Deborah Ann Woll And Anjali Bhimani Combine Frights, Dice, And MCU Stars To Create The Ultimate RPG (Exclusive)

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The world of Dungeons & Dragons is constantly growing, with new stories and ways for people to play. This has become even more noticeable recently with the popularity of “actual play” shows, which introduce the game to a wider audience. Now, imagine taking that a step further and creating a real-life roleplaying experience where players solve puzzles and mysteries in person. That’s exactly what Deborah Ann Woll, Ed Gass-Donnelly, and the Dungeon Dudes have done with their new series, Tales From Woodcreek. ComicBook recently spoke with Woll, Gass-Donnelly, and Anjali Bhimani about the show’s creation, its unique take on a D&D adventure, and how they brought in talented actors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to participate in this one-of-a-kind game.

The Beginnings of Woodcreek

Tales From Woodcreek is a Dungeons & Dragons campaign where players reach level 11 and experience the town of Woodcreek firsthand. They interact with its inhabitants, solve mysteries, and work to lift a curse, all happening in real time and guided by the Dungeon Master, Woll. What started as Woll’s personal collection of notes and ideas eventually evolved into a full-fledged campaign.

The show has been in development for about a year. I originally jotted down a short outline called Tales From Woodcreek with some initial ideas a long time ago. But it wasn’t until about a year ago that my collaborator, Ed Gass-Donnelly, suggested we try to get funding to actually make it happen. He asked if I had anything, so I dug up that old outline. Over the next six months, Ed and I really developed it together, turning my initial ideas into something we both felt strongly about.

Someone asked me what my ultimate dream show would be if I were to create a live play. I thought about what would make it truly unique. I enjoy interactive experiences like escape rooms and immersive theater, but I wanted to offer something different from traditional plays. This person really encouraged us to think bigger and explore unconventional locations. We started planning to find a fantastic venue and collaborate with a talented props company to create amazing puzzles. We also wanted to bring in special guests to make the experience even more memorable. It was a really collaborative and exciting process, and the idea just kept evolving as we developed it.

Bhimani has been running games frequently over the past year, and his experience as both a player and a Dungeon Master gives him a special insight. He believes the most important part of any game is the people you play with, and he especially enjoys playing with Deborah Ann Woll.

What really matters to me isn’t who’s playing which role, but who you’re playing with. Working with Deborah Ann, no matter the situation, is just pure joy. That’s the only way I can describe her. It’s not just me being complimentary – her true strength is her ability to find and spread delight. She genuinely enjoys watching us solve problems and takes pleasure in making us, the players, happy. This whole experience was overflowing with wonderful surprises, and the best part was seeing how much joy she got from our reactions.

Bhimani said he expected a great time with his friends, the Dungeon Dudes, because he cares about them all. However, he was surprised by how deeply satisfying the experience turned out to be – it truly filled his heart. He especially praised Deborah’s unique Dungeon Mastering style, noting how much more engaging it was to solve puzzles by physically interacting with objects in a historic village instead of just thinking through them at a table. He described the whole experience, like Deborah herself, as a pure joy.

A Real World Puzzle To Solve

Tales From Woodcreek is an ambitious project that successfully blends a realistic, story-driven approach with the established rules of D&D. Achieving this requires some creative thinking and adaptability, but those qualities are actually central to what makes Dungeons & Dragons so enjoyable.

You know, people always ask me how much planning goes into running a Dungeons & Dragons game, especially something like Woodcreek. And yeah, we definitely put in more prep work than a typical home game because we needed to be ready. But the thing about D&D, the most important thing really, is being flexible. You just can’t predict what your players are going to do, or what kind of situations will come up. So you have to be prepared to just roll with it and improvise!

We needed everything to be easily portable, so we created character booklets with straps for the players to carry while moving around. I also brought a dice tray with me so I could quickly call for rolls whenever needed. We aimed for a lightweight, flexible approach to special effects, as I didn’t know exactly when certain events would happen – like when someone would make a discovery, or when Tommy would start knocking. I just knew that those moments would happen, and we needed to be ready.

Everyone worked together to subtly signal when the character Tommy would start talking, and then react naturally as the story unfolded. As Woll explained, the plan was for Tommy to only open up once he felt safe and believed the others were trustworthy. “We knew Tommy would wait until he was sure they were on his side,” Woll said. “So, we were looking for a moment where he seemed to realize they were trying to help. Once we felt that moment had arrived, Ed, working behind the scenes, would begin communicating with Tommy through knocking or the letter board. We didn’t know exactly when that moment would be, but that was the signal.”

We did a lot of planning, but we also needed to be flexible and react to what was happening in the moment. Fortunately, our cinematographer and crew had experience with reality TV, which is a different style of filming. They’re good at keeping the camera focused on people’s faces and capturing their reactions, even if someone is interacting with objects – we can always add extra footage later. They also knew how to work around each other and avoid getting in each other’s shots, so we didn’t have to do much adjusting. They were just very skilled at their jobs, according to Woll.

Season 2 Hopes and Plans

Tales From Woodcreek aimed to be both an enjoyable story and a demonstration of a promising new concept, and viewers have recognized its potential for creating truly original and captivating narratives. Filming became smoother as the project progressed, and the team is optimistic that this will result in an even stronger second season, should one be produced.

As we continued filming, we definitely improved and figured things out. None of us had ever created an on-the-spot Dungeons & Dragons escape room experience before, so it was all new to everyone. We’re hoping that if we get a second season, we can use what we learned to make it even better, according to Woll.

Season 1 didn’t require many cuts, but the team wasn’t able to include one particular set of challenges. They’re hoping to add these in if the show gets a second season.

We didn’t really have a set plan or specific things we attempted, according to Gass-Donnelly. The only idea we abandoned was a creative one – making a jello bowl shaped like a Gelatinous Cube, something I still hope to do someday.

Woll mentioned they had some fun food-related challenges planned that didn’t make it into the first season, but they’re saving those ideas for season two – that’s the beauty of D&D, they can always be included later. They were particularly excited about the idea of making Gelatinous Cube-themed jello shots and are already brainstorming for the next season.

A MCU and D&D Crossover

Viewers of Tales From Woodcreek will recognize some actors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, like Iman Velani from Ms. Marvel and Jessica Henwick from Iron Fist. Kumail Nanjiani, who played a role in Ms. Marvel, was especially happy to work with Velani again.

Honestly, working with Iman was amazing. She’s seriously one of my favorite people – everything you’d hope for in a person, super creative, fun, and always up for anything. It was just fantastic getting to collaborate with someone so awesome. But the best part? Being able to share our nerdy hobbies with her! I knew she’d get it, and I could tell she already loved that side of things. It felt different than just working together on the show – it was more like hanging out with a friend, not like I was trying to convince her to join a D&D game in my free time.

Woll hinted at the next Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover, excitedly introducing Jess Henwick as the upcoming guest. He praised Henwick’s performance, saying she brought the same energy and enthusiasm as Iman Vellani, immediately impressing everyone with her strong character and natural talent. He’s confident audiences will love her role.

It was amusing to watch her process of getting into character. Before filming, we’d interview her about her role each day, and initially she seemed unsure, stumbling over details and debating how to play the part. But the moment the camera started rolling, she instantly became the character. We were initially hoping to get useful footage from those interviews to help explain the character, but she seemed hesitant and unprepared. Once she was on set with the rest of the cast, however, she was fantastic. As Woll put it, she was the most confident first-time performer he’d ever seen, and Bhimani agreed, suggesting she simply decided to commit to a choice once the cameras were on.

The way Gemma Chan ended up in the show happened quite naturally. While visiting the set of Daredevil, she casually mentioned her interest in the Dungeons & Dragons project the team was working on. The producers spontaneously invited her to participate, and she readily agreed. They were so pleased with her willingness to join, even offering to pay her, which she initially declined, wanting to help out as a favor to a friend. The team was incredibly impressed by her generosity and enthusiasm, and they were thrilled she decided to be a part of it, calling her a standout addition to the show.

You can now watch Tales From Woodcreek on the Dungeon Dudes’ YouTube channel! Find all the episodes linked here.

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2025-12-10 08:12