New D&D Show From Daredevil's Deborah Ann Woll

Deborah Ann Woll, who you may remember from Daredevil and True Blood, is creating a weekly show for the corporation which owns Geek & Sundry and Nerdist. "Part procedural, part game, and part graphic adventure", it's based on D&D, with Deborah Ann Woll has both Dungeon Master and storyteller.

​

Here's the full announcement, in all its glory:

Daredevil’s Deborah Ann Woll and Geek & Sundry Team Up to Create RELICS AND RARITIES

An All-New RPG-Based Series Unlike Any Other Premieres Feb. 4, With Episodes Available First on Alpha
LOS ANGELES (Dec. 13, 2018) – Prepare to delve into a fantastic world full of mystery, monsters and murder most foul with RELICS AND RARITIES, an original weekly, episodic series premiering in February 2019 from Geek & Sundry and created in collaboration with Deborah Ann Woll (Daredevil, True Blood).

RELICS AND RARITIES is based on the classic game Dungeons & Dragons. Each episode will premiere first on Alpha – the Legendary-owned subscription service, home to premium content from Geek & Sundry and Nerdist – and promises to be unlike any other RPG series. A first-look teaser of the show can be found here.

Woll, whose creative vision shaped the show, will serve as both Dungeon Master and storyteller on each episode, guiding a cast of adventurers in a race against time to stop an unholy prophecy from coming to fruition. But unlike traditional scripted shows, their actions – and the storyline – depend on the gameplay.

Relics and Rarities

Set in a mysterious curio shop in the sleepy town of Bellbrook, RELICS AND RARITIES combines gripping storytelling, thrilling gameplay, and a dash of the unknown as the cast complete puzzles, fulfill missions, and wield their chosen relics in a way that fans of RPG shows have never seen, and fans who are not familiar with the RPG format can easily step into. Part procedural, part game, and part graphic adventure, the show is sure to ignite the imaginations of fans across genres.

“I’m so excited to finally announce my new show, Relics and Rarities,” Woll said. “We’ve assembled a stellar creative team, along with amazingly intricate set design, props and puzzles, a hilarious and surprising cast – and an original world and campaign of my own creation.” Telegraphing the season’s worth of surprises and special guest appearances, she continued, “You’ll have to watch to see what tricks I have up my sleeve.”

With a core cast that includes Tommy Walker (Daredevil, Henry Danger), Julia Dennis (Lofty Dreams, What Would You Do), Jasmine Bhullar (Starter Kit: Vampire the Masquerade, Twitch’s ThatBronzeGirl) and Xander Jeanneret (King of Nerds, Sagas of Sundry), each episode also features secret celebrity guests, completing unique and compelling missions in the entirely original world that Woll has created.

RELICS AND RARITIES is obsessively watchable and intended as much for lifelong D&D fans as it is for viewers who just love adventure, mystery, and intrigue. “Welcoming fans who have not yet experienced collaborative storytelling is an established mission of Geek & Sundry,” said Legendary Digital Networks (LDN) SVP of Production and Programming, Jason Corey, “and partnering with Deborah Ann Woll has been a dream come true for us. We’re thrilled to be able to elevate and broaden the platform for a female Dungeon Master and to expand the fandom for this unique and exciting genre.” Members of Alpha, LDN’s premium streaming entertainment service, will have access to new episodes before anyone else. Alpha was founded to empower fans to experience programming they love in a unique and customizable way, with fully interactive live channels, high-value on-demand content, exclusive shows, and a host of innovative features. Since its launch in 2016, Alpha has given members unprecedented access to engage directly with on-air personalities and form immersive communities around their passions.


LDN’s Alpha subscription streaming service is the premium of new content from both Geek & Sundry and Nerdist such as Talkin’ Toons, Sagas of Sundry, G&S Painters Guild, Because Science and Bizarre States offering early access to this original content and additional member perks.

[video=youtube;Y-JVxeX6fhY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-JVxeX6fhY[/video]​

 

[zhivik]

Looks like Geek & Sundry is shoring up their roster to cover when Critical Role's contract is up.

They made a fine choice. And I'm very curious to see what she brings.

She's a fantastic GM, and has been playing a long time from what I've heard.

I seriously doubt that Critical Role will not be aired on Alpha after their contract expires. I expect that the terms will change and Critical Role will be also available on their own Twitch channel. What Geek & Sundry are doing is to give their subscribers incentive to stay subscribed and keep watching CR on Alpha, rather than switch completely to CR's Twitch channel.

Anyway, I’m looking foreward to this, Deborah was great on the Stream of Many Eyes, both as a player and storyteller (I'm sorry, as an avid World of Darkness fan, I’ve always preferred “storyteller” over “dungeon master”), so I am sure it will be something worth watching.

 

[Seramus]

I’ve always preferred “storyteller” over “dungeon master”

Storyteller is a much better term, and easier to say in front of strangers. =D

 

[Parmandur]

I seriously doubt that Critical Role will not be aired on Alpha after their contract expires. I expect that the terms will change and Critical Role will be also available on their own Twitch channel. What Geek & Sundry are doing is to give their subscribers incentive to stay subscribed and keep watching CR on Alpha, rather than switch completely to CR's Twitch channel.

Anyway, I’m looking foreward to this, Deborah was great on the Stream of Many Eyes, both as a player and storyteller (I'm sorry, as an avid World of Darkness fan, I’ve always preferred “storyteller” over “dungeon master”), so I am sure it will be something worth watching.

I think they will ccut the cord with G&S entirely when they can. G&S has cleared out their CR merch from their store in a final sale around Thanksgiving.

 

[5ekyu]

I think they will ccut the cord with G&S entirely when they can. G&S has cleared out their CR merch from their store in a final sale around Thanksgiving.

Its fun to speculate but what i expect is for GnS to be the "hosting" site while now CR is "hosting" GnS stream of CritRole.

I do expect all merch that can be called in to be sold thru CR stores

 

[CapnZapp]

The trailer did not show any actual content. (Actually it was the opposite of useful but nevermind)

Is there a video showing Ann Woll as a DM in actual action?

 

[zhivik]

I think they will ccut the cord with G&S entirely when they can. G&S has cleared out their CR merch from their store in a final sale around Thanksgiving.

Well, I am not so sure. I'd say CR have a greater chance of getting more favourable terms from G&S than Twitch (owned by Amazon). As far as I have seen, Twitch collects 50% of all revenues from streamers, and given CR's popularity, they will be able to get a better deal from G&S, though the lack of exclusivity will not help. However, G&S owes its current popularity to a great extent to CR's webcasts, so I am sure they will be very much interested to keep CR, even if they get a lower cut of streaming revenues.

Generally, it is a good idea if CR is broadcast to a broader audience, as I am sure CR has subscribers who are interested in something else than CR. I am afraid I am not one of them at the moment, though I may have a look at the Vampire: The Masquerade stream during the holidays (I don't have time to catch up with regular CR shows at the moment, let alone follow something else). The only reason I can see is if CR get a better-than-usual deal with Twitch (and Amazon), which is also possible, given CR's growing popularity worldwide.

I don't know, I have the impression that the CR cast are still on good terms with the G&S people, so they will probably do their best to stay on Alpha as a third-party production. They can do without G&S, for sure, but I don't believe they will do so unless the terms they get are particularly poor.

 

[zhivik]

The trailer did not show any actual content. (Actually it was the opposite of useful but nevermind)

Is there a video showing Ann Woll as a DM in actual action?

Sure, you can see one here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGfdJW_py7E

It ends somewhat abruptly, but there was a time constraint (90 minutes, I believe), which is pretty taxing even for an experienced storyteller, in my opinion. It is not something extraordinary, but she was fun. And here she is as a player, though the storyteller comparison is not very fair, as the DM here is none other than Matt Mercer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1eIARRGl2LY&t=990s

 

[DEFCON 1]

Last I heard, both Geek and Sundry and Nerdist were owned by the digital wing of Legendary Entertainment and operated under their Project Alpha wing... which means that like with all corporate movie studios the people in charge can and do change on occasion, and when that happens all manner of other changes / cancellations / reworkings can occur. So I have no idea what kind of rules/pressures/changes Legendary and Alpha may have put onto G&S, which in turn may have changed things internally with Critical Role. And thus CritRole made the move out from under the G&S umbrella to open their own studio and make their own additional content. Obviously because the primary CR show is still released under the Project Alpha banner there must be a contract and/or agreement to do so (either for the time being or the long term)... but for everything else the eight CritRole cast must have wanted their own autonomy for the other projects without needing to run things through the G&S/Nerdist/Alpha pipeline.

There could very well be something going on internally over at Alpha, because Kyle Hill also started his own Because Science channel through which his shows also get released in addition to Alpha. So its a safety net to keep the show online if something happens at Alpha at some point which results in cancellations or the stoppage of funding for certain programs if the Legendary board decides to divest themselves of the channels.

 

[darjr]

This is very awesome!

 

[cmad1977]

Won’t watch because I don’t watch people play but.... awesome!!