Dungeons & Dragons has opened the door to more inclusive stories from a more diverse group of storytellers. This has included “DesiQuest,” “Transplanar,” “Dimension 20: Dungeons & Drag Queens,” and many others. “Tales Unrolled” is the newest addition to this impressive roster of shows from Sonoro Media. The first campaign, “Tales Unrolled: Alma,” follows four unlikely heroes as they work together to save their home and loved ones. The fantasy world of Alma is inspired by Latin American folklore and ancestral legends.

The cast includes Christian Navarro, Oscar Montoya, Mayanna Berrin, and Camila Victoriano, with Luis Carazo serving as Dungeon Master. Navarro and Carazo have both been guests at the “Critical Role” table, while Montoya starred in “Dimension 20: A Court Of Fey & Flowers.” Berrin is also a veteran of actual play with “StoryQuest” and Pixel Circus’ “Sunday Spy School,” while Victoriano is a newcomer.

In an exclusive interview with Temple of Geek Luis Carazo and Christian Navarro discussed their new actual play. Carazo broke down how he built out the world of Alma and how he sets “Tales Unrolled” apart from other series like “Critical Role” and “Dimension 20.” Navarro shared how he built his character and the relationships that develop throughout the story. Both Navarro and Carazo explained the importance of this representation not only to themselves but also to their communities.

Tales Unrolled Stars Explain How They Built Out The Cast

Temple of Geek: How did “Tales Unrolled” initially come together as a show?

Christian Navarro:

Well, I have worked with Sonora who are our team, our co-producers. I had worked with them on some scripted comedy podcast, and Camila is one of the partners over there. We had coffee to talk about exploring maybe some other ideas with Sonora moving forward. It came out that she was a huge fan of TTRPG and “Critical Role” and “Dimension 20” and all of the other shows in the space. She wanted to create something like this and I did as well. So we went about assembling what I think is a dream team with Luis and our fellow players. Idea to production to release was really sort of an abbreviated span of time. It’s because I was really excited about the prospect of doing something like this together.

Temple of Geek: That’s so amazing! Can you talk to me a little bit about building out this cast because it’s such a fun group and the chemistry is there immediately, even in Session Zero.

Luis Carazo:

Yeah, so I got brought on, Christian reached out to me to DM it. Then we were thinking about who would join us at the table. Christian had the idea to have Camila join us right away because she is brand new. We always love the idea of sharing the table with someone that’s brand new to the game because we’re both very adamant about how there’s a seat for everybody at the table. Brand new people are welcome here.

We will walk you through it and you are welcome here with us. So that was the first person. I think actually Christian already had that conversation with her right away, about having her join the table. Mayanna and Oscar just came to my mind immediately. They were the only two people I reached out to. I had played with Mayanna before and I hadn’t played with Oscar, but we have been ships passing in the night. We have a lot of different circles that overlap.

So people from different circles, not even TTRPG people, knew him and everybody loves Oscar. What’s not to love? I reached out to them, had lunch with Oscar, and then that was it. They were immediately on board when I told them what the premise was. And here we are.

Temple of Geek: I really like games that have newer players because to me it feels like a really easy entry point then for new viewers or listeners to have a better understanding of what’s going on mechanically, not just the storytelling aspect. Christian, can you talk to me a little bit about the character creation process? What you were looking to explore with this character that you maybe haven’t explored with some of your other characters you’ve played?

Christian Navarro:

Well, I think that because of how Luis approached our Session Zero, what we’re trying to do with “Tales Unrolled,” and bringing a bit of our culture to the forefront of that, I wanted to explore my own history. The attention Luis brought to ancestry and the idea that not only are they watching, but that sometime in the future others might be looking towards us and what we did. I think I dove a little bit deeper in terms of this being a personal journey and my character.

I wanted to explore my relationship with my grandfather when I was a boy. How much I loved him and sort of pay homage to my grandfather in this character creation process. Luis has been so lovely in helping me along on that journey. So I think everyone at the table brought a little bit more of themselves to their character than maybe we have in the past because we’re all there with sort of purpose and so much excitement to be doing this together.

Luis Carazo Shares His World Building Process For Alma

Temple of Geek: Luis, you’re behind the GM screen for this game. Can you talk to me about building this world and really taking inspiration from Latin American mythology in the creation process?

Luis Carazo:

I just really hunkered down and researched. Watched documentaries and talked with people that I know that are academics of Latin American history and googled so much. I realized that it was going to be impossible for us to escape the fact that we are American Latinos, whether we were born here or not. I mean, I’m an immigrant, I think Camila is too.

I think embracing the entirety of what that identity means for us, but then putting it in a completely fictionalized every town in a sense that’s a collage of places from across the diaspora, I think, gives us freedom to play without feeling like we’re beholden to one nation or one subculture. It gives permission to let ourselves be a part of the greater fabric. I mean, I really started with a lot of curiosity about the animals and the fruits and the people of the region.

What did they wear? What do they eat? What fruit grows around, the birds, the fish? I very quickly came upon these giant fish, the arapaima fish. That becomes significant and there’s more about them. The first couple episodes you learn a lot about this particular fish. I just let my imagination go wild with what is a fantasy version of this. Their scales are made out of metal, and that’s where the town harvests their metal that they use for their weapons, their armor, their jewelry.

So it was really a deep dive, a multi-pronged deep dive into documentaries about rivers. The rivers in Alma are inspired by actual rivers in South America and the plants that grow in them. I just really went into this rabbit hole that led me into all kinds of different places. Pulling in mythologies, creatures from the different folklore and different mythologies and maybe exploring them from a different angle or having something based on them, but not an exact replica of that.

When you research the folklore, it has evolved over time. Stories about certain creatures and certain folklores, there’s different versions of them from one subculture to another, and over time they change. So yeah, a lot of my academic brain was very happy.

Temple of Geek: Can you both talk to me about the importance it holds for you to have these stories and your voices prominently telling fantasy stories? With “Tales Unrolled” and “DesiQuest” I’m liking that we’re getting outside of the “traditional” Western European mythology and fantasy.

Christian Navarro:

In a lot of ways it feels kind of like a homecoming. I know we discussed amongst ourselves a ton how much our upbringings revolve around storytelling. Some of us have come to this game in this format for storytelling a little later. I’ve only been doing this four or five years, and some of the others have only been doing it a handful of years.

While Luis has been doing it most of his life, playing the game and meeting people through playing the game and telling stories that way. But I think that we all have that as a part of our upbringing. So it feels like being able to tell this story together and really hone in on what it is like, being us. That inherently is different and exciting and fresh and really rewarding.

Personally, I’ve traveled a lot for work and met people all over the world who really enjoy having something and someone that they can look at and see themselves in. I think that’s what art is about. I think it is really special that we get to do that for each other and for other people who get to watch it and perhaps look at it and go, my gosh, there’s people who look like us and sound like us and have experiences like us. So maybe I can do that thing too.

Luis Carazo:

Oh man. The homecoming thing really, really hits me hard because a lot of it is about giving ourselves and each other permission to lean into those kinds of personal stories that have helped shape who we are and that of our family and our parents. I think that home is a big thing that is explored. What does it mean to have a home? What is your home? What does it feel like to be at home in yourself, in each other, in a place, in a culture?

I mean, it’s really personal to me in that I just feel like I had my parents with me there and any chance I get to honor them and those that came before them. I just feel like this is, it’s so meaningful to be able to touch on that a little little bit. I’m very proud to have the chance to do it.

How Luis Carazo & Christian Navarro’s Critical Role Experience Helped With Tales Unrolled

Temple of Geek: You guys have both played at a lot of other tables. You’ve played in worlds that other people have created. What was it like to bring your experiences from those tables, like “Critical Role,” into “Tales Unrolled?” What did you learn from those? But also how did you want to make “Tales Unrolled” stand out?

Luis Carazo:

We mentioned that we are a storytelling people and we come from a long line of storytelling people. When you have the opportunity to meet another storyteller and just collide with them, it becomes a part of you and they influence you moving forward.

For me as a dungeon master, and especially as a new one, that this is the first time doing this publicly, I’ve been influenced by so many of the people that I’ve played with. I’m incredibly inspired by all of them. Their fingerprints are on me as the kind of storyteller that I’ve become and continue to become so very much inspired by that. It feels really nice to be able to be a part of that.

Christian Navarro:

I think in terms of being different or standing out, I think as a part of any creative process, the people involved wonder to themselves, how you can differentiate yourself and do something special. We were talking about this the other day. I think the show says a lot for itself in terms of everyone’s dedication and commitment and focus and joy and love for what we’re doing around that table.

I think the fact that it’s us, the four people around the table, and Luis as the DM and the team that have come together to create something like this, I think it sets it apart from what’s out there. Just by the nature of us being involved and how special we’ve made it for ourselves. Hopefully that conveys to the listeners and the people who will be watching it.

Luis Carazo:

I want to add to that too, if I can. One of the things that Christian had thrown at me to consider, we talked about how to start it and we arrived at what I think is pretty unique, this sort of ritual thing that I introduced into Session Zero. I just came with palo santo and I wanted to just kind of launch us all with this reminder that what we’re doing is a ritual. That we are trying to tap into something that is otherworldly in a sense, spiritual.

So the burning of the palo santo became a staple that every episode begins with this sort of conjuration and application. I have never seen that done like that before, but it really feels like just the act of doing that, it just feels like it can almost feel us connecting on that other level with that as a part of the ritual of it. That’s different.

Temple of Geek: It is such a great way to instantly transport the audience into this world, in my opinion. I loved when you started with that, both in the Session Zero and the first episode. I so immediately locked in. Luis, one of the things I’m always amazed by with GMs is their ability to take in the backstories that are given to them and weave them into this larger world that they’re creating. Can you talk to me about that aspect of being a GM and doing that for the first time publicly with this group?

Luis Carazo:

I got to say I feel so lucky with this group, and I tell them, sometimes, I feel like I’m cheating because I’m so inspired by them. I feel like they’re reading my mind sometimes and understanding nooks and crannies of the story and the setting that I hadn’t necessarily made explicit yet. But then they just, it’s like they suss it out and then they really dive into it. It’s just a constant feedback loop of inspiration.

So I’m just actively listening to how they’re helping me flesh out the world and make it even more three-dimensional. To me, what’s really exciting is when I can feel something that’s meaningful to them, and in my mind I’m like, how do I pull that in? Or how do I do a variation of that? Or how do I make that? How do I make that, tie that into something else but another character that’s then immediately going to make them engage each other with a lot of substance underneath it.

So it’s like a chess game and it feels like it’s just very active listening. We’ve talked about, at the table, this is an incredibly intimate experience and intimate relationship. Every intimate, significant relationship needs communication. It needs heartfelt listening. It’s a pleasure to get to feel their heartbeat in this way and to find ways to incorporate it. They’ve given me so much, it’s been awesome.

Christian Navarro Shares Why Tales Unrolled “Feels Fated”

Temple of Geek: Christian as a player, I think what I’m really excited about with this series is seeing how the relationship dynamics grow throughout, especially because this is a world that you all have been a part of creating. Can you talk to me a little bit about that aspect and how organically the relationship’s built throughout with the different characters?

Christian Navarro:

I laugh because we are nearing the end of our filming process, our recording process, so we’re in the thick of it. The relationships have grown and changed and evolved obviously from what you’ve heard. So it’s wonderful. I think that there’s an intentionality behind everyone sitting at the table. We don’t have the luxury of being on forever. We’re not going to have this show on every week. We have order, and hopefully we get to tell more stories in this world and this world setting, but we know that we have to tell an effective, entertaining story.

First and foremost for ourselves around the table who are playing the game, but even more so that people at home can enjoy what they’re taking in. So I think from the first moment where Luis conducts that ritual and sets the pace for the game, everyone really locks in and we play with that sort of intentional purpose. It drives the story and it feels like everyone really honors each other’s gameplay.

No one shies away from what could feel like conflict, but all in service of story and what can sometimes be conflict in the game amongst the players. But because everybody’s there for the same reason and rooted in this thing we’re exploring together, it never feels like conflict. It always feels like it’s in service of telling this story. So it’s been a lot of fun. I can’t wait for people to see from episode one to where we are now and where we’ll end up.

It’s such an incredible journey and the relationships that are built are really unique and beautiful and rewarding. I keep saying rewarding because it really, after every session we leave kind of dreading that we don’t get to keep playing with each other as much as we want. It’s exciting.

Temple of Geek: What has been maybe your guys’ favorite or the most surprising part of the process of making “Tales Unrolled” so far?

Christian Navarro:

Well, to do it together is what I would say, because my best friend who’s not in on this call, his name is Jack Cummins. We’ve been friends for 15 years. Luis and I have been really good friends for a while now too. Luis and I, amongst ourselves, have always wanted to do something pretty much exactly like this. We’ve discussed it at length, and having the opportunity to do it was so special because we got to do it together.

Luis and my best friend Jack have become really good friends throughout this process. I think both of us are like-minded in how we like to tell stories and who we want to tell stories with and why we tell stories. So getting to do this together has been a really bonding, I mean, I think we were already bonded for life anyway, but this has been a really gratifying experience that way because it’s ours and we get to share it with the world. And that’s really exciting.

Luis Carazo:

I feel like, I don’t know how to explain it, but it’s this just connective feeling when we’re there and it has such an ease to it. It just feels like we’re in this flow. I don’t know how to explain it. It feels like we’re dancing. I think it’s because everyone is so interested in each other and uplifting each other. There’s an incredible amount of trust and the desire to honor something bigger.

So that’s been my favorite thing. It feels big to me and very significant. I think that it’s having an effect on me as a storyteller in every other aspect. It’s impossible to find the words for it, but it’s the doing of it with these people and this, I don’t know, chemical chemistry thing, it’s the vibe, I guess. I don’t know. There’s something very deep and meaningful in the unspoken of it all and it’s cool.

Christian Navarro:

It feels like we’ve all been sharpening our knives, getting, preparing for this for the last however many years of our life, because when we’re in that room together, it really just feel like individually and as a group, everything that we’ve done has led us to be in that room together. To explore this world and tell this story together. So it feels fated in a way. It feels right time, right place, right people, all kind of conspiring.

“Tales Unrolled” debuts on April 29. The show will be available to watch on YouTube or listen to as a podcast. For extra content including session zero check out “Tales Unrolled” Patreon.