D&D General D&D Live Play Dimension 20 At Madison Square Garden

Popular Dungeons & Dragons livestream Dimension 20 will be appearing live at New York's famous Madison Square Garden next year.

The one-night-only game will take place on January 24th 2025, and will be called Gauntlet at the Garden. It will feature six of the series' regular cast--Emily Axford, Ally Beardsley, Brian Murphy, Zac Oyama, Siobhan Thompson, and Lou Wilson, with Brendan Lee Mulligan as the GM. Tickets will go on sale this Friday.

Madison Square Garden is a multi-purpose arena in New York and has a capacity of about 20,000 people. Last year, Critical Role played Wembley Arena in London.

 

[Reynard]

I think it is clear in some of the larger APs (D20, CR) that there is definitely discussion between player and DM about direction and character arc, which is definitely not the same thing as being "scripted" and is actually pretty solid practice for the kinds of narrative-based games that work well for live-play but is pretty anathema to kinds of groggy old-school "no metagaming" crowd that are least inclined to be interested in live play in the first place.

It's a good practice for bog standard D&D and has been for at least 40 years. Hell, a players choice of PC is a discussion with the GM about direction.

 

[Mannahnin]

It's a good practice for bog standard D&D and has been for at least 40 years. Hell, a players choice of PC is a discussion with the GM about direction.

Agreed. I think this is more a difference of degree and not of kind.

And I've certainly watched a number of streams which have lower production values and are almost indistinguishable from my home games or online games I've played in.

I'm also one who has trouble getting into CR, but I've watched some shorter games in their entirety and enjoyed them, especially if the group is playing a game or module that I'd like to run and it gives me a chance to see how it plays, learn the material better, and see how another GM tweaks or adds to it. I've done this with Tomb of the Serpent Kings, Castle Amber, and Dyson's Delve, for three I've run, and with Through Ultan's Door and The Tomb of Ra-Hotep, for a couple I haven't gotten to run yet. In each case watching a module played gave me greater insight as well as some entertainment.

 

[Baron Opal II]

They are a modern improv version of the old-style radio plays, for RPG fans.

I never considered that. I think that's an excellent observation, and tracks with how I felt listening to said radio shows.
On point!

 

[Morrus]

I could not agree more with the critiques I've read so far.

When I want to play D&D, I don't want to be a spectator. I want to run a character or be the DM. I appreciate the contributions of talented voice actors and professional Dungeon Masters. I also admire the editing, the special effects, and the music scores that help enhance the mood of play.

However, I have tried again and again to watch D&D played by other people. I feel like an outsider. I feel like a voyeur. It's like watching an author write a book, or spying on a group of producers working on a movie script.

BTW: I also never watch the "behind the scenes" or the "making of" a movie, TV series, etc. I want my disbelief to be suspended.

Just my two cents. I'm an old fart.

Thanks,
- Dr. Bull

That’s not a critique. It’s a preference.

I don’t want to watch football. Lots of people do. Whether I want to watch football or you want to watch an RPG aren’t really all that interesting to anybody other than you or me, respectively.

I also don’t watch cricket, opera, or rap music. All of these things remain valid, popular events, however.