Wendy’s Deserved Better! A Retrospective Look at Feast of Legends RPG

Does anyone else remember that time Critical Role did a special episode sponsored by Wendy’s – yes… THAT Wendy’s? How about this one: do you remember Feast of Legends – the TTRPG made by THAT Wendy’s? For whatever reason, a lot of people in their audience got really up in arms over Critical Role’s stream of this obscure RPG, to the point that the voice actors ended up taking down the video altogether the following day in 2019.

Why all the beef?

As regards this post I’m not interested in the community response and whether it was warranted or Critical Role’s response to the backlash. I’m also not here to discuss Wendy’s as a company. Not exactly insofar as I’m not making any commentary on their ethics as a company. No, what we’re here to look at is far spicier than any of that.

To be clear this post is full of puns and the lighthearted look at Feast of Legends is just something you’ll have to chili out about.

Recently, I’ve been on a kick of looking for obscure, weird or niche RPGs and when I tell you it’s both a gold mine and a rabbit hole, I mean it! My deep dive into this world led me to Wendy’s own RPG embodying obscure, weird and niche to a tee. What I really want to look at today is Feast of Legends itself as a tabletop roleplaying game. Buckle in because I want to explore Wendy’s foray into RPG publishing with Feast of Legends!

A portion of Critical Role’s audience was not happy when the voice actors played Feast of Legends on a stream sponsored by Wendy’s, complete with dinner for all. Critical Role was never a stranger to sponsorships and some of them have been with companies of various sizes and ethics. But something about this particular sponsorship really left the fan base salty.

A lot of the backlash stemmed from accusations Wendy’s wasn’t as ethically upstanding as a lot of Critical Role’s other sponsor companies. What I believe is CR’s effort to do a fun and weird one shot spiraled into a debate about ethical consumption and a shattered many fans’ rose-colored lenses that painted Critical Role as just a bunch of friends at a gaming table, devoid of any aspects of a traditional company.

Critical Role took the video down the next day and issued a response in which they pledged donation of all profits from the stream to a nonprofit organization benefiting farmers. This noble gesture was praised by some, scrutinized by others and eventually, like all internet drama, the affair fell into obscurity. Feast of Legends was all but left in the waste bucket.

I have my theories about reasons for the fan base’s particular distaste for this RPG even beyond those stated, but I want to ask a simple question, one that I think merited asking long before now: does Feast of Legends really deserve the strong backlash? [NERDITOR’S NOTE: We wrote about Feast of Legends when it was released but since that time it appears the free roleplaying game is scrubbed from the internet. Even the game’s creators VMLY&R removed it from their site.] 

Nuggets of greatness

Upon rereading Feast of Legends I feel the game was really well designed. Say what you want about the full-ham goofiness but I kind of love how this RPG refuses to take itself seriously despite the clear mechanical chops behind its development. Whoever designed this thing really put their heart and soul into the project. Bear in mind I have no affiliation with Wendy’s and no insider knowledge behind the development of Feast of Legends.

It really feels like this RPG is a labor of love by someone who happened to work at Wendy’s and probably saw an opportunity to incorporate their hobby into their job in a really inventive way. [NERDITOR’S NOTE: Feast of Legends was developed by VMLY&R, a marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting.]

The genuinely beautiful art developed for this RPG is reason enough to give it a second chance. Someone really put some effort into the development of this game. I genuinely laughed out loud at many of the images in Feast of Legends. Even the detailed thought that went into incorporating fast food elements into fantasy characters had me rolling. Layers upon layers of subtle puns like the Order of the Beef character being a literal beefcake of a man with a bacon necklace.

Feast of Legends is every bit as deliciously weird as it sounds and I’m here for it. If the art isn’t enough to whet your appetite then I would offer the entire menu of mechanics in the RPG as more solid than the frozen beef patties Wendy’s absolutely disdains.

The theme of the adventure provided is deliciously cheeky, as the adventurers face a frozen ice clown hell bent on freezing over all of Freshtovia, the fantasy land of fast food. This representation bears a particular resemblance to *ahem* a certain fast food clown known for his play place mazes and lack of freshness.

Honestly, the whole RPG is worth a look for a good laugh. While I wouldn’t recommend any long form campaigns for this without a lot of homebrew, the fact it’s 100% free doesn’t really make me feel salty about its lack of depth. What’s there is solid. I’d even dare to say good.

Just desserts or a frosty conclusion?

Is Wendy’s a pillar of ethics to to which one can aspire? No less than other fast food chains. Did a bunch of nerdy ass voice actors who play Dungeons & Dragons deserve the frosty response to their first dip into the world of more corporate sponsorships? No.

Whether you even got to watch this silly one shot play out (I did) the fact is there was a weird RPG made by a fast food company and it wasn’t a bad game in and of itself. Reading it might bring a smile to someone’s face, like it did mine, and I can appreciate this.

As for Critical Role they certainly weren’t hurt by this and they’ve continued to grow and evolve as people and as a company. If you’ve never given The Legend of Vox Machina a watch I’d highly recommend it and catching up on any of their streamed games is an absolute treat. On the whole CR have demonstrated themselves to be genuinely decent people who strive for ethical development of their company. Their commitment to charity is noble and good. Their shows are entertaining.

Taking a moment for some personal commentary I think sometimes it’s easy for us as fans to scrutinize public figures through lenses and standards we would never be able to uphold ourselves. We lose a bit of ourselves, forgetting how our comments and criticisms are made to real people. There’s a real person behind the profile picture on social media, reading every word said to them and about them.

I think the best lesson in all of this is a lesson about kindness and compassion. We must remember people deserve to be treated with respect and dignity, even and especially online. Even if you disagree with someone or something they do it’s important to approach every situation with empathy, humility and grace. Critical Role handled the criticism of them in this situation with more of all of these aspects than anyone could or should have expected.

As for Feast of Legends, it’s not really a thing anymore. Wendy’s isn’t an RPG publisher outside of this one brief glimmer and the whole thing is only really accessible on internet archives. If you get the chance I recommend giving this bizarre little RPG a glance through a lens unimpeded by controversy and you might — just maybe — get a chuckle or two out of what you find.

What do you think?

Was this the first you’ve heard about Feast of Legends and Wendy’s foray into RPG publishing? Did you watch this stream from Critical Role live? Whatever your thoughts drop us a comment here. You can also find us on Facebook where we’ve got a large community and lots of great discussions, fun memes and more.

Until next time, stay frosty — but never frozen!

*Featured image — Wendy’s did not skimp on the production of the PDF, with clean layout and design, full-color art, bestiary, a ton of gear and treasure, a really robust adventure with fantastic maps and random tables and guides for continuing adventures beyond the scope of the PDF.

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