Aabria Iyengar had a rare opportunity with “Shaun” in “Critical Role: Vox Machina – Stories Untold.” She not only got to bring Gilmore, a beloved NPC, one of her personal favorites, to life on the page, she had prior experience with him. The other authors research consisted of watching or reading about their NPCs. While Aabria did both of these, she also had the chance to play him as Game Master in “EXU.”

Aabria Iyengar Played Gilmore “Towards The End Of Their Heroic Era” In EXU

During the Crown Keepers escapades in “EXU,” they came across Shaun Gilmore many decades after Vox Machina. This gave Iyengar a particular insight into the character that she could tap into while writing. Although when she played Gilmore it was a completely different era in his life, she did embody him long before writing from his perspective. In an exclusive interview with Temple of Geek, Iyengar explained how she approached bringing Gilmore to life at the table during “EXU.”

Aabria Iyengar:

“As we were prepping for “EXU” Prime, there was something inside of having those conversations. We were also talking about Tal’Dorei Reborn which was going to be coming out later that year. There’s lore that was going to be revealed about Gilmore and his relationship. We’re years in the future, and here’s this perfectly lovely gentleman that he settled down with in the intervening time. So, after having a couple conversations with Matt [Mercer], Dani [Carr], and the team about where Gilmore was as of where the Crown Keepers would meet him.

It was definitely a fun thing to go, okay, what’s he going to be like when meeting new people? And living in the, oh, the reason he was so immediately brought in on Vax is Vax gives charismatic, confident flirty energy. Which was immediately why I was like, if Dorian is even 20% Dorian, it’s that forever. Let’s go and why not torment Robbie [Daymond]? He’s brand new to this, and I’m like, well, welcome to trial by fire. This NPC is matter of fact. How is everyone doing? Getting to lean into a person who is now towards the end of their heroic era and is settled down and is happy.

He is no longer inside of that youthful striving to find and carve a place into the world. Hey, you can be married and settle down and be like, all these weapons are still hot. I still find a hot little guy attractive. That’s going to be fine. So, it was fun playing in that.”

Aabria Iyengar Got To Truly Bring An NPC To Life In “Shaun”

Iyengar is no stranger to NPCs as a Game Master. She has crafted countless amazing NPCs and watched others create even more. This was an opportunity to fully flesh one out. Iyengar had the opportunity to live in Gilmore briefly with “EXU.” However, with “Shaun” she could fully delve into Gilmore’s mind and heart in one of his most pivotal moments. Vax following his feelings for Keyleth changed Gilmore’s trajectory as a character.

“Shaun” fully digs into why this was such a lynchpin moment for the character even beyond his feelings for Vax. Iyengar broke down why this moment impacted Gilmore so profoundly. She also shared why this was such an important project for her personally as a storyteller.

Aabria Iyengar:

“Getting to walk back in time and go back to this very pivotal moment in Gilmore’s story of, “Is this going to stay a fun little flirt? Am I going to stay this background NPC or will this moment drive me to reach for something more? I wasn’t just reaching for a person. I was reaching for a life that I wanted.” So, getting to sit and play him, talk about him, watch him, and read about him, all of those things made for a really fun moment.

Getting to go back and rewatch early Campaign 1 was really fun too. I was like, “Oh, I forgot how much my enthusiasm at the level of storytelling that the CR squad had early, informed me as a person who was learning how to play D&D.” I was like, “Oh, this is why I like this so much.”

Getting to bring that enthusiasm back and remember all of those little moments where I fell in love with Gilmore as an NPC and getting to move through that was crazy. It was so cool. It’s the coolest thing. Every new thing is the coolest thing. What a gift to be able to care about a character and continue their story in a way that you hope fits comfortably inside and tells the story of a whole person.

The thing about NPCs, you get to sit in them a little bit and because they’re so built to be these foils and moments for the main party, you can start to develop a whole inner life for them. But you never get a guarantee that you get to see all of it. So, it feels really nice as a person who’s played a lot of NPCs and who has watched and loved a lot of NPCs getting to go, “Here’s our little moment together to make you into more of a real boy.” And that’s everything. It’s so cool.”

Iyengar is a truly masterful storyteller and one of the greatest GMs in actual play. Her ability to pull in both the players and an audience is astounding. Iyenagar was the first GM that Matt Mercer trusted with Exandria. She continues to prove why she is able to capture these beloved worlds and characters while also creating her own.

With “Shaun,” Iyengar taps into what is great about Gilmore with a true character study. Her deep research and unique insight into Gilmore bring a new depth to the charming magical shopkeeper. This is a character that demanded further exploration, and Iyengar delivered.

“Critical Role: Vox Machina – Stories Untold” is available for purchase now.