- Yeah, what kind of
Dungeon Master is Rick?
- Rick, well, he's a
megalomaniac Dungeon Master.
He thrives on being the
one who is making the rules
and making all the judgment calls.
He is unapologetically obnoxious
and as you get to read the rule book,
we have our regular 5E
starter set rule book.
And in the comments, Rick
has commented over the top
of all the rules.
And so as you're reading the rule book,
you're getting Rick's interpretation,
whether he believes that this is it
or he's pointing out
and highlighting points
that say the DM makes the call
and he's like that's right!
You gotta dominate this, and you know,
you get his interpretation of it.
So all throughout the book you get this,
Rick's version of the 5E rules.
And it's funny as shit. (he laughs)
- How does Rick think
that D&D should be played?
- He's got a lot of ideas.
(Todd laughing)
While he somewhat respects the work
that Wizards of the Coast has done,
he's like,
- This is very meta.
- Yeah, oh it totally is, it so is.
Just even reading through
that rule book I'm like,
oh that's us he's talking about!
But that's us that wrote
that, it's too much.
But he has some very
Rick ideas, off the wall,
they're crazy, they're zany.
And yet, oftentimes, you're like, gosh.
That actually makes sense! (she laughs)
I'm actually agreeing with Rick
Sanchez on a lot of things.
I'm not the only one who has said that.
There are amazing new tables in this,
I don't know what I can
spoil, what I should spoil
but the tables are amazing.
- [Todd] Okay, my
interest is piqued again.
- You will love this.
I mean, you can take those
and you can use them in any--
- A lot of interesting encounters, chaos.
- Oh yeah, yeah.
The actual adventure is
a completely brand new
original adventure, which
is, this is Rick's adventure.
He is your Dungeon Master.
- What struck me about the rule book,
because Rick's commentary so helps explain
the rules in some weird way.
[Shelly] Oh yeah, it does.
- Because it is, okay,
this is how you play D&D,
these are your ability scores,
this is an ability check, you know, spells
and using weapons, and the
commentary is so hilarious
but also, really is like
Cliff notes the whole time.
- It's like a dummies
guide to Dungeons & Dragons
in some ways.
- [Todd] It is kind of perfect
for if you wanted to teach someone D&D
this is, weirdly, one of the best ways
for, at least, me to convey D&D.
- Yeah, I'm glad to hear that.
The way that Rick is as a
character in the comic book,
the Dungeons & Dragons playing Rick,
he's not really a D&D fan in the show,
but in the comic of course he is.
And so one of the things
that's true about him
is that he's a caricature
of the rules lawyer.
He is the power gamer.
And as a result, because
Rick has never been intended
to be a hero, he's a disgusting individual
in many ways, he's funny
and he's very smart,
but he's not aspirational, he's not meant
to be an aspirational character.
And so I think Jim did a
brilliant job with that
in the comic by making it so he's this,
power gaming rules lawyer,
which is also not aspirational.
Most people don't wanna
play with people like that
in their groups, unless
they're all power gamers
and they're all loving
it then that's great,
but usually you hear the
stories about D&D groups
where people are irritated at a member
because they have one of the
qualities that Rick embodies.
And so, we get to use that
as a way of hammering in,
hammering home the kinds of behaviors
that are anti-social at the table.
So, a lot of the time
Rick is giving you advice
that's not good!
But it still helps you
understand those rules
a little bit better and
it gives you the sense
of oh, this is my foul
mouthed drunk grandpa
telling me how he plays
Dungeons & Dragons.
And he does these things
where he tells you
you can skip whole sections,
I don't actually recommend
that you do that, but
it's wonderful to read it
with that kind of guidance.
And it's one of the things
I've always thought that,
the first session of Dungeons & Dragons,
it's very hard to do
without someone guiding you.
And God help you if it's Rick
guiding you your first time!
(she laughs) But it is a really fun read,
both the adventure and the
rule book are super fun reads
just by themselves, even
if you were, I don't think,
ever, to run it, it is so entertaining
to just go through it and giggle.
But it is also a joy to play it.
