Over the years, Critical roleis alive Dungeons and dragons streams have received a lot of attention from both fans and sponsors. From CashApp and D&D Beyond to Quip and NordVPN, to name a few, the support of their sponsors has often received special treatment from Sam Riegel as he develops skits to promote their products.
Riegel’s unique humor often veers into the distant and bizarre. This has spawned memorable ad campaigns featuring things like thumb-wrestling tournaments hosted by Vince McSam himself, a sunflower-evolving lounge singer, and a group of young hackers out to save the Nordverse. The development of Nordverse spans both campaigns two and three, and even inspired an upcoming one-shot with Riegel as the Game Master.
What is Critical Role’s Nordverse?
NordVPN has been one Critical role sponsored for years, promoting the need for Internet safety and security through the use of the software. Riegel’s Nordverse originated when a hacker persona he created for ads called [email protected] began trying to hack into targets protected by NordVPN, only to find it impossible to get past the company’s securities. The ads developed when BlackWillow73 refused to use NordVPN, only to be hacked by CryptonicOverride. Using the backup failsafe provided by NordVPN, BlackWillow73 was able to thwart CryptonicOverride’s efforts, although the entity promised to return and defeat BlackWillow73 and find the source of the Ultra Kodex.
In time, the ongoing sponsor sketches brought in the entire cast as hackers and followed a Matrix-esque storyline. When Travis Willingham consumed the shiny cube cake that was once BlackWillow73, he absorbed Sam’s powers and became the Hacker of Prophecy. Chosen second by Taliesin Jaffe’s Morpheus, it was up to Willingham to stop a virus calling itself Setty before it unleashed itself on the world. Across a collection of 22 episodes, Nordverse grew into something there was no going back from, and now it’s going to be a one-shot.
Critical Roles Generation Nord is a prequel to Nordverse
Created and GM’d by Sam Riegel, “Generation Nord” is a prequel to the ongoing Nordverse, which suggests that the origin of the sketch material could potentially be revealed. Players include Exandria Unlimited alumni Aimee Carrero and Lou Wilson as Darkweb Robin Hood and the guy with the car, Critical role regulars Laura Bailey and Liam O’Brien as Hardware Whiz and Gamer Geek, and Christian Navarro as Code Monkey.
There will also be a surprise special guest that will be revealed in the game. Speculation about potential guests includes Robbie Daymond, who appeared in EXU and Campaign Three, or Dungeon Master Matthew Mercer, both of whom participated in multiple sketches across the Nordverse run. It could also be Matthew Lillard, who appeared in the Nordverse commercial titled “Cereal Killer” during Campaign Two.
Little is known about the plot or game system “Generasjon Nord” will use. However, given Riegel’s creativity when it comes to ad sketches, it promises to be an overwhelming game full of hacking, back-slashing and lots of complex techno-jargon. One-shot will be sponsored by NordVPN.
“Generation Nord” will stream on 8 November 2022 at 7pm Pacific on Critical Roles Twitch and YouTube.
