Streaming series brings D&D to new players
Dustin Ritchea is an expert about the powers of a goblin, an elf ’s clever wit when pitted against a troll, and the strength of a dragon against the courage of a warrior.
Ritchea, a 2009 graduate of Chesterton High School, has been casting spells and corralling mythical characters for round after round of the role playing game Dungeons and Dragons for more than a decade.
Earlier this year, Ritchea and his group of favorite D&D players agreed to expand their game arena to include the virtual viewing universe via livestreaming, and branding their regular game play as an episodic free online series at rollseekers.com called “Roll Seekers.” The series streams at 7 p.m. CST on the first and third Saturdays of every month.
“I describe us as a group of normal gamers playing Dungeons and Dragons in a highly entertaining way for the enjoyment of others,” Ritchea said.
“We present the game played as a web series and as a podcast produced and performed by eight people selected from among my friends and family members, and led by me as their dungeon master to guide the journey.”
Launched in 1974 as a published set of rules designed as a fantasy tabletop role-playing competition, it was gaming enthusiasts the late Gary Gygax of Chicago and the late Dave Arneson of St. Paul who are credited with dreaming up the concept allowing players to step into the guise of robed wizards and other mythical creatures in a magical realm.
Among some of the regulars who lend their personalities and imaginations to Dungeon Master Dustin’s broadcast games are Jami Spiegel, adopting the name Clara; Allison Ritchea as the identity Lyra Besthal; Calvin Carden morphing into Montague Dhalethm; Eli Carden as alter ego David Jones; Kevin Wesley as Torque; Jake Thornton answering to the name Valrann and Darrell Ritchea as Technomancer.
“I’ve been playing D&D since I was a junior in college and I’ve been playing with this current group for four years,” Dustin Ritchea said.
“When we began our ‘Roll Seekers’ game as a streaming show, it was last November in 2020 and we established our landscape set in the world of Nabell, which is part of my storytelling craft I began back when I was in fifth grade. I describe it similar to watching fantasy improv. I was inspired to create a filming studio in my basement and make our show and game play into its own brand.”
Thornton says the series, which completed the 25th episode in early November, is based mostly in the Trevian Forest, which he describes as “a land fraught with political unrest, ancient curses, and an evil tyrant hellbent on bringing an end to the ecclesiarch of Istarius, the goddess of fate.” He said most episodes showcase an entire game from start to finish, which spans up to four hours.
“We’re aspiring to produce a show that resembles other larger budget programs like Critical Role and Dimension 20,” Thornton said.
“And we’re all volunteers who do this show because we love the gaming community, and we love to tell stories.
Our primary mission is to grow with the gaming community and to inspire others to tell stories.”
Dustin Ritchea said as media attention and a growing fan base escalated attention to Dungeons and Dragons in the 1980s, a Saturday morning animated series broadcast on CBS from 1983 to 1985 help earn the early “virtual reality” game pop culture status. The cartoon series even boasted an all-star cast of celebrity vocals, including Willie Aames, Donny Most, Adam
Rich and Frank Welker, bringing life to the characters of wizards, warriors and even unicorns.
“It warms my heart whenever anyone brings up any childhood memories of D&D,” Dustin Ritchea said.
“I think so many people connect it with the little die cast metal figurines, which were so popular when the game was played in the 1980s. And of the Saturday morning cartoon show, besides the mythical creatures such as the unicorns and trolls, really only the characters of Dungeon Master and Tiamat the Dragon have any crossover with the actual role-playing game.”