Tuesday is an important day for Dustin Ritchea and his brand and his clan, both of the latter called “Roll Seekers,” which he describes as “a group of local gamers producing a high-quality live web series and podcast from Porter County,” as Ritchea and his cohorts prepare to release their first Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition compatible module called “The Curse of the Dreg’Damor.”
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. In 2021, Ritchea and his group of favorite D&D players agreed to expand their game arena to include the virtual viewing universe via live streaming, and branding their regular gameplay as an episodic free online series at rollseekers.com.
The launch of the newest incarnation “The Curse of the Dreg’Damor” is “a role-play-focused, drop-in 5e compatible adventure” set in Nabell, the original fantasy world created by Ritchea. Full of high fantasy and teeming with lost deities, ancient magic and unspeakable horrors, Ritchean said Nabell is best described as “an unfinished world full of promise and possibility, shaped by ‘the Dead and Buried Gods,’ who burned themselves out of existence to save their unfinished creation.”
Ritchea, the creator and owner of the Roll Seekers brand, and Martin Buinicki, the owner of Gaming Honors and a Valparaiso University English professor, said “The Curse of the Dreg’Damor” is designed for four to six fourth-level characters. The module will feature full-color pages with unique NPCs, unforgettable encounters, and beautifully illustrated artwork by Teaghan Gokey.
“Everything you see on the Roll Seekers show is improvised,” Ritchea said.
“I’ve been writing the lore for this world since I was in fifth grade. It’s incredibly rewarding to be able to share Nabell with fellow gamers across the world when our Kickstarter campaign launches Monday.”
Dungeons & Dragons launched in 1974 as a published set of rules designed as a fantasy tabletop role-playing competition dreamed up by gaming enthusiasts, the late Gary Gygax of Chicago and the late Dave Arneson of St. Paul credited with the concept that allows players to step into the guise of robed wizards and other mythical creatures in a magical realm.
“The Curse of the Dreg’Damor” takes place on the continent of Tyve in Nabell which is also the location of the show’s second campaign. It follows Dyre Nahk’Vosh, an elder barbarian from the Nornian clan who is told by a dying shaman that a terrible curse is coming, threatening endless winter and death for his people. Only by traveling to the Ebon Keep, the ancestral fortress of the Dreg’Damor, which has recently fallen silent, can Dyre hope to save his people.
“What I’m most excited about are the twists players will find throughout the module,” Ritchea said.
“What starts as a pretty mundane quest turns into something truly unexpected. Martin and I have painstakingly written this module to offer many opportunities for players to role-play by incorporating everything from puzzles and riddles to original songs. In a normal game of D&D, this is a quest that would usually need level 14 or 15 characters to accomplish, but we’ve thrust it upon fourth-level characters to make the adventure dramatic and intense.”
The Roll Seekers roster stars Ritchea with wife Allison Ritchea and brother Darrell Ritchea, Jami Spiegel, Trevor Spiegel, Martin Buinicki, Kevin Wesley, Eli Carden and Ryan Peter, who have been performing since August 2021. During that time, the group has gained more than 62,000 followers on TikTok and has been sponsored by major companies such as Wyrmwood and Plushible. Together, they have produced nearly 100 four-hour episodes.
In 2024, the Roll Seekers web series was accepted into the “Best Series” category of the Gen Con Film Festival, along with other notable contenders, such as RPG: All-Star, which has been known to have celebrity guest appearances. The show was also featured on Lakeshore Public Media’s Friend and Neighbors episode 605.
Dustin Ritchea acts as the show’s Dungeon Master. The Roll Seekers show streams live every other Tuesday at 6 p.m. CST on Twitch and TikTok, and episodes can be found on YouTube, and its podcasts found on Spotify, Apple and Google. To learn more, go to www.RollSeekers.com.
Red hot news
Before corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day Monday, consider a hot dog.
According to Advertising Week, the 27-foot-long Wienermobile had its launch as a slightly smaller four-wheel frankfurter designed and constructed to appear in parades for promotion for the Oscar Mayer Meat Company.
The buns and bumper Wienermobile is returning to Northwest Indiana for a three-day visit this weekend.
The idea for the Wienermobile was dreamed up by Carl Mayer, the nephew of the company’s founder Oscar F. Mayer, a German immigrant who started the company in 1883 in Chicago where it is still headquartered. The hot dog-shaped vehicle was designed in proportion to carry the company’s famous tiny spokesman, “Little Oscar,” who appeared in advertisements, commercials and numerous public appearances.
By 1952, the Wienermobile had been redesigned and made larger and closely resembles the Wienermobile of today, which is created from a converted Chevrolet. The interior includes a hot dog-shaped dashboard and removable sunroof as well as six mustard and ketchup-colored seats. The exterior includes a “grinning” front grill and the horn plays the official Oscar Mayer jingle.
During the Northwest Indiana tour over the next four days, the Wienermobile staff with give out promotional coupons, official Weinermobile stickers and plastic Wienermobile-shaped whistles while hosting beanbag toss games and other eating antics at each of the following locations:
9 a.m. to noon Thursday, March 13, Strack & VanTil, 10851 Broadway Crown Point and 1-5 p.m. Strack & VanTil, 6001 Broadway, Merrillville.
9 a.m. to noon Friday, March 14, Strack & VanTil, 1515 US-41, Schererville and 1 to 5 p.m. Strack & VanTil, 9825 Wicker Ave., St John.
12:30 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at the 2025 Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parade, North Columbus Drive in Chicago.
9 a.m. to noon Sunday, March 16, Strack & VanTil, 2080 E Commercial Ave., Lowell and 1-5 p.m. at Strack & VanTil, 9605 Lincoln Plaza, Cedar Lake.
Philip Potempa is a journalist, published author and radio show host on WJOB 1230 AM. He can be reached at PhilPotempa@gmail.com.
