Something I really appreciate about Sam as a player (that makes a lot of people on the internet really mad) is his absolute refusal to meta game.
To be clear, the goal of DND is not to make The Correct and Strategic Choice all the time. Critical Role isnât just DND either, itâs Actual Play, which is using the game as a medium for storytelling. Actual Play is a performance, itâs telling a story, and stories are so much more interesting when you make messy choices.
Wick going to find Teor even when he knew Teor was dead made so much sense because
1. Weâve been shown that Wick, as a character, is excellent at denial. His entire religion was revealed as a farce and heâs still a believer. Thatâs consistent characterization! Being told Teor has died was of course going to be met with a âno! It canât be!â.
2. Wick knew there were other party members with Teor, of course heâd be concerned about them. For Wick to just assume Thimble and Co. would be fine wasnât realistic!
It takes a really good actor to be able to see a piece of knowledge offered to them that their character could benefit from, and continue to act according to only their characterâs beliefs.
Every time Sam does this (Scanlan deciding to leave the party because fuck these guys thereâs no cosmic force saying he has to stay, Nott high out of her mind trying to cast a spell she doesnât have) it makes the story heâs participating in telling better! Funnier! More interesting!
Wick became a killer because of these choices and it spun his entire character arc in a different direction.
Sam Riegel is GOOD AT HIS JOB and that job is to cause problems in the narrative.
Iâll get off my soapbox now.
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