Anjali Virmani is one of the many actresses who have made an impact on the TTRPG world by appearing in games such as: Dimension 20, Critical Role and Faster, Purple Worm! Kill it! Kill it! Over the last year, she’s taken on a more active role in the community with a variety of projects, from DMing her first one-shot for the LEGO community to co-starring in Desiquest, a D&D play-by-play featuring South Asian creators. Now, she’s gearing up to host a new pet-themed charity TTRPG event. I had the chance to sit down with Bhimani to talk about her latest project.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
FM: So what is a “puppy roll”?
AB: This has been a labor of love that has been nurturing in my heart for years, waiting for the right circumstances to be found to make it happen, and this year it has happened: I will be hosting a livestream charity event. Petco LovePetco’s 501c3 organization is involved, and aims to support local organizations’ shelters, free veterinary care, and reunite lost pets with their owners, so the event will be called “Puppy Roll,” where celebrity gamers will play Dungeons and Dragons as pets.
Some of the beloved players from the TTRPG community will be joining in, playing as our furry friends who are adventurers who save the world in one-shots. So far, we have Matthew Mercer, Ashley Johnson, Emily Swallow (Mandolorian Maggie Robertson (Resident Evil, Baldur’s Gate 3 And Abria Iyengar. And we have Jonathan Gradione, who is a great pet-owner duo. He’s best known for his dog Noodle, who died two years ago. Noodle was famous for the “bones/no bones” meme. But Jonathan is flying in as a co-host of the event.
The event will be broadcast on my personal channel on August 20th, but donations will be available via Tiltify starting August 1st.
FM: So, are you going to DM for Puppy Roll?
AB: This is my second time DMing. The first was a Lego one-shot I did earlier this year with D&D, and I thought, “D&D has puppies,” so I thought it’d be nothing but fun. It’s two things I love with people I love, so I thought it was the perfect combination for me. And the guys at Petco Love are just amazing. I work with them here and was recently at their Humane Society of the United States event in San Antonio, and I told them I’d love for us to organize this event together with you guys and spread the word about the great work you’re doing.
FM: Are you excited or nervous about DMing your second one-shot with Puppy Roll?
AB: I think nervousness and excitement are exactly the same thing. Nervousness is thinking about all the bad things that can happen, and excitement is thinking about all the good things that can happen. So I like to surrender to the excitement, because you don’t know what you don’t know. And the great thing I didn’t know was how much I would love DMing. Marisha Ray had been trying to get me to be a DM for years, and I said, “Please, don’t do it. I don’t want to be involved in anything that I don’t want to be responsible for.” In real life, I have a lot of responsibility. I don’t want to screw up the game and get people in trouble. But I didn’t realize that I also have to be responsible for the fun until I saw the Lego one-shot.
“I think nervousness and excitement are exactly the same thing. Nervousness is all about thinking about everything going wrong, and excitement is all about thinking about everything going right.”
FM: You recently watched Jon Hamm’s “Dungeon MasterIt’s a “podcast that chronicles the real-life missing persons cases that gave D&D its bad reputation.” How did you get involved with the show?
AB: I don’t want to say too much about it. But it’s a great opportunity for me. I didn’t know this story before this project came to us. And I’m so excited that this story is going to be revealed in the special way that they’re telling it. Because it’s based on a true story, but it’s based on a true story by John and [Wil Wheaton’s] It’s a character. It’s taken from the writer’s experience talking to Gary Gygax about this particular incident that happened many years ago. What’s interesting is that I started playing in 1982, so I was too young to know about it. But there was also a time of demonic terror, and a time when people were worried about different things. I think this will be a really fresh and wonderful retelling of something that isn’t well known outside of the TTRPG industry.
FM: After Season 1 DigiQuest It started earlier this year. How do you feel about the project so far?
AB: Desiquest is another labor of love that I’m very proud of. Season 1 is over and it’s finished airing, but I wouldn’t say it’s over because there’s still so much more to come. Yeah, it’s our, what can I say? Basic quest is a chance for a group of South Asian creators, led by Jasmine Pilar, to invite people into a fantasy world based on South Asian culture. What’s really lovely about it is that it’s so special to see yourself reflected on screen. If you’ve never seen someone who looks like you, who comes from the same life and culture background as you, that’s always special. But what I think is even more special about this is that we have a chance to invite other people who may feel disconnected from their culture. They may be first generation born in America and have one foot in both cultures. And they don’t necessarily feel connected. We want to invite those people, but also people who don’t know anything about South Asian cultures, like India or Pakistan, to our table and say, “Come play at our table.”
For so many years now, we’ve had the opportunity to play at a Medieval European fantasy table. And we’ve been invited to play at that table, invited to dive into that world. But now inclusivity and inclusivity goes both ways. So we want to invite people to the party and show them how fun it is to be a part of this world, how rich the culture is, how diverse the culture is, and how when you’re exploring something new, whether it’s a culture or just a new experience, there are moments when you feel anxious that you might say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. But our table is a safe space to learn. It’s a safe space to make mistakes, it’s a safe space to make natural mistakes. It’s a safe space to not know the words to something. It’s a safe space to ask questions about different traditions. It’s nothing but joy. We had an amazing panel at San Diego Comic-Con yesterday, it was really amazing. And now we’re heading to GenCon and we’re going to play live. [Aug. 3.]
FM: Are there plans to produce a second season of Desiquest?
AB: It’s always been in discussions, and I’ve always said in my heart that it’s going to happen, but we still need to come together, connect with the community, raise funds, and make plans. We do have plans to announce something at GenCon, but I can’t say much more than that until then.
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