Critical Roll star Anjali Bhimani has announced that she'll be DMing The Puppy Roll 2, a sequel to her 2024 charity actual play stream. The original cast of The Puppy Roll - Matt Mercer, Ashley Johnson, Aabria Iyengar, Maggie Robertson, and Jonathan Graziano - will all return to play Dungeons and Dragons as characters inspired by their own pets.
The Puppy Roll 2 will see these six canine adventurers face off against a familiar foe. However, this adventure will feel far from stale. As well as bringing the core cast back for more adorable encounters, D&D YouTuber Ginny Di and comedy actress Emily Axford will be, as Bhimani puts it, "bringing the chaos that we know and love them for." Where most of the group are dogs, these new additions will be playing their cats.
We don't know the DnD classes of these fresh faces yet, but Bhimani has caught Wargamer up on who everybody else will be playing. Matt Mercer plays his corgi Omar Little, "Seeker of Squeaks", the Barbarian/Paladin. Aabria Iyengar is Suvi the husky Wizard, and Ashley Johnson plays her Japanese Chin, Sully the Ranger.
These brave pups are joined by Milton the Warlock, beloved pug of Jonathan Graziano. Graziano's late pug Noodle (of 'No Bones Day' TikTok fame) also serves as Milton's patron. The canine part of the Puppy Roll team is rounded off with Maggie Robertson's Cleric Cricket.
While Bhimani is DMing, she also plays as a pet of her own, Charley. Bhimani performed as Charley in the previous Puppy Roll stream, but she was hesitant to take on the role again after the pup passed away in 2025.
"To be honest, one of the reasons we really took our time to decide if we were going to do The Puppy Roll this year was precisely that", Bhimani tells Wargamer. "I knew it would be a very emotional thing, and I wasn't sure I was ready for that since it happened so suddenly."
"But Charley's legacy was love and joy and laughter, and The Puppy Roll came out of that", she explains. "It's what he brought to the world and my world, among so many other things that he gave to us. So, once he passed, it was almost a no-brainer that we would want to continue this one way or another, no matter what…and it felt like a really special way to honor him, for his literal story to continue."
Bhimani says that, in playing as Charley, "my goal is to live in the joy that was him, not to live in the sadness of him not being here". "And really, that's kind of our goal through this whole process of letting him go."
The Puppy Roll's world, Doggo, already has ways to honor departed friends. Noodle and Sully are two examples of this. "We have accounted for our beloved animals who are no longer with us on this material plane, and that is a big part of why the lore is what it is, because they never really leave us completely, even if they're no longer here physically."
While there will be bittersweet moments, The Puppy Roll 2 is still a joyous occasion. "I am a relatively new DM", Bhimani says, "and my greatest joy in DM'ing is watching my friends experience joy and laughter and knowing that I could be a part of providing that for them". "Just being able to sit there for a nice, long chunk of time and laugh and joke and watch them be adorable and chaotic…it's something that all of our hearts need." "It's plenty of fun to play this game, but doing it for this particular cause…and giving Charley a voice in the world even after he's not with us here…makes it so much more special."
That cause is fundraising for Petco Love. Last year, The Puppy Roll raised over $40,000 for the animal welfare charity - a number Bhimani hopes to beat with the sequel stream. "In general, the cause of animal rescue and adoption and providing for their welfare is so dear to my heart because Charley was and is a huge part of who I am", Bhimani says.
"Loving him and feeling his love in return changed my life, and I can't imagine how painful it would be if he had been lost or if we hadn't had the resources to do everything in our power to help him." "The efforts that Petco Love makes to help animal rescue and adoption efforts are so worthy of our attention", she adds.
"They do incredible work all over the country. They did incredible work during the natural disasters we experienced already this year and in years prior. They have incredible adoption events that help thousands of pets find their forever homes… they do so much and help so many organizations who may not have the resources they need in their area." "I just have a very deep heart space for them", Bhimani says.
The Puppy Roll 2: The Rise of Gato will air on Bhimani's YouTube channel on October 20 at 6pm PT. For more on actual play, here's our recent interview with the cast of Critical Role campaign 4, as well as our complete guide to DnD races. Or, if you'd like to tell us what class your pet would be, hit us up in the Wargamer Discord.