- Why should someone
who's a Rick and Morty fan
try this adventure?
What is appealing for a Rick and Morty fan
to delve into this box set?
- I think there's something,
when you watch the cartoon,
in some degree you're a
passive observer of the world.
You're observing it and
you're laughing at it.
But there's a different thing
where you actually get play
in the world as the characters.
And,
in this game, you're playing
Morty playing a character.
So you get to voice Morty
and you get to act out
how Morty would run his
character through this adventure.
So, there's just something
weird that happens
through the magical power of D&D,
where you get to act out the
characters in the cartoon
the way you envision them.
And there's just something
really fun in that.
When we did any kind of
play-testing of this product,
it was really fun to
draw on all the knowledge
that you get from watching the cartoon.
And seeing the characters
and getting to know them
and then you get to play through
them through role-playing.
It's pretty fun, so.
Any big fan of the cartoon, I
would totally recommend them
having at it and enjoying
another meta-level
of Rick and Morty. (he laughs)
- Yeah, it's like a good
way to fill the time, right?
Between seasons.
- Oh, totally.
- At least you get a little
bit more Rick and Morty content
and that content can just
be you and your friends.
- Yeah, and it's just as
a ridiculous and bizarre
and wild adventure as any
Rick and Morty episode.
And, if you want, as a
DM you can break this up
into maybe a couple sessions.
And it is, it's like
the unwritten episodes
you never saw before, you know?
Everybody's gonna have their experience
and they're all gonna be different
and they're all gonna
be weird and bizarre.
I mean, if I was on the
Rick and Morty side of it
if they could get some of these adventures
and then just make them into episodes
it would be hilarious,
yeah, it would be great.
- What is the inter-connection
between Rick and Morty and D&D?
Because there is something about
the adventures and Rick and Morty
maybe just because my own DM style
when I'm running games,
but they kind of feel like D&D adventures.
- It was,
one of the things that the episodes
provided so much fodder for were,
they're always going on a quest, right?
They're always going on
some inter-dimensional quest
and so the call to
adventure is always present
and the idea that weird
gadgets are always involved
and Rick is always inventing something
off the top of his head, so.
We tried to figure out what's
the D&D equivalent of that?
What kind of weird gadgets and puzzles
and items would be in this universe?
What kinds of things would
Rick put into a dungeon
just to further his own
agenda about being this,
his sort of anarchist
nihilist way of life?
How would a person like
that write a D&D adventure
in order to make themselves feel
as superior as humanly possible, right?
So, there's a lot of
that in this adventure.
- Yeah, it's the whole thing.
I know Richard Whitters talks about this,
we've had chats about
where D&D is like this,
anything, any property that
has this party dynamic to it,
like The Simpsons, like Rick and Morty,
like Star Wars, it's a group.
And it's kind of like this family,
they may not know it at the time
but they're kind of a family.
And they may come from
different parts of the world
or they be an actual
family like Rick and Morty.
And they may not all get along
but they figure things
out, they get through life
and they get through the
adventure of life together.
And I think that's why things
like that port really well
into D&D, because of the party dynamic.
And so, every adventuring
party is a bunch of misfits
but yet you are going through
this adventure together
and through the adversity
you learn how to bond
and learn how to communicate
and learn how to get along
and learn how to work together.
And so, I think that's why Rick and Morty
is just a shoe-in for this.
Because it is this,
crazy, wild, imaginative
roller coaster ride
through one adventure after another.
And so yeah, it was actually
when we got going on it,
it just flowed, it was one
of those things that flowed.
We all laughed really hard.
And we had a blast making
it, so, yeah, easy.
- How is it versus?
How's it versus?
Is D&D trying to kill Rick and Morty?
- Never, we would never.
I will speak on behalf of D&D, never.
You might remember that
the comic book series
where Rick and Morty
and Dungeons & Dragons
first came together, in
this beautiful partnership
that at first everybody thought, what?
No!
Nobody would let these
two brands come together.
How could that be?
And yet somehow it just
slipped on through.
And they're magical,
it's magical together.
They actually belong together quite well.
But the comic book series
was called "Rick and Morty
vs. Dungeons & Dragons"
so now that this is a TRPG,
it's "Dungeons & Dragons
vs. Rick and Morty".
But what it really is,
is that it's Rick's Dungeons & Dragons.
It's the D&D that Rick thinks
is how it should be played.
- I did get a sneak peak at it.
Well, more than a sneak peak,
and I do watch a ridiculous
amount of Rick and Morty
over and over and over again.
- Good, that explains a lot about you.
- [Todd] And it is completely delightful.
- Oh good!
- [Todd] Yeah, it is
a wonderful adventure.
- Yes!
- And the thing that is even funnier to me
is the rule book.
- [Kate] Oh, it's very very good.
- Because the rule book,
it's like Xanathar's Guide to Everything,
if you've ever read that,
just the commentary by Rick
on D&D, is so cutting and
kind of cathartic. (he laughs)
- And he takes jabs at
Wizards of the Coast as well
and I'm so glad that we
were able to keep those in.
Because there's a point where he is,
he calls us money grabbing
bastards a few times.
And then there's a part where like,
if you want more information about this,
check out the Players' Handbook.
He's like, these wily sons of bitches
are already going for
the upsell! (she laughs)
You gotta respect that hustle!
It's so good, I think
most of the rule book
was written by Jim Zub
who is just a master
at writing that Rick voice.
And so, that's why that book resonates.
- So I asked you why
this is a good adventure
for Rick and Morty fans,
why is this a good adventure
for D&D fans, who maybe
don't know Rick and Morty?
If there are any.
- Well that would be a wild ride indeed.
For you to come into it as a D&D fan
and not have any context of
what Rick and Morty is all about
I mean, other than you get
to see Troy Little's art
and sort of read crazy rule book.
Yeah, that would be a bizarre ride.
It would be like old-schoolers
who went on Expedition to Barrier Peaks.
It would be like that,
it would just be like what is this?!
What is this place?
Because we push the fantasy
into the sci-fi realm
of Rick and Morty so there are lots
of sci-fi elements to it.
You're not just on unicorns
and flying pegasi and all that
you're in this weird realm
that is science fiction-y
and fantasy at the same time, so.
Yeah, it would be bizarre.
However,
I always endeavor, push
your horizons, D&D fans.
Go onward into a strange new realm
and it would,
I think at the end of the
day, people will laugh so hard
that tears will flow down their faces.
- How do you encourage Rick
and Morty fans to learn D&D?
Or to give this a try?
- For Rick and Morty fans
who want to or are hesitant,
on the fence about trying the
Rick and Morty D&D product,
you can never get enough
Rick and Morty content,
obviously, and it was so well
vetted by Cartoon Network
that I choose to believe that
the stuff in this adventure
is now approved and canonical.
So there's some stuff in there
that you might wanna
have in your back pocket
about Rick and Morty trivia
that I've completely invented.
But the main thing is, I think that
one of the most fun ways
that I have ever expressed
my love of something
is to interact with it and find it so,
I always used to do Star Wars role-playing
and Harry Potter role-playing
and Wheel of Time role-playing
because I wanted to be
in that world, right?
I wanted to feel what it was like.
And so,
this is a really good way
to slip into the identity
of these favorite characters
of yours and to play them,
to go on an adventure with them
and to see what happens, to
see how your relationships
with each other evolve.
To kind of become your own
instance of the Smith family,
of this version of
humans that you've known
and loved for so many years.
And to make it yours,
and I don't think there's
anything better than that.
When it comes to a creative medium
that you can't control,
obviously, we don't get
to write the Rick and Morty
episodes, thank goodness.
But we can write our own D&D fun,
we can have our own
adventure and make it ours
and so it gives you this sense
of a little piece of ownership
of something that you love.
