Critical Role fans may have noticed something a bit more lighthearted with the recent Wildemount Wildings mini-series. This three-part adventure takes us to the summer camp for adventurers that’s been hinted at but never fully explored in its own adventure. Wildemount Wildings began on April 3rd and will reach its big conclusion in Episode 3 on April 17th at 6 PM PT / 9 PM ET. The series marks a bit of a tone shift for Critical Role, and ComicBook had a chance to chat with creator and DM Sam Riegel about what inspired him to bring Wildemount Wildlings to life.
This latest Critical Role mini-series features Sam Riegel as the DM, with Ashley Johnson and Marisha Ray reprising their roles as Yasha Nydoorin and Beauregard Lionett. The campers are played by Libe Barer, Aleks Le, Brennan Lee Mulligan, and Eden Riegel. Aside from Brennan Lee Mulligan, the cast is new to Dungeons & Dragons, bringing in a fresh perspective for players who might not be as familiar with the game. The three-part adventure features these four campers and their mentors, Yasha and Beau, as they get one last chance to earn their first camp badge or risk getting kicked out early.
Given the summer camp setting, the stakes are a bit lower for this adventure, and it’s a chance for Sam Riegel and the Critical Role cast to “play in a more lighthearted space, especially after after the heavy-hitting events of Campaign 3.” He views the mini-series as “a little bit of a palette cleaner” and a chance to “do something that’s a bit sillier, a little bit younger.” That tonal shift really comes across as we see the cast tackle something with lower stakes and really have fun with it, while showing us a different side of Exandria.
How Wildemount Wildlings Went from Home Game to Mini-Series
The Wildemount Wildlings campaign is inspired by a campaign that Riegel has been running with his kids, set at Veth’s adventuring camp for kids. As he shared, the campaign was “so much fun” that he “wanted to sort of share the seeing and the camp with the rest of the world.” Fans will likely know that the adventuring camp has come up a few times in the main Critical Role campaigns, and Riegel wanted to expand on that world for the wider audience.
During our chat, Riegel also shared that he hopes this can inspire people to run similar games with their own kids. The summer camp setting “takes care of those D&D questions like, where are the parents? And why are these kids being allowed around weaponry?” So, adventures in the Wildemount Wildlings camp are a natural fit for getting your young ones started with D&D. The summer camp setting gives the kids “permission to be wild” in a way that lets DMs settle down and “have fun adventures with your kids.”
That said, what we see in the mini-series isn’t a precise copy-paste of the home game Riegel enjoys with his kids. In his home campaign, the camp serves as “sort of a launching point” for going on adventures all around Wildemount. In Wildemount Wildlings, however, the scope is scaled back, with the events set entirely within the camp itself.
So, going from that home game to the stream required “a bit more preparation in terms of thinking about developing the setting.” It gave Riegel the opportunity to expand on the camp setting, from commissioning professional artwork to help “develop the vibe of the camp” to thinking differently about “areas [the campers] might explore and also the strange things that might happen.”
And indeed, strange things do happen in this mini-series. As viewers see in each episode, Critical Role brings in some of the kids from Riegel’s home game to help imagine the monsters the campers will face. This has some hilarious results, and that’s not going away in the series finale. When we asked for some episode 3 teasers, Riegel shared that there’s “a really weird final boss monster that was invented by children,” along with a battlefield that Riegel “can guarantee you’ve never seen in Critical Role.”
The final episode will also feature another Critical Role first, “a post-credit scene that [Riegel hopes] people stick around for.” So, much like staying in your seat post an MCU screening, be sure to keep the video rolling so you don’t miss that “fun little add-on” for the third and final episode of Wildemount Wildlings when it airs on April 17th.
As for what’s next following Wildemount Wildlings, Riegel is already thinking about the possibilities for a second mini-series if the first one does well.
“Who knows? If it’s successful and if people like it, maybe next summer, a couple other counselors will come to the camp.”
At this point, that’s just an idea, but it’s clear that bringing some lighthearted fun to the Critical Role stream from time to time is an ongoing consideration for Riegel.
Along with Wildemount Wildlings, Riegel is working on the Mighty Nein Prime Video Series and getting ready for the launch of his book, Smiley Day. For those waiting on the Mighty Nein series, Riegel “can verify that we have finished episodes” and that the Prime Video team is working on getting things ready to air, “possibly later this year.” There’s no confirmed date yet, but it sounds like things are progressing there. As for Riegel’s book, Smiley Day is scheduled to release later this year on September 30th and is available for preorder now.
The first two episodes of Wildemount Wildlings are available now on the Critical Role YouTube channel, with podcast audio to follow. Episode 3 will premiere later today, April 17th, at 9 PM EDT via the Critical Role Twitch, YouTube, and Beacon TV channels.
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