Matt Mercer, one of the most well-known Dungeon Masters of Dungeons & Dragons and Critical Role, discusses his love for the role-playing game in an interview and how it shaped him during his youth. He is surprised by a message from an important person who had a significant influence on him back then.
Which person surprises Matt Mercer? The famous Dungeon Master from Critical Role was not only treated to his favorite dishes in an interview with Mythical Kitchen on YouTube, but he also received a special message. Mythical Kitchen presents the interviewees with their favorite meal while interviewing them.
In the conversation, he is asked if there were other influences during his youth that affected his journey into the world of fantasy, particularly adults who shaped him.
In addition to many video games, primarily RPGs and JRPGs, and his parents, Matt mentions a teacher from his high school, whom he still remembers.
His teacher, Mr. Busby, had only been working at the high school that Matt attended for a year. When the future D&D legend was working on notes and drawings for his own campaign after a test, his teacher noticed. Instead of punishing him, a connection formed between the two that anyone who has ever randomly met another fan of the same favorite game can probably understand. Because Mr. Busby was – just like Matt – a big fan of RPGs, even of games that the then-student had never heard of.
Here you can see the trailer for the fourth campaign of Critical Role, where Matt Mercer participates for the first time as a player of a main campaign:
In the interview on YouTube, Matt explains:
“He was the first young, hip adult in my life who said: ‘Hey, it’s cool to be a nerd.’ I finished my tests early, went over to him, and we just talked about role-playing games and fantasy worlds.”
He had no idea that the team from Mythical Kitchen had already contacted this hip adult to surprise him with a special message.
The legendary Dungeon Master hasn’t always had it easy
What does the message for Matt include? In a video message from his former teacher Mr. Busby, the teacher shares his memories of Matt when he was still his student. After a greeting, he reports that the popular DM didn’t always have it easy before and was sometimes bullied by other students for his interests.
Some kids made fun of Matt because he was the only male tenth grader who chose dance as a physical education class. Busby couldn’t understand or let that slide:
I said to the group: You’re all idiots. Let me make this clear. Matt is the only one taking dance class with 60 girls, and you’re making fun of HIM?
Here you can watch the full interview from Mythical Kitchen with Matt Mercer. If you start the video here, you’re in the right spot:
How does the Dungeon Master react to his teacher’s message? Matt is visibly moved during the conversation and is pleased by the message from his former teacher. He confirms that it often happened that other students made fun of him, and he is happy that Mr. Busby has remained an RPG fan to this day.
At the end of his message, the teacher wants Matt to make the RPG Shadowrun more famous, his favorite RPG, which Matt still remembers from his school days. Whether Matt will fulfill this wish and whether the next campaign or a one-shot from Critical Role will be played with the corresponding rule system, he does not reveal.
Matt Mercer already had besides his passion for fantasy other pronounced nerd interests during his youth, which are, however, very different. Whether theater, video games, or animes. But ultimately, all these interests led him to find the best path for himself in his current job that combines all of these passions: An anime nerd just wanted to become a voice actor – today he fills entire arenas with his friends and plays Dungeons & Dragons
