53And I can see through bullshit a mile away.

00:15:57And there's just, there's, you don't have a speck of it on you, my man.

00:16:00You're squeaky clean.

00:16:01I really appreciate that.

00:16:02I feel very, it's, you know, super funny that, well, man, what a kind compliment.

00:16:07I, I fucked with you right away as well for a very similar reason for, well, because again, it's very

00:16:12cool.

00:16:13I think it's, it's really lovely.

00:16:16We're in a space where we make believe for a living and make believe shares a big border with lying.

00:16:22So when you find, so, yeah, you know what I mean?

00:16:28I know what you're saying.

00:16:28You're saying what I'm saying.

00:16:29I get it.

00:16:30So it's, we all know those people.

00:16:31But it's, but it's very nice when you find people that are like, oh, I'm using this made up bullshit

00:16:35to tell the truth.

00:16:36Yeah, let it.

00:16:36It's very nice.

00:16:37Let it fall away.

00:16:38And if it can fall away, then you know you're doing the art part right.

00:16:40Yes, that's, exactly.

00:16:44When you came to TTRPGs, it's, you're saying it's a gift.

00:16:51It's fun to find something late in life.

00:16:53It's very cool, too, because I think, like you're saying, the, the, I vibe with how you think about games.

00:17:01Because there's a, I'm trying to think how to put this.

00:17:05You unabashedly love storytelling and love performance.

00:17:09And there, there is a assumption on the uninitiated that there is a pretension to throwing yourself into something and

00:17:21taking it very seriously.

00:17:23And I think those are the opposite things, right?

00:17:26Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:17:27And what I love about your work is that it's very much like, oh, let's fucking throw our bodies into

00:17:32the grain thresher of this and fucking do it to the fullest it can be done.

00:17:36And that's, to me, the most humble, least pretentious, most like, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm lucky to be able to

00:17:44do this.

00:17:44I want to put my whole heart into it.

00:17:46Yeah, I think, I think it also makes the mistakes more, more palatable, right?

00:17:52Like, it's a complicated game.

00:17:54And there, and there are ways to do it.

00:17:57And like, everything from etiquette to, to metagaming to all of that stuff.

00:18:02And I don't always get all of it right.

00:18:05But when I realize that maybe I'm off or that there's a different way to do it, there's always a,

00:18:11well, listen.

00:18:12Yeah.

00:18:13You, Matt, and Aabria are really my only three GMs that I've ever had for any, that's a pretty good

00:18:20jumping off point, right?

00:18:22Like, let's be real.

00:18:25So, like, I feel like I'm in a, well, this term is a term, it's got a lot of means.

00:18:31But I feel like I'm in a safe space to explore and do fun stuff artistically and just play a

00:18:35game.

00:18:35And I love wondering what the boundaries of the game are.

00:18:40One of our very first combat in C3, I, like, lit a fire in the middle of the room in

00:18:46order to create, like, and I use my action and my stuff to make up.

00:18:50And it's a terrible gaming move.

00:18:52But I didn't know that because I'm new to the space.

00:18:55But it ended up being fun and it worked in a way.

00:18:58And Matt helped me make it work.

00:18:59And it's a new player trying to test the boundaries of what you can do.

00:19:02But it's there.

00:19:04Yeah.

00:19:04So, yeah, it's really fun.

00:19:06Speaking of the adventuring of it all and coming to this new game, you come to this game with performance

00:19:13experience and a philosophy around performance and around storytelling to a new medium.

00:19:19When those two meet, right?

00:19:21In other words, it's not something you discover when you were a kid, nor is it something that is your

00:19:26whole frame of reference.

00:19:28What are the tools that you had?

00:19:30What was the equipment you had in your pack coming from here that was useful?

00:19:36And did you find anything in the dungeon of this hobby to go, oh, that's going in the pack now?

00:19:43Yeah, sure.

00:19:45Well, I'm a gamer.

00:19:47Like, I like games.

00:19:49I like card games.

00:19:50I grew up playing card games, board games.

00:19:51I was huge into video games.

00:19:53I ended up making them now for a living.

00:19:56So the game aspect of it made sense to me.

00:19:59But I think being comfortable in the RP space of it, like the communal storytelling part of it, allowed me

00:20:06to learn slowly and do better.

00:20:11And also the players at the table.

00:20:12It's not just the GMs.

00:20:13Like, what an experience to be at that table.

00:20:16And you know that every pitch you throw out, someone's going to hit.

00:20:20And someone's always going to be, like, either lobbing you a softball or a foul.

00:20:23You know what I mean?

00:20:24Like, those players are the best.

00:20:26So, yeah.

00:20:27You find those players.

00:20:28You find those other people that are going to help support you.

00:20:30When you – and obviously, like you're saying, you have a facility with the RP.

00:20:33That's not unusual to you.

00:20:35But also there's something very fascinating.

00:20:36I think there is – did you have, coming from theater and voiceover, was the improvisational part or, in fact,

00:20:47even, like, the writing part, was that just like a duck to water?

00:20:51Or was there any –

00:20:52No, I'm a reformed academic.

00:20:54So, you know, I got my master's grace to teach theater for all the undergrads, the BFA undergrads.

00:20:59And then I continued on to teach here in L.A. and beyond.

00:21:02And – but I've never – I never did, you know, the Second City or Groundlings or any of that.

00:21:09I never had any formal improv training.

00:21:10But it is part and parcel to what we do in that space.

00:21:16So, I always get nervous around improv people.

00:21:20I'm like, I'd be able to hang.

00:21:21But then I've been around it so much where I've – not to be whatever, like, I've never not been

00:21:26able to hang.

00:21:26So, I think there are methodologies to do a thing.

00:21:29And if you understand it at a fundamental level, you're always going to be able to do it.

00:21:33There is just something to say for, like, you know, getting thrown to the wolves, right?

00:21:37And it's fun.

00:21:38It's fun.

00:21:38I love getting thrown to the wolves.

00:21:40Low risk aversion.

00:21:42I fucking know.

00:21:42No, I feel the same way.

00:21:43I feel very grateful for my family and my parents as well that I feel like what you call low

00:21:48risk aversion, I feel like for me was a –

00:21:52and in terms of also, like, what you prioritize, my entire life has always been, like, I will accept any

00:21:59amount of discomfort for a better story.

00:22:01Oh, yeah.

00:22:01And just that idea –

00:22:02Oh, yeah.

00:22:02You know, which I think I look back at my life and all the times where I was, like, there's

00:22:06a party tonight.

00:22:08I'm very tired.

00:22:10I'm very – I've been working my ass off, whatever else.

00:22:12And you go, but if I stay home, I know what will happen.

00:22:15If I go to the party, I don't know what will happen.

00:22:17I love it.

00:22:18And you go, put me in situations where I don't know what's going to happen.

00:22:21And I think to that point, like, coming into this – but even you saying, like, coming from academia or

00:22:28coming from teaching theater, the cool part about TTRPG is there is no practice that leaves you prepared for it.

00:22:36Because even as an improviser, you come from improv, and you go, yeah, yeah, yeah, I know how to make

00:22:41shit up fast, but I don't necessarily know how to feel a very genuine feeling just for the dramatic sake

00:22:48of it.

00:22:48Or even actors and improvisers going, right, so we're writing.

00:22:53We are going to be writing.

00:22:54Like, no matter what discipline you come from, it's sort of the MMA of, like, you know, like, yeah.

00:23:00Yeah, yeah, I'll say this.

00:23:02Well, MMA is a really good reference because the specialists aren't always built for it, right?

00:23:07And not to let – too much about how the sausage is made, but, like, I have played with some

00:23:12people who ended up, you know, maybe not being in the space.

00:23:14And when you're locked in like that, you go, like, oh, they're missing this thing.

00:23:20And not necessarily them as a person, but they're missing this thing about this experience that's not clicking in.

00:23:26So when we're talking about people, you know, doing a live play at a high level, it really is like

00:23:34catching lightning in a bottle.

00:23:35The chemistry between the players, the understanding of the medium, and I'm still so – I feel so new to

00:23:42it, even though I've been playing for four years.

00:23:43But I've been playing at a pretty high level, so it's the best.

00:23:48But I also say the same thing.

00:23:49My favorite thing is meeting someone who is just like, I love it so much.

00:23:55I'm playing my first home game.

00:23:56And I'm like, did you get your friends together to do that?

00:23:59And I was like, yeah.

00:23:59And I was like, when was the last time you all just sat down and did something together for two

00:24:03or four hours?

00:24:04Yeah.

00:24:05I can't think of the last time.

00:24:05I was like, this is the magic and the beauty of the game in that.

00:24:09And you don't have to be doing it on TV to be doing it.

00:24:12That's why everybody vibes with it when they meet you.

00:24:15For the first six years of Dimension 20, I was still running my home game.

00:24:20Yeah.

00:24:20You know what I mean?

00:24:21Like, it fucking was the best.

00:24:23I miss it.

00:24:24And to everyone in my home game, if any of you guys wants to pick up and DM, we're ready.

00:24:33He needs you to paint his minis, too.

00:24:35Yes, that I do.

00:24:38For me, I've exclusively worked with Rick Perry and now Matt Mercer and K.O. over at Critical Role, who

00:24:44builds the sets.

00:24:45And I go, you're doing a really good job.

00:24:47I don't do this part.

00:24:50Folks, we're going to dive into our first segment here.

00:24:52That wasn't the first segment?

00:24:54That was the first segment.

00:24:55Oh, okay.

00:24:55Wait, but, oh, yes.

00:24:56But I said first segment.

00:24:58That one doesn't have a name.

00:24:59Get ready for the first segment here on the podcast.

00:25:02This is the one where we go head-to-head, and we got spicy takes, and we're going to drum

00:25:07up some discourse.

00:25:08We're going to drive engagement.

00:25:09We're going to make people comment and prompt the algorithm to share the video.

00:25:14It's Contested Role.

00:25:15Disregard everything I said about liking you earlier.

00:25:18I'm so mad about this.

00:25:19I'm fucked.

00:25:27Here in Contested Role, this is the segment where we dive deep into the discourse.

00:25:32That's right.

00:25:32We find the spiciest takes.

00:25:34We add some extra capsaicin just for flavor, and then we get into it.

00:25:40Robbie, you have a scorcher of a take.

00:25:43I am honor-bound to take the opposite position from whichever position you take, whether I believe it or not.

00:25:49Just so we can keep it fucking toasty hot here in the Dome.

00:25:54Robbie, what is your take?

00:25:56Oh, I'm so passionate about this.

00:25:59Well, here's what I think.

00:26:02Less group battles, more 1v1s.

00:26:06I want duels.

00:26:07I want mono and mono.

00:26:09I want a kung fu movie where everybody's in the background just waiting for their turn.

00:26:13That's what I want.

00:26:15What the fuck are you talking about?

00:26:18I don't know, man.

00:26:18I just started playing this shit.

00:26:20You told me to pick something that I thought would be spicy.

00:26:22I don't know.

00:26:23Keep up the cake.

00:26:23Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:26:27You want more 1v1 combat.

00:26:30Okay, give me the pros.

00:26:33What happens as a result of more 1v1 player versus enemy combat?

00:26:37Every round of combat is worth six seconds, right?

00:26:39Six seconds.

00:26:40If I send my rogue off on a—why does he never just encounter one guy that wants to fuck him

00:26:48up?

00:26:49And they can fight in an alley.

00:26:51If I'm going to watch you RP the tragic loss of your favorite familiar for 15 minutes, I could watch

00:27:01a 1v1 scrap at a table.

00:27:02I feel like there's this moment that I love.

00:27:05Everybody loves it, but this is all fake and real, right?

00:27:07I can't go, yeah, we're so hot and spicy.

00:27:09Sure.

00:27:09I put out this big map and everybody's in the scrum.

00:27:12Everybody loves it.

00:27:12You've got to have a big group battle.

00:27:14But I think there should be more theater of the mind moments where this group, when they split off and

00:27:19encounter something,

00:27:20I think you should encounter someone that is a one-on-one fight where you test your mettle against an

00:27:23equally ferocious foe and you just fight.

00:27:271v1.

00:27:29You hate it.

00:27:30I'm required by law to hate this.

00:27:34Since the dawn of time has there been a compact between the game master and the players at the table.

00:27:42A moment will come where I utter an incantation.

00:27:46It will be two words.

00:27:47Roll initiative.

00:27:49Yeah.

00:27:49I will place a map upon the table and each of you will get a little guy.

00:27:54To break that promise is to break the spell at the heart of the hobby.

00:27:58I'll be dead in the cold fucking dirt before I produce a map and I don't let everybody there get

00:28:05a piece of the action.

00:28:06Sure.

00:28:07I'm going to have a wizard see a perfectly clustered group of enemies and they're not in the combat.

00:28:12No.

00:28:13I'm going to see a monk see a 20-foot vertical drop for their slow fall ability and they're not

00:28:17in the combat.

00:28:18Baby, you better fucking wake up and apologize because you are a dreamy.

00:28:22It already happens because you can only move those little guys 30 feet.

00:28:25So they're already engaged in mono a mono combat regularly enough.

00:28:29Why do I have to keep up with the cacophonous battle that occurs where a perfectly balanced set of enemies

00:28:35jumps directly across from my perfectly positioned group?

00:28:38Why can't I get robbed?

00:28:41I like battles that take three hours.

00:28:45Ooh, you are so passionate about this.

00:28:48Yeah.

00:28:48I have to break the campaign because I think that fucking rules.

00:28:52I think you're totally correct.

00:28:53I like more combat.

00:28:54I like more theater of the mind combat.

00:28:56I like more combat that just goes, hey, this is you and another dude in a dark hallway.

00:29:01We don't need a battle set here.

00:29:02This is going to resolve in this hallway in two rounds, right?

00:29:05I like also, I would like it more if more combat involved low stakes, meaning I think if a map

00:29:13lands, it's got to be life or death.

00:29:16But can we have something where, like you're saying, in the same way that a skill check is sometimes trivial

00:29:22to make the PC feel like a badass, maybe a combat should be trivial to make the PC feel like

00:29:27a badass.

00:29:27Having your level 10 fighter walk up behind the caravan and there's two challenge rating, one-eighth guards, bam, bam,

00:29:35you're dead, you don't even get a turn.

00:29:36Yeah.

00:29:37That feels really cool.

00:29:38I love that.

00:29:40I agree.

00:29:41I win this segment.

00:29:43I win this segment.

00:29:44That was so easy.

00:29:46No, no, I mean, listen.

00:29:47So easy, almost like a one-on-one player versus enemy battle.

00:29:50One, two, three, four, I declare the fucking motherfucking.

00:29:53I fucking lose.

00:29:54I lose.

00:29:55I love this.

00:29:56I also would be a huge hypocrite if I disagree with you because one of my favorite things from Calamity

00:30:00over on Critical Role was Aabria and Marisha just stomping a dude's ass.

00:30:06The first initiative role, four of six PCs were not present for.

00:30:10Yeah.

00:30:11It just was like, no, this is the game.

00:30:13We roll initiative.

00:30:13You're starting a combat.

00:30:14I think it does happen sometimes, but I really like the idea of, for some reason, a 1v1 just as,

00:30:21it just spices me up.

00:30:23Like, 2v1, 2v1, whatever, smaller group combat is good, but just two people going at it.

00:30:29And if you've got a really, if you, like, let's say you build a really fucking cool PC that you

00:30:35really, or NPC that you love.

00:30:37Yeah.

00:30:37I would think that is a fun moment for the GM to, for a second, step into the player's shoes

00:30:43and say, oh, you want a PvP?

00:30:45Yeah.

00:30:46Let's fucking go and see how this cooks out.

00:30:48And I think that could be a spicy moment for a GM, too.

00:30:50I fucking love that.

00:30:52In your, in your, it's very interesting.

00:30:55I wonder, I think, number one, we are very used to providing spotlight asymmetrically.

00:31:03Over a many-year campaign, not only are there going to be scenes where everybody supports one PC stepping into

00:31:11the spotlight,

00:31:11there are going to be entire arcs where you go, hey, we're killing your dad.

00:31:16We're going after, you know, like, we're, like, literally, like, no, this arc, like, yeah, I'm here.

00:31:21I'm having development.

00:31:22I'm having a great adventure.

00:31:23But the beautiful part of this is we have gotten to a point as a party that part of my

00:31:29character development is helping you achieve your dream.

00:31:32I want to be here.

00:31:33There will come a time where I step back into the spotlight.

00:31:36For right now, this is your solo, Shred, right?

00:31:38Yeah.

00:31:38And I fucking love that.

00:31:40I love that as a player.

00:31:41I love it as a GM.

00:31:43And all that we're saying is we already do that for RP.

00:31:46Does it make sense to do that for combat?

00:31:48I think absolutely.

00:31:49And there's an interesting question about game balance and action economy there.

00:31:54In terms of, typically speaking, monsters tend to be very high hit point totals, lower damage output than a PC.

00:32:06Yeah.

00:32:06And I think there's something interesting to think about how you would balance a 1v1 to be really exciting for

00:32:14a single PC versus a single monster.

00:32:19Well, let me ask you, when you're building your non-monster characters in a stat sheet, like if you have

00:32:25an NPC that maybe you're going to combat, obviously you're scaling that for group combat because that feels better.

00:32:30But is there a reality where you could just build a character sheet for an NPC that's balanced and it

00:32:36would be like a PvP?

00:32:38I think so.

00:32:39Well, I think what's interesting is it comes up so rarely.

00:32:42And when it does come up, it tends to be, oh, like you're saying, rogue infiltrating the castle, bop, bop,

00:32:48you're dead, right?

00:32:50Versus something that is a little bit more like an actual to-the-death duel.

00:32:54Sure.

00:32:55I think I would pick my monsters very carefully for a duel and I maybe would think a little bit

00:33:00about action economy for a duel.

00:33:03One of the biggest things that I think made, there was a huge advantage in 5th edition was the addition

00:33:09of legendary actions.

00:33:11Mm-hmm.

00:33:12Mm-hmm.

00:33:23I wonder if there's a way to, maybe I would want some interesting action economy for a duel to help

00:33:30speed it along.

00:33:31There was a little moment in C3, and this is fuzzy, it's a while ago, where I think Ashton was

00:33:40in a slap fight of some kind, like a fisticuffs with an important character.

00:33:45And Matt, and we were kind of all watching Incapacitated, and Matt had cooked up, like, it felt like there

00:33:52was some sort of altered rules to this engagement that we were in.

00:33:55But it was, for me, it was one of my favorite moments.

00:33:57Yeah.

00:33:58But also, from a set piece standpoint, I think it kind of flew under the radar.

00:34:02Yeah.

00:34:02So maybe it's more entertaining, the idea for a home game, than, you know, the potential of doing it, like,

00:34:11at a live stream or something like that.

00:34:12But I don't know.

00:34:12It was fun for me.

00:34:14I really love it.

00:34:15I think I would just want to look at the stat blocks carefully and make sure if this guy's going

00:34:20to, because there are many monsters that are assumed to be part of a group.

00:34:25If I can't have every single fucking, like, zombie on here have a different set of abilities, but if a

00:34:32single opponent is supposed to be formidable on their own, not only is there the whole legendary action economy, but

00:34:39it's also thinking about can they do a multiplicity of interesting things?

00:34:45Yeah.

00:34:45Right?

00:34:45That's a good point.

00:34:46Yeah.

00:34:46But I love that.

00:34:47I fully agree with this point.

00:34:49I lose.

00:34:50Robbie wins.

00:34:51That's contested role.

00:34:57Well, let's celebrate your victory with nothing less than a feast.

00:35:02What?

00:35:02Prepare for Constitution Save.

00:35:12Welcome to Constitution Save.

00:35:14There's rice, cakes, and milk on the board, and that means trouble.

00:35:16Folks, this is the segment where we talk about snacking at your game table.

00:35:24Robbie, you a big snacker?

00:35:26Honestly, no.

00:35:27I'm a meal guy.

00:35:28I'm not a big snacker.

00:35:30The Critical Role gang.

00:35:32It's you, Abrea, Matt.

00:35:35It's these elevated beings.

00:35:36You take umbrage at this.

00:35:38I can feel it.

00:35:39I'd be snacking.

00:35:41And I'd make no bones about it.

00:35:42Folks, this is Constitution Save.

00:35:44This season, I get surprised by the segments.

00:35:46I don't know what the fuck is happening.

00:35:48Oh, Christ.

00:35:50Dimension 20's spicing new season.

00:35:52It's time to put on our dropout development executive hats.

00:35:56Using the role table, please come up with a pitch for the next season of Dimension 20.

00:36:01Oh, yeah.

00:36:02While you do, make sure to try some Carolina Reaper popcorn.

00:36:05Oh, fuck.

00:36:07Come on.

00:36:08It helps with brainstorming.

00:36:12Okay.

00:36:13Oh, man.

00:36:14Whose idea was this?

00:36:16Robbie.

00:36:16Mm-hmm.

00:36:17Here's what's going to happen.

00:36:20We are going to randomly generate new seasons of Dimension 20.

00:36:24Okay.

00:36:25As the guest, you get to decide if I'm going to go first or if you're going to go first.

00:36:28Okay, sure.

00:36:30You will roll.

00:36:32After you roll, I will consult the table to tell you what your pitch is going to be,

00:36:37and you will eat a big old handful of Carolina Reaper popcorn.

00:36:40Okay.

00:36:41I will then ask you for the name of the season.

00:36:43What are some ally and enemy factions the PCs might meet this season?

00:36:47Who or what is the season's big bad?

00:36:49Can we see a scene from that season?

00:36:50What does the season's climactic final battle look like?

00:36:53Okay?

00:36:53Okay, sure.

00:36:54Should I go first or should you go first?

00:36:56What would you prefer?

00:36:57You're the host.

00:36:58You're the guest.

00:36:58Oh, goddammit.

00:36:59I'll go first.

00:37:00Great.

00:37:01Yeah.

00:37:02Go ahead.

00:37:03Okay.

00:37:04And you're going to roll one D8.

00:37:06A D8?

00:37:07And two D4.

00:37:09Two D4.

00:37:10I've only got one, so I'll roll them back to back.

00:37:12I'll give you my D4 from the Dimension 20 set.

00:37:14Ooh.

00:37:15Available in the Merc Store.

00:37:16All at the same time?

00:37:17You're going to roll a D8 and two D4.

00:37:19I'm ready.

00:37:20Right in here.

00:37:21Here we go.

00:37:21Bing bong.

00:37:22Box of doom.

00:37:23Not great.

00:37:23There's a two and a six.

00:37:25Okay.

00:37:27Go ahead.

00:37:28Start munching.

00:37:29Just, I'm going to eat.

00:37:30Why did you make a spicy thing also the thing that can choke you?

00:37:34This seems like hell.

00:37:35This seems like a mistake.

00:37:36That's an unnatural color.

00:37:38Does this count as a handful?

00:37:39Great.

00:37:40That's a lot.

00:37:40Here we go.

00:37:41Okay, this sucks.

00:37:42Mash up for this Dimension 20 season.

00:37:44Okay, this is a classic Jackie Chan action movie meets the Flintstones.

00:37:49Start pitching now.

00:37:50What's the name of the season?

00:37:51Oh, Rumble and Bedrock.

00:37:52What are some ally and enemy factions the PCs might meet this season?

00:37:56Barney's evil twin brother.

00:37:59Who or what is this season's?

00:38:01Carney, he works at a circus.

00:38:03Carney, a Carney who works at the circus in the Jackie Chan Flintstones season?

00:38:07Don't worry about it.

00:38:08I'm going back in.

00:38:10What's a scene we would see in this season?

00:38:13I'm pretty sure this is actually, unlike the show, satire and parody.

00:38:20It's going to be a deeply gritty reboot, Zack Snyder style.

00:38:24It's dark.

00:38:25It's heavy.

00:38:26Oh, yeah.

00:38:27Yeah, Fred's alcoholic.

00:38:29Fuck.

00:38:29I think that's always been canon, actually.

00:38:33Well, that five o'clock shadow, he is not shaving regularly.

00:38:36Yeah, look, this is actually getting better the more I have.

00:38:39Ooh, delightful.

00:38:40Okay, I'm locking in.

00:38:41And what does the season's climactic final battle look like?

00:38:43Yeah, it's definitely in the back of a Brontosaurus.

00:38:46I think as evil Barney's brother Carney slides down the tail as Fred does when he goes,

00:38:52double backflip.

00:38:53You think it's game over, and then...

00:39:03It's worse.

00:39:04I thought it was better at that it's worse.

00:39:06It's a sine wave.

00:39:08Let's do a reverse Sephiroth, and Fred pulls out a sharpened Brontosaurus bone.

00:39:16Incredible.

00:39:16And Carney impales himself.

00:39:18Jackie Chan Flintstone season references both Zack Snyder and Sephiroth.

00:39:21I love it.

00:39:22Good, good, good.

00:39:23Good, good, good.

00:39:23It's so derivative.

00:39:24Okay, your turn.

00:39:27Oh, it's not that bad.

00:39:29D8 in the first column, and then 2D4 in the next.

00:39:33Here we go.

00:39:342D4 in the next.

00:39:35And I'll re-roll if we get the same numbers.

00:39:37Okay.

00:39:40That's going to be seven in the first column, and two in the next column.

00:39:43I'm going to start munching.

00:39:44Okay, it's Mary Shelley meets fast food mascot.

00:39:53It's not great.

00:39:54Mary Shelley meets fast food mascots.

00:39:56Quick, what's the name of the season?

00:39:58Jack in the Box Frankenstein.

00:40:02What are some friendly...

00:40:04Hell!

00:40:05Ow, ow!

00:40:06What are some friendly NPCs and factions they might meet in the season?

00:40:10Jack in the Box Frankenstein.

00:40:13You already said that.

00:40:15Huh?

00:40:15It's the name of the season.

00:40:17It really hurts!

00:40:18Come on, give me somebody else.

00:40:19Give me another character.

00:40:21The Burger King werewolf!

00:40:23That's pretty good.

00:40:25Okay, now, who's the big bad?

00:40:27Who's the big bad?

00:40:29Dracula Ronald McDonald.

00:40:31Good, good, good.

00:40:33I'm going back in.

00:40:34Yeah, it gets better, right?

00:40:36And then worse.

00:40:37Now, what's the climactic final battle scene?

00:40:40Where does it take place?

00:40:43Playpalace Transylvania.

00:40:45Good.

00:40:46Did I do it?

00:40:48You win.

00:40:49Sounds like good.

00:40:51Milk.

00:40:53Oh, that's good.

00:40:55That's good and spicy.

00:40:56Mmm.

00:40:58Woo.

00:41:00Are we done?

00:41:01Are we doing more?

00:41:01I need new milk.

00:41:03You can have mine.

00:41:05Okay.

00:41:05Switch.

00:41:07This cup just looks like it says nuts.

00:41:10All right, switchies, let's go.

00:41:11Why did the, I, like.

00:41:13I'm good.

00:41:14Oy.

00:41:15It's coming back.

00:41:16The milk only paused for a moment.

00:41:18Somehow Palpatine returned.

00:41:21Three and four.

00:41:24Okay.

00:41:25I'm going hard on this one.

00:41:26Let's go.

00:41:26It's Jane Austen meets Spaghetti Westerns.

00:41:32The, the, the, the, the, the, the, the pride, the bad, and the, the, the, the pride, the bad, and

00:41:42the, the pride, the bad, and the, and the seven samurai.

00:41:43The pride, the bad, and the seven samurai.

00:41:44I'm going to make it a great following now.

00:41:46What are some ally and enemy factions that, pieces might meet this season?

00:41:52I think the, the enemies are Melancholy and Miasma.

00:41:55I think the, the death of the day.

00:41:59Good.

00:41:59And I think the, the, on your team is, who else was I meeting?

00:42:03Jane Austen and who?

00:42:05Jane Austen, Spaghetti Western.

00:42:06Oh, I think your ally is going to be, um, Clint Eastwood, but specifically 90 years and over, over Clint

00:42:15Eastwood.

00:42:15Great.

00:42:16Not a character, the actor himself.

00:42:18He's, we break the fourth wall, he's in there somehow.

00:42:20Yeah.

00:42:21Who or what is the season's big bad?

00:42:23Jane Austen meets Spaghetti Western.

00:42:24Mm-hmm.

00:42:25I'm going to think of, um, cultural appropriation from Akira Kurosawa.

00:42:30We all know what the Magnificent Seven is.

00:42:32Don't lie, you stole it.

00:42:34Incredible.

00:42:34Mm-hmm.

00:42:35Um, can we see a scene from that season?

00:42:37Yeah, sure.

00:42:41My mustache, my mustache is sweating.

00:42:44Oh, my.

00:42:45Things are so boring at the manor.

00:42:48Oh, no, it's a group of bandits.

00:42:50Who's going to save us?

00:42:52Good thing it's 90-year-old Clint Eastwood armed with a musket and racism.

00:42:59I don't know.

00:43:00Truly, he's talking to an empty chair at the Republican National Convention.

00:43:03Mm-hmm, yep.

00:43:03What does the season's climactic final battle look like?

00:43:05Oh, man.

00:43:09He gets his body implanted into, he gets his brain implanted into, um, I can't do this anymore.

00:43:17This was a mistake.

00:43:18Okay.

00:43:19Why would you invite me on this show?

00:43:21This is impossible.

00:43:22They hurt us here.

00:43:22This is an impossible problem.

00:43:23And then, in the conclusion, our young heroine tricks.

00:43:28You're crying.

00:43:29I am.

00:43:30Tricks.

00:43:31Tricks.

00:43:31I'm crying because I have my master's degree and I can't think of what happens.

00:43:35It's Jane Austen.

00:43:37Yeah.

00:43:37It's Spaghetti Western.

00:43:38At the end of the movie, what happens?

00:43:39At the end of the movie, Clint Eastwood's brain gets implanted into, I don't know.

00:43:45Are you saying Frankenstein for my prompt?

00:43:47Yes, Frankenstein.

00:43:49Then he learns how to love, finally.

00:43:51Okay.

00:43:52I'm going to do one last one and then it's over.

00:43:54Okay.

00:43:54I'm enjoying this.

00:43:55It's a really fun idea.

00:43:56You guys are cool.

00:43:58Here we go.

00:43:58I'm going to roll.

00:43:59Get this away from me.

00:44:01I'm going to give this away to you.

00:44:02Mm-hmm.

00:44:03And if I roll any of the other ones, we don't do them.

00:44:06Okay.

00:44:08Oh, God.

00:44:09Help.

00:44:10Nope.

00:44:12Four, five.

00:44:13Have you done four already?

00:44:14No.

00:44:15No, I'm good.

00:44:15Four and five.

00:44:16Okay, hold on.

00:44:17That's pretty good.

00:44:19I wish I would have got this one.

00:44:20Stephen King meets 90s TGIF.

00:44:26But I want you to specifically do it under his pseudonym Richard Bachman.

00:44:29It's a Bachman book.

00:44:33Saved by the bell, it's it.

00:44:35An evil clown whose screech is replaced by an evil clown.

00:44:40Is that TGIF or was it different?

00:44:42No, it's not TGIF.

00:44:43TGIF, what was that?

00:44:44Family Matters?

00:44:44Family Matters.

00:44:45Okay.

00:44:46Urkel is Pennywise.

00:44:48Good.

00:44:49Strong start.

00:44:50Ow!

00:44:51Who are some of the NPCs and bad guys?

00:44:54Waterman.

00:44:55Fucking Pennywise.

00:44:59How many other guys are in that one?

00:45:02Do, do, do, do.

00:45:03I don't know.

00:45:04Carl, the police officer dad, kills Cujo in the first episode.

00:45:09That's pretty good.

00:45:10That's a pretty strong character entrance.

00:45:12Who's Big Bad?

00:45:13Who's Big Bad?

00:45:14Stephen King meets TGIF.

00:45:15Stephen King meets family.

00:45:18Fucking Carrie.

00:45:20Fucking Carrie.

00:45:21Carrie is the Big Bad?

00:45:22Urkel pours pig's blood on Carrie and says, did I do that?

00:45:29Fantastic.

00:45:30It's a great genus of the catchphrase.

00:45:32And what is good?

00:45:33Give me a scene from it.

00:45:34Give me a scene from it.

00:45:35But Urkel cannot be Urkel.

00:45:36He has to be Stefan, his sexy alter ego.

00:45:40Stefan Urkel is in the one.

00:45:46Stefan Urkel releases the disease that does the stand.

00:45:50Yes!

00:45:51Stefan Urkel.

00:45:54You're drooling.

00:45:57And he goes, did I do that?

00:45:59Again.

00:46:00Good.

00:46:01Phytoclimactic battle.

00:46:03Post-apocalyptic world.

00:46:06Oh, wait.

00:46:08You have to include when the show jumped the shark and Urkel made a robot version of himself.

00:46:19Is this over yet?

00:46:20Carl Malone killed Urkel and killed Urkel robot.

00:46:24Urkel robot.

00:46:32Urkel robot said, did I do that?

00:46:35Sorry.

00:46:36I'll do it for real.

00:46:38Urkel robot goes, did I do that?

00:46:43Is that green lit?

00:46:44TGIF.

00:46:51He needs some milk.

00:46:57Urkel robot.

00:46:58This is a pretty good show you invited me on.

00:47:07You guys want some?

00:47:10It's pretty good.

00:47:12And that's Constitution Safe.

00:47:19Our next segment's called Reaction Time.

00:47:21There's more?

00:47:30It's many minutes after the last segment ended in real life.

00:47:35We got to recuperate.

00:47:36It was nice.

00:47:37We got to recuperate.

00:47:37It was really nice.

00:47:38But we'll have no time to recuperate in this section because it's time to think fast with Reaction Time.

00:47:44This is the segment where I am going to propose pairs of prompts to you.

00:47:50Each of the pairs, you will have to decide which of the pair you prefer.

00:47:55Ooh.

00:47:56So, you will have to do so instantaneously.

00:48:00You will have no time at all to think and you must go from the gut.

00:48:03Are you ready?

00:48:04Oh, my gut is, my gut is ready.

00:48:06Let's go.

00:48:07My gut is not.

00:48:08Nope.

00:48:09This is Reaction Time.

00:48:11Dubs or subs?

00:48:11Oh, dubs.

00:48:13Subs or panini?

00:48:15Mmm, panini.

00:48:16High fantasy or low fantasy?

00:48:18Ooh, low fantasy.

00:48:19I knew that.

00:48:20The Hanks or Johnny Splash?

00:48:22The Hanks.

00:48:23Pennywise or Cujo?

00:48:24Pennywise.

00:48:26Plastic dice or metal dice?

00:48:27Mmm, plastic dice.

00:48:29Yes, that's my answer.

00:48:31That's so metal or that's so raven?

00:48:32That is so metal.

00:48:34Breakfast for dinner or dinner for breakfast?

00:48:36Dinner for breakfast.

00:48:38Vox Machina or the Mighty Nein?

00:48:39Ooh, Vox Machina.

00:48:40Hakari or Yuta?

00:48:41Ooh, Yuta.

00:48:42Dante or Virgil?

00:48:43Ooh, Virgil, it's me!

00:48:45Am I a man or am I a Muppet?

00:48:47You're a Muppet?

00:48:48That's correct.

00:48:49Free Willy or Free Will?

00:48:52Free Willy?

00:48:54And that's reaction time!

00:49:00Coming up next, our ultimate, our final segment.

00:49:05Oh, no.

00:49:05How sad, but a thoughtful one.

00:49:07And one where we get to slow down and take some questions from you, the audience.

00:49:10This is Insight Check.

00:49:20Welcome to Insight Check.

00:49:21This is the segment on the show where we take questions submitted by you, our awesome viewers,

00:49:25and give them to our illustrious guests.

00:49:28These questions have been submitted from Mr. Robbie Damon.

00:49:30We want to thank you for doing so.

00:49:31So, Robbie, this first question comes from Brennan Smith.

00:49:37Oh, Brennan, thank you for the question.

00:49:40Appreciate it.

00:49:40What are the differences and similarities between prepping a voice and performance for actual play versus prepping for scripted voice

00:49:49acting?

00:49:49Ooh, night and day.

00:49:51Couldn't be more different.

00:49:53Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:49:54There's not much prep you can do.

00:49:56Sometimes I go in with boots on the ground voiceover stuff, and I don't even know what I'm doing until

00:50:00I get there.

00:50:01Yeah.

00:50:01And it could be a substantial character.

00:50:03Like, there's just this certain level of being able to need to do immediate text analysis and understanding the world

00:50:10that you're in that makes it such a specialized skill.

00:50:12It took me a year and a half to write Kat again.

00:50:14Sometimes I'll walk in and do something that I'll be more well-known for that I have no background on.

00:50:20And I'll rely on the staff to let me know what we're doing.

00:50:24Yeah, it's super important.

00:50:25That is what a director is, ultimately, right?

00:50:27Correct.

00:50:27Someone who has the court vision so that you don't need to.

00:50:30It's very much a three-person team could get it done.

00:50:34An engineer, a producer, and a director to translate from the producer and the producer to give you context.

00:50:40And with that team, you can get it done.

00:50:42Usually, there's a lot more cooks in the kitchen.

00:50:44Yeah.

00:50:45So, if you know what I'm saying.

00:50:46Oh.

00:50:47You don't always need nine people in the room.

00:50:52Yeah, TTRPGs, yeah.

00:50:53I mean, it depends.

00:50:53I guess I could also just roll up to a game, too, couldn't I?

00:50:55That would be fun.

00:50:56Roll into a game and have someone hand me a character sheet.

00:50:59Has that ever happened?

00:51:00Does anybody do that for their home games?

00:51:01Do you guys do that?

00:51:02Take that.

00:51:02Fire the question right back at you.

00:51:04There was a game I played one time where there were people that were hired as entertainers at a party

00:51:09while a game.

00:51:10I was running a professional game for people.

00:51:12Some kind of eyes wide shut weirdness going on here.

00:51:14I don't know.

00:51:15Yes.

00:51:15Actually, yes.

00:51:16You kind of smelled it immediately.

00:51:18It was the way you said entertainers.

00:51:20There were entertainers.

00:51:22There were dancers.

00:51:23Sure.

00:51:23But the funny thing was, as the game started, it was this thing where it was someone with way too

00:51:28much money.

00:51:28And they hired me as like a fresh out of college.

00:51:31Actually, no.

00:51:32I was in college.

00:51:32It was my senior year.

00:51:33Wow.

00:51:34And I came and did this.

00:51:35It was the first time I ever got paid to Dungeon Master.

00:51:38Wow.

00:51:38And I came in and like did this stuff.

00:51:39But the person was just throwing money around.

00:51:41There was like a lavish feast.

00:51:42One of the dudes there was like a chef, like a famous chef, who was one of the players who

00:51:47also prepared food for it.

00:51:48And there were like these sort of chain mail lingerie dancers.

00:51:55But the issue was, I was like, the game takes like three hours to play.

00:51:59Sure, sure, sure.

00:52:00You can't, like, you know, eventually these ladies are going to want to sit down.

00:52:04But to the credit, it was this thing where I think it was like, eventually they just came and joined

00:52:11the game.

00:52:12And the characters they ended up playing were a druid's wolf animal companion and a wizard's bat familiar.

00:52:17Oh, how fun.

00:52:18And they were kind of my favorite players.

00:52:21They were kind of my favorite characters, honestly.

00:52:23If you're watching this, Rich, guys, sorry.

00:52:25Sorry, dude.

00:52:26Sorry.

00:52:26You were.

00:52:28Okay.

00:52:29You were okay, yeah.

00:52:32The, I think that that's really, handing out characters as people play is really interesting.

00:52:37But there's a, the voiceover thing.

00:52:42Do you do, here's a fascinating thing.

00:52:47The whole point of the player character and the player relationship at the table is that you, you must not

00:52:53prep.

00:52:53You must be in the moment.

00:52:54You must be ready for whatever may come.

00:52:56And yet, do you find that there are any preparations that you do as a player?

00:53:00Like you said for Kat again, there was a year and a half of thinking about the character.

00:53:04Do you find yourself doing any, like, session prep as a player or no?

00:53:10Do you, like, review notes or other things like that?

00:53:13Oh, oh.

00:53:14My notes are so bad.

00:53:15Yeah, yeah.

00:53:16I really try.

00:53:17I try.

00:53:17I try so hard.

00:53:19Yeah, but we have people helping us with that.

00:53:21Yeah, I think so.

00:53:22Especially in C4.

00:53:23There's so much going on.

00:53:24You made a big, big world.

00:53:25Big, big world.

00:53:26Yeah, gotta know, gotta know what's going on.

00:53:28Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:53:29And it makes sense, yeah.

00:53:31I have said this before on the show, but I really enjoy the PC note-taking.

00:53:38And we provide journals to our players here at Dimension 20, and I really like that.

00:53:42I would love to institute that over at Critical Role because we put the journals away in bins,

00:53:46and then I can sneak into the bin room and read people's journals.

00:53:49Now, hold on a second.

00:53:51No, I won't hold on.

00:53:52It's an incredible system because not only are there some incredible note-taking in there,

00:53:57it also lets me know a PC's note does two things.

00:54:00It's not only the review of the session.

00:54:02It's the review of what they thought was important.

00:54:04Oh, sure.

00:54:05That is worth more than gold, my friends.

00:54:09That's not just metagaming.

00:54:11That's omni-gaming.

00:54:13You are.

00:54:13I love it.

00:54:14I love it.

00:54:15Galaxy Brain.

00:54:15Some things are happening in my stomach and in my GI tract that I downed so much milk while I

00:54:23was in so much pain.

00:54:27I'm about to pop off this chair.

00:54:29Let me tell you that for free.

00:54:30I know.

00:54:32Hey, man, I know.

00:54:33I know.

00:54:35Sygne from Sweden, thank you, Sygne, writes,

00:54:38your backstory for Cadigan Vale was so deep.

00:54:42How do you balance having such a thoroughly prepared character with the desire to develop at the table?

00:54:50Oh, yeah.

00:54:51Wait, aren't we all doing that all the time?

00:54:53Right?

00:54:53Backstory is behind.

00:54:55Yeah, I think you write a backstory so you find out how capable of change your character could be, right?

00:55:01And obviously, if you're there to go on an adventure, if you're signing up for an adventure, you've already got

00:55:07to be in a place where you're okay to change.

00:55:11So, yeah, I think you were talking, I don't know if we can reference that, but you've said in the

00:55:17past that there's maybe a bad rap for backstories going around in the TTRPG space.

00:55:21Well, yeah, but only if you're pigeonholed to it.

00:55:25Only if that's what you're most certain that you want to get out into the world.

00:55:29I just wrote a backstory so I could live in your world honestly.

00:55:33And then when you came to us and you look like you are sweating.

00:55:37Are you good?

00:55:38You look like you're on the struggle bus, my friend.

00:55:40I have rolled in that one on my constitution set.

00:55:43I can feel it.

00:55:44But you're still locked in.

00:55:45You're such a pro.

00:55:46I'm locked in.

00:55:47There's so much milk in me.

00:55:49I know.

00:55:50And there's so much spicy popcorn.

00:55:52You made me spit.

00:55:54You are milky boy.

00:55:55It's true.

00:55:56I just, I have a runny nose.

00:56:00Me too.

00:56:00From what happened to me.

00:56:02Yeah, thank you for putting my camera for all this.

00:56:04This has been great.

00:56:05Hey, I think it's incredibly important to have a rich and very backstory, but don't let it chain you to

00:56:10choices that you don't want to make in the story.

00:56:12Immediately you told us we should have a relationships, so I went ahead and wrote another nine-page short story

00:56:18for me and Teor and Azunay and Thimble.

00:56:21Yeah.

00:56:21So, why not?

00:56:23I didn't know that was never part of my story, but you wanted to be part of ours, so I'm

00:56:27going to try to flesh it out for everybody, and everybody signed off it and said, that sounds good for

00:56:30our relationship.

00:56:31So, it's good.

00:56:33I've tried to parse the reaction to backstory from what it is, and it's sort of like you could, like,

00:56:41if you go read, like, D&D Nightmares online and stuff like that, are you okay?

00:56:46I've got a burp that is in there.

00:56:48It's in there.

00:56:49We just need production to make sure the bathrooms are clear.

00:56:52Go ahead.

00:56:53Tell me your story.

00:56:55Tell me your story.

00:56:56It's good.

00:56:57Storytelling is what makes us human.

00:57:00It's what makes us have to shit.

00:57:04It's what makes us...

00:57:07It's what...

00:57:08We're discovering what makes us human right now in this exact moment.

00:57:11I've never felt more human.

00:57:12I have never in my life felt more human.

00:57:15You do it great.

00:57:15I am a member of the animal kingdom.

00:57:18You understand?

00:57:19What were we talking about?

00:57:21Yeah.

00:57:23Backstory is an important...

00:57:29My daughter, who is two, keeps throwing up this.

00:57:32I don't think she knows.

00:57:33She's not...

00:57:33But she looks like she's constantly doing Hove.

00:57:35She's constantly...

00:57:38She's not in the Illuminati yet, right?

00:57:41I keep asking her and she keeps going.

00:57:43She wouldn't tell you if she was.

00:57:45No, no, no.

00:57:46Maybe she's part of some...

00:57:47Maybe she's like a Freemason or something.

00:57:48I don't know.

00:57:49The important thing is this.

00:57:53I try to look at the bad rap that Backstory gets.

00:57:55And I think that like...

00:57:57It's one of those things where the thing that's being criticized is a thing past the thing being criticized.

00:58:01Where it's like, people are talking about like, oh, like they'll describe someone who isn't listening to any other players,

00:58:10is constantly inserting their Backstory narrative into scenes that are present.

00:58:15And people look at that and they go, well, it's that Backstory that's the problem.

00:58:20Rather than...

00:58:20Conflating the symptoms in the cause.

00:58:22The real cause.

00:58:23It might be part of it.

00:58:24Right.

00:58:24Exactly.

00:58:25Where you go like...

00:58:26Where it's like, this person keeps like railroading us into stuff happening.

00:58:31It's having to do with them.

00:58:32It's because of that dang Backstory.

00:58:34Not because they're rude as hell.

00:58:35Right?

00:58:36Right.

00:58:36Or saying like...

00:58:37Or being like, and the reason I never do that is because I don't know a single fucking thing about

00:58:44me.

00:58:44Right?

00:58:45Like...

00:58:46I couldn't steer us in a direction if I wanted to because I'm absolutely clueless.

00:58:50Are you saying people exalt themselves to justify their laziness on occasion?

00:58:56Anyway, listen.

00:58:58Is this the spicy part of the conversation?

00:58:59I forgot it.

00:59:00No.

00:59:00That's a real hot take.

00:59:01That's a real hot take.

00:59:02Yeah.

00:59:02Well, I do think that there's a...

00:59:07There's a certain absence of Backstory that I like.

00:59:13I mean, it just goes back to your metaphor of the person who's about to miss their dear grandfather's graduation.

00:59:19You know, like...

00:59:20I'm never going to live that one.

00:59:21You're never going to live that one down.

00:59:23Grandpa's graduating today.

00:59:24We have to be there.

00:59:27I fully...

00:59:28I just had this strong memory of me and my dad being late to a family funeral because I didn't

00:59:34have dress socks and my dad was...

00:59:38And we had to go buy dress socks and the only dress socks that we had were that there was

00:59:42in the store.

00:59:43He's like, your ankles can't be bare at a funeral.

00:59:46You have to have socks that go up the...

00:59:47Which I think is something he made.

00:59:49Yeah, you'd want your dead relative to know you're cool.

00:59:51In any case, I wore leopard print socks to the funeral.

00:59:55Oh, great.

00:59:56And all my aunts pointed them out.

00:59:58The point being...

01:00:03Without Backstory, I think people make less tonally consistent choices.

01:00:11Sure.

01:00:11Like, if you don't know that you're catching the bus to go to the funeral, you're going to run different.

01:00:14Yeah.

01:00:15Right?

01:00:15And I think that Backstory gets a bad rap.

01:00:18It's also like you'll never have as much Backstory as your character would actually have.

01:00:25No.

01:00:25Right?

01:00:26Like, so you're always looking for...

01:00:28That is such...

01:00:29Yeah, that is such a good point, too.

01:00:31Also, this is a thing that I would, like, teach my theater students, right?

01:00:36Like, because sometimes these kids will get lost in the sauce, right?

01:00:38You're like, okay, I want you to work on a Backstory because that is a thing to do.

01:00:41Yeah.

01:00:41And then I would look at their Backstory and it'd be 40 pages and it'd be all this stuff.

01:00:45And I'm like, great.

01:00:46Now, go back through this and circle anything that is apropos to what's actually happening in this play right now.

01:00:52And you would often find it's, you know, minuscule compared to what they wrote.

01:00:57And as long as they understand their character more, that's fine.

01:01:00But, like, it needs to inform what you're doing in the moment or it's useless.

01:01:06Yes.

01:01:06So, as long as those two things go together, I think it's fine.

01:01:11It's a powerful tool.

01:01:13I really agree with that.

01:01:16Jenna E. sent in...

01:01:18This is a hysterical question.

01:01:20Jenna E. sent in, how do you make your characters hot without being cringe?

01:01:26How do I be hot, not cringe?

01:01:29Jenna E. free yourself from this person.

01:01:33Yeah.

01:01:33It's fine.

01:01:34How do you be hot without being cringe?

01:01:36Oh, man.

01:01:36It's such a challenge.

01:01:39That was so funny to cop that attitude and be like, I find it really hard.

01:01:48I love, I can't, I can't draw to save my life.

01:01:52I can't, I can't draw a stick figure.

01:01:54It's just, I was not, I can play music, I can perform.

01:01:56I can't do that.

01:01:57But I do have, like, a really, I can top level look at a design and describe it, right?

01:02:05And I really love working with artists.

01:02:07It is such a talent that I'm so envious of.

01:02:10So when we work with artists on these character designs, we talk about, like, what form and

01:02:17structure, like, what kind of hot do you want to be?

01:02:20Yeah.

01:02:20And you don't always have to be hot, but you can be, you can be hot if you want to

01:02:24as

01:02:24long as it's honest hot.

01:02:25There's a 45-year-old guy hot.

01:02:27Honest hot.

01:02:28Honest hot.

01:02:29Honest hot.

01:02:29That's the alignment chart I want to see.

01:02:31Yeah?

01:02:31The honest hot to liar hot.

01:02:34Yeah.

01:02:34Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:02:35I, there was a, there was a moment where I, I got, some of the worst advice I ever

01:02:40got when I was, when I was trying to get a job bartending, was I was working as a waiter

01:02:45at another restaurant, and there was a person there who was like, these bars will hire you

01:02:48on the spot if you're from Ireland.

01:02:51You do a good Irish accent.

01:02:52You should apply.

01:02:53This is, like, only a thing, like, that a 19-year-old would think is, like.

01:02:56Yeah, yeah, yeah.

01:02:57So I went.

01:02:57I can keep this up for my entire term of employment.

01:02:59That's the thing is, I went there and talked in an Irish accent at one of these bars, and

01:03:04I got a call back, and they're like, you're hired.

01:03:06So it worked, and then I went, am I Irish for the rest of my life now?

01:03:11But the, so the funny thing about it was, and I didn't end up working that, I literally

01:03:15didn't call them back, because I was like, oh, I'm fucked.

01:03:17I can't, I don't want to do that.

01:03:19Yeah.

01:03:19So the, the, the way that relates to this is, don't do the false version of hot,

01:03:25because you'll have to spend the rest of your life.

01:03:28But the, there is no universal attractive quality.

01:03:33There is only things that are attractive to people who find those things attractive.

01:03:37That's true.

01:03:38So, in other words, it's all, it might, it might be rooted in something real, but it's,

01:03:44it might not be arbitrary, but it is subjective, right?

01:03:47Oh, yeah, 100%.

01:03:47So, yeah.

01:03:48So the, the, and in that subjectivity, you will, I think that, like, for, in terms of

01:03:54making those, whatever the, you know, how do you make your characters hot without being

01:03:56cringe, being afraid of cringe will kill every part of your soul.

01:04:00And I also think that hotness is relative and being, you know.

01:04:04I think I've got it.

01:04:05Yeah.

01:04:06I think I have a real answer to this question.

01:04:07Let's hear it.

01:04:07I think a lot of times when people create a hot or, like, over, overly attractive version

01:04:13of whatever they're attracted to, I think they tend to overemphasize the things that

01:04:18they're attracted to.

01:04:19I really do think that's a common thing.

01:04:21It's like, oh, I love this feature.

01:04:24I'm going to make this feature the most prominent feature.

01:04:27It's like, that's not really how, that's not really how things are made.

01:04:30It's, it's, it's, it's all of those things coming together that give you that subjective

01:04:33thing, right?

01:04:34Yeah.

01:04:35It's like, you see, it's like, it's like when you see a, you see a kid in junior high

01:04:39drawing a picture of a hot girl.

01:04:42Yeah.

01:04:42And it's like big boobies, big butt.

01:04:45And you're like, but that, that does go away sometimes.

01:04:48You know what I mean?

01:04:49And it's very, well, it's, it's an embellishment on something that is like a point of focus or

01:04:53perseveration.

01:04:54I think what's interesting is also that Jenna E. sent us in, how you make your characters

01:04:57hot without being cringe.

01:04:59It does conjure an image, Jenna, thank you for the question of someone, Jack Skellington,

01:05:04in crumpled paper, you're probably like, I've made 40 characters and none of them are hot

01:05:10enough.

01:05:11Why don't we, like, what's interesting is I think any quality you make in a character

01:05:16is for serving a purpose in a story.

01:05:19And the interesting, I think there's an interesting question of like, why make a character hot at

01:05:22all?

01:05:23We, wow, why make a character hot at all?

01:05:26I don't know.

01:05:27Maybe it's just fun to think about hot people.

01:05:29It's, it is fun.

01:05:30I did, we did make a video game where there's 100 of them.

01:05:34And our discovery in making this dating sim was that you really can find something

01:05:40for everyone.

01:05:41And we're, you know, thinking about the idea of a sequel way down the road.

01:05:45And it's like, wow, what do we have to do another 100 characters or 200 characters?

01:05:48And they're, and they're like, yeah.

01:05:50And they're all going to be hot in their own way.

01:05:52Because there's something for everybody, baby.

01:05:54That's what I think.

01:05:55Yeah.

01:05:55I agree with that.

01:05:56I think there's something, it's very funny because I, this, I love this question,

01:06:00but I am also, all I can do is attack the premise within it.

01:06:05How do you make your characters hot without being cringe?

01:06:07Stop worrying about being cringe.

01:06:08Why do you want to be hot?

01:06:10Good point.

01:06:11It's a good point.

01:06:13But it's very, I think there is something to the, the like, I also really loved it in

01:06:20Campaign 4 specifically because we had, I've said this before, but I love that we had some

01:06:24really hot men and some truly weird women.

01:06:28It made me really happy.

01:06:30All, all of the women were like, I want to be a demon with fucking goat eyes.

01:06:33I want to be a pixie with dragonfly wings.

01:06:34I want to be an elf with scars and a metal jaw.

01:06:38It was with a veil and a sensor whip.

01:06:40And all the men were like, I want to be beautiful, beautiful, beautiful boy.

01:06:45Big, beautiful boy.

01:06:46And yet, and yet, the volume of fan art, of thirsty fan art for the weird people, however

01:06:55you want to say it, through the roof.

01:06:58Through the roof.

01:06:58Something for everyone.

01:06:59Something for everyone.

01:07:00Hey, there's a lot of people.

01:07:01I think that, you know, that's the thing.

01:07:04There's something for everyone.

01:07:04I don't even know what hot is on a, on a objective level.

01:07:07I think it's just make something that expresses a vision you have in your heart of the kind

01:07:13of person you want to pretend to be.

01:07:15Wow.

01:07:15Yeah.

01:07:16Our final question for you today.

01:07:19A final one.

01:07:20I'm ready.

01:07:20I'm so ready.

01:07:22Whatafruit asks, thank you, Whatafruit.

01:07:26As someone who integrated so naturally into Critical Role, do you have any advice for

01:07:30people, this is actually the first time I've ever seen this question, and it's a really

01:07:34practical one.

01:07:35This comes up a lot.

01:07:35Okay.

01:07:36Do you have any advice for people who are joining a pre-established group as a

01:07:40new player?

01:07:41Oh.

01:07:42Wow.

01:07:43Well, I guess I can speak to that.

01:07:46Oh, shit.

01:07:47It's rough.

01:07:48It's rough, Justin.

01:07:50That's hot.

01:07:51Glad I did that on camera.

01:07:53Hey, popcorn and milk.

01:07:56Popcorn and milk.

01:07:57Oh, boy.

01:07:59All you have to do is be yourself.

01:08:02I think there are natural levels of comfort when it comes to joining a new group, whatever

01:08:09yours may be.

01:08:10And everybody gets caught up in this idea of, they're not going to like me.

01:08:14I'm not going to fit in here.

01:08:16I got to be this certain way to integrate into those people.

01:08:19And the truth about life is, you can't do that.

01:08:23I think people are so connected and so perceptive to a fake in their midst that regardless of

01:08:31whether or not your intentions are good and you just want to make everyone around you

01:08:34comfortable, if you're doing something that's disingenuous, that is not you, you will not

01:08:38fit in.

01:08:39And that's a tough pill to swallow.

01:08:42But the cool part about it also is it doesn't matter if you don't.

01:08:47You're going to feel way better if you're yourself and you play the way that you want

01:08:51to play and you'll find out really quick if there's anything you do need to work on personally

01:08:58if you don't integrate with a group of people that you perceive to be good or that you want

01:09:03to be with.

01:09:04You have to go to, it takes a certain level of self-awareness of like, why am I not vibing

01:09:08with these people?

01:09:10And it's true.

01:09:12So that's basic, but you just have to be yourself.

01:09:14I relate to that so much.

01:09:17Two, what a fruit for asking this question.

01:09:19I relate to this so much because I think I have tremendous, to this day, tremendous

01:09:25trepidation about making an entree to a new community.

01:09:28Oh, yeah.

01:09:29I just have the feeling of what can I do to make it okay for me to be here?

01:09:35And I think that there's a, it never really goes away.

01:09:38No matter how comfortable you end up in other spheres of your life, there's always that weird

01:09:41feeling, at least for me.

01:09:43But what's fascinating about it is you do have to develop, there's always this assumption

01:09:49that comes from a really frightened place where you're like, well, there's a peg and

01:09:56there's a hole and the hole is some shape and maybe I'll just squeeze myself into some

01:10:01other shape to be able to fit here.

01:10:03And it's such a fun fantasy to think of that is a fantasy because, because A, for, I think

01:10:10sometimes it's like, well, I can't really change my shape and a lot of people can't.

01:10:14And then B, I think there's also this thing of like, so what?

01:10:18So success looks like having an Irish accent at work forever?

01:10:22Like, what does success look like if you modify yourself for this table or you modify yourself

01:10:27for this experience in a weird way, you're, you're inviting people to have a certain level

01:10:31of bravery in that, in that you want to discover if that table would reject your true self because

01:10:41that's important information for you.

01:10:42Yeah.

01:10:43I love that you use the word bravery.

01:10:45That's honestly one of my favorite human qualities.

01:10:49And I think if you have a little bit of that in you, whatever you feel to be that would

01:10:54make

01:10:54you hesitant to join a group, like, because there are people, right?

01:10:57Let's just be real.

01:10:58There are people that are just like, bam, I'll be everywhere.

01:11:00I'll do everything.

01:11:01That's not the majority of us, you know?

01:11:03And we, we, we, we're, we're comfort in the communities that we, that we have.

01:11:06Um, but if you're brave enough to step outside of that, anybody who's brave, you got a seat

01:11:12at my table, right?

01:11:13Yeah.

01:11:13Like, like that, that for me, if you're doing something outside of your comfort zone and

01:11:17you're at least trying it, fine.

01:11:20And, and, and I really do, I really, again, this goes back to, I don't, I don't just don't

01:11:25think the stakes are that high.

01:11:26Yeah.

01:11:27They, they really aren't in almost everything in life.

01:11:30And this go back to what we've talked about at the very beginning.

01:11:32If you believe in yourself and you, and you feel like you've got a good moral compass and

01:11:36you're a capable person, you could wipe it all out to zero tomorrow and then go on and

01:11:42do anything else.

01:11:43And it might be sad and it might hurt.

01:11:44And that transitional period might be whatever.

01:11:46And maybe you don't fit at this table, but you will find another one.

01:11:49You will find your people, but only if you go and get out in the world and be brave.

01:11:54And, and I, I'm not assigning that much, you know, lofty goals to, to playing TTRPGs, but it is a

01:12:03lesson for life where you just gotta, you gotta be yourself and do it.

01:12:06And that's, ah, it's tough and scary for a lot of people, but you'll be, live a more storied and

01:12:15lore filled life.

01:12:17Uh, should you make those choices when you can?

01:12:20The victory will be sweeter because you'll know that they accepted you for who you, if you went in as

01:12:26yourself and you were brave and you said, I'm going to this, like, as I'm joining this table, I'm, you

01:12:30know, and I think there's like, looking at this too, there's, there's a, you know, if you're joining a pre

01:12:37-established group, they wouldn't have invited you if there wasn't something they liked about you.

01:12:41Correct.

01:12:41So rather than getting worked up about it, just try to be yourself. And like you're saying, if, uh, rather

01:12:50than contorting yourself, being yourself means that if you are accepted, they accepted the true you. And if they don't

01:12:55accept the true you, then you dodged a fucking bullet.

01:12:57Yeah. And it's really tough for people to accept what they think of, what they think of or perceive to

01:13:03be failure. Right. It's, it's really a hard thing for people to get over, but, but there is no such

01:13:08thing. It's not real.

01:13:10Like, like, like objectively it's real when you're talking about like, you know, small goals or whatever. Like, yeah, sure.

01:13:16There's, you can fail at something, but I don't know. I don't know if I believe in it.

01:13:20A failure is only a failure if this is the end.

01:13:23Yeah.

01:13:23And it only is ever the end one time.

01:13:29Folks, this has been Robbie Damon. Thank you so much for being here.

01:13:32I'm so glad to be here.

01:13:34This has been Adventuring Academy. Thank you so much. And we'll see you next time. Farewell.

01:13:46We'll see you next time.

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