Critical Role is airing the initial episode of its first miniseries tonight. This weekly Dungeons and Dragons Livestream is well-known for having occasional one-shots hosted by players outside of the show’s main Dungeon Master, Matthew Mercer. There have been some two-parters, including Taliesin Jaffe’s vampire masquerade. But this is the first four-episode series that has been produced.
It will be run by Game Marshall Brian W. Foster. Foster is the host of Talks Machina and an active contributor and creator for the Critical Role brand. This is the first time fans will get to see him lead a game, and he and Ivan Van Norman (Sagas of Sundry and Kung Fu Panda) are the creators and producers for this series. It utilizes the Deadlands Reloaded RPG system and is set in the town of Deadwood. The summary has been given as:
“. . . in the not-so-sleepy town of Deadwood, where rumors of supernatural happenings and illegal mining activity have come to a head. An unlucky group of citizens are brought together to fight an evil they’ve never encountered — and will fight to save their very souls in the process.”
The cast includes Matthew Mercer and Critical Role cast members Marisha Ray (Keyleth and Beauregard) and Travis Willingham (Grog and Fjord). There will also be Khary Payton, who is not new to Critical Role. He has guest-starred in a handful of episodes in Campaign Two as Shakaste. He is also joined by Anjali Bhimani (S.W.A.T. and Modern Family) and Ivan Van Norman.
UnDeadwood will air this Friday at 7 pm Pacific time on Critical Role’s Twitch channel. The episodes will also be available on the show’s YouTube channel the following Sundays and as a podcast one week after the original air date. The next three episodes will premiere on October 25th, November 1st, and November 8th.