INSTAQUEST EXCLUSIVE: Talking D&D With Alex Drastal, Darth Lexii, DM Jobo, And James Bohan

As technology has advanced the reality aspect of role-playing games has greatly improved. What was once limited to tabletop gaming can now be enjoyed remotely using the advanced technology of the internet.

One of the games that has benefitted from updates in technology is Dungeons & Dragons, especially as the game evolves on its own through the advancement of rulesets over the years. For reference, the game is currently utilizing the 5th Edition ruleset, which has streamlined much of the more complicated facets of the game for people with less of an imagination.

Over the years players have been introduced to podcasts which include an audio component or viewing Youtube campaigns from celebrities, but Twitch is now taking things to the next level. This Saturday the premier episode of InstaQuest, a mixed reality D&D campaign which can be streamed via Twitch, Youtube, and Facebook, will launch. The show stars cosplay actors Alex Drastal, Darth Lexii, TheSushiDragon, and ZombiUnicorn and is being run by DM JoBo and produced by James Bohan.

We managed to nab an exclusive chat with the cast and crew of InstaQuest so we could get an inside look at the show ahead of its launch on Saturday. In addition to the questions I asked regarding this weekend's campaign event, my personal DM JVL co-hosted in order to provide more technical Dungeons & Dragons questions.

Check out what DM Jobo, James Bohan, Darth Lexii, and Alex Drastal have to say about this unique campaign. If you're interested in hearing the audio portion of this group interview you can do so by following the podcast link below.

Literary Joe: So are you guys excited for this project?

DM JoBo: Oh god, so excited.

Alex Drastal: I get to go into a job and play D & D. Isn't that what we nerds have dreamed of ever since we first filled out character sheets? (Laughs)

Literary Joe: Good point! Out of curiosity, how much experience do you guys have with D & D?

Alex Drastal: I've been playing since High School, so like 2005. (Laughs)

DM JoBo: Yeah, I've been DMing for like over a decade. I got stuck in my group of friends being in the "forever DM" spot but I finally convinced a few of my other ones to pick up the mantle and I've gotten to play a little bit recently.

JVL: Oh, I know how that goes. (Laughs)

Literary Joe: So, I'm curious, do you guys prefer a specific ruleset in your personal lives?

DM JoBo: We're doing InstaQuest in 5E. Personally, I'm a big fan of 5E lately but I've played all of the other versions like Pathfinder and 3.5. I did a little one-shot of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons but 5E is what I've been playing a lot of lately.

I actually played the most when I was first learning with 4E, which does miniature turn-based combat really well. It's more of a miniature combat game than an RPG really.

JVL: Yeah, they really nailed down the combat for 4E.

Alex Drastal: I played mostly in 3.5 starting out, like 3.5 Pathfinder.

JVL: That's a little more technical, lots of skill-based stats.

Alex Drastal: Yeah, and I honestly really like 5th Edition, just because the game feels more dynamic. I think mainly because of reactionary spells. Before you always had to save an action if you wanted to do something on an opponent's turn.

I really like the reactionary abilities because it feels a little more realistic. You would have things prepared or things that you could do or that you have trained for that so I love the reactions and I think it makes the battles much more dynamic.

DM JoBo: It definitely streamlines things, and it allows you to be more improvisational throughout the combat with the reactions.

Literary Joe: That's a great point! Now, as far as Twitch goes, I've been speaking with a lot of people involved with Artificial, which is another program that has been really promoting the interactive features, which is going to be a big part of InstaQuest as well. I'm curious if you guys have looked to any other series on Twitch to get you set up for InstaQuest.

James Bohan: We're pushing into some new ground here with the level of production that we're putting into this. We definitely have looked at some of the early comers to the field with roleplay like Critical Roll has been a huge success lately and there's plenty of other streams out there but unfortunately I haven't gotten to look at them all.

Literary Joe: For Lexii and James, I'm curious how much experience you have with D&D?

Darth Lexii: Okay, about a year ago I probably only played once or twice. And since doing the promotional shoot with InstaQuest I have joined two D&D groups.

I love D&D so much and I play it all of the time now. I'm still probably not the best person to call myself a D&D specialist, but I love it, I really do. I think it's a lot of fun, so I have a little bit of experience, I would say.

James Bohan: I played a few times with my brother over the past five or six years. It used to be something we would do for his birthday is get a bunch of friends together and play D&D.

And Parker is one of those who would join us for that. He's kind of been a long-time friend of Joe and I's for over fifteen years now, so he also got some experience as well.

Literary Joe: So how long has InstaQuest been in the works?

James Bohan: Since about March of last year. That's when Joe and I sat down and put the whole plan together.

Literary Joe: Do you feel like everything with COVID has made things take a little longer to get going?

James Bohan: Yeah, we were about ready to go back in March or April of this year to get going with everything.

DM JoBo: Yeah we were aiming for a March release originally but then things got a little crazy.

Literary Joe: Do you guys feel like you have more freedom when you participate in a campaign or when you run one?

DM JoBo: Well playing as a player is always a real treat for me. I definitely feel more freedom when I'm DMing, because as a player you just make one character and that's the only thing you determine, but as a DM you have to do everything else.

So there's definitely a lot more freedom there, but I feel like I can relax a little bit more as a player, like I don't have to be on top of everything.

Darth Lexii: I feel like as a player, I love the freedom of creating a backstory. A lot of the time in Dungeons & Dragons, you don't really share your backstory with the other players or the DM.

And it kind of opens up your backstory throughout the campaign. People find things out about you and I think that's the freedom that I really enjoy, especially as I'm an actress, of creating a character and bringing it to life when people have no idea what's going to happen.

It's really fun so I really enjoy the freedom there but as a DM, being able to control everything, I think that's really cool.

Literary Joe: Nice! I'm curious what it is about InstaQuest that got you all interested in becoming involved in the first place?

Alex Drastal: Well, first of all, I think getting to play D&D as a job is kind of the coolest thing I could possibly think of. 

Darth Lexii: The coolest ever! (Laughs) Sorry, Alex!

Alex Drastal: Because growing up I used to get made fun of for sitting at the lunch table and playing D&D with my friends or Magic: The Gathering, or whatever nerdy thing it was that we were doing that day.

I think it's really cool that nerd culture is becoming more widespread and people are discovering that it's really fun. So it's also exciting to be able to bring that to a wider audience and show people this really cool game that they can play. It's basically telling a story that you're writing as you go. And so I think it's blown up with podcasts that have done it like Critical Roll and stuff like that.

I think this is going to add a really cool visual effect for people who might not have as many imagination tools or they prefer to watch something, so I think it's a really cool opportunity to bring D&D to more people.

*This interview has been edited for clarity, and the photos utilized for this article are promotional test shots and not a reflection of the final product.*

What do you think of these comments from the cast and crew of Twitch's InstaQuest? Will you be tuning in to check out the premier episode this Saturday?

If you're interested in hearing the audio component to this interview, you can do so by following the podcast link below. Also, be sure to share your thoughts about this project and conversation down in the usual place!

Join us on July 25th at 1:00pm Pacific Time for the premier episode of InstaQuest - a live Dungeons and Dragons actual play, starring cosplayers and streamers playing in a Virtual Reality world!