Wizards of the Coast launches official Dungeons & Dragons Actual Play show

Wizards of the Coast is getting back into the Actual Play game. Today, Wizards announced via Variety that they are launching a new Actual Play show called Dungeon Masters, starring Jasmine Bhullar as the Dungeon Master along with players Mayanna Berrin, Christian Navarro, Neil Newbon and Devora Wilde. Wilde and Newbon are veterans of Baldur's Gate 3, a smash hit for the Dungeons & Dragons IP. However, both actors will be playing new characters and not their Baldur's Gate 3 characters.

Of note is that the show will feature "official, unreleased D&D content" which will be put up for sale on D&D Beyond following every episode. The first arc takes place in Ravenloft and will feature content from Ravenloft: The Horrors Within. New episodes will be released weekly on YouTube, starting on April 22nd.

Wizards of the Coast previously produced several official D&D Actual Play series, including Dice, Camera, Action and Force Grey. Dice, Camera, Action was their flagship D&D program for years until it unceremoniously ended due to a scandal involving two of its players.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yes because seeing that AP's are scripted are JUST like people denying scientific fact. Maybe the protests are too much. Earth Being Round is undeniable. Vaccines working undeniable. Landing on the moon undeniable.

APs being scripted is preposterous.

The very minor thing of AP's being scripted? Entirely Plausible.

Not remotely.

I used to defend WWE when i was in middle school because enjoying it relied on my believing it was real. I haven't been into Wrestling since.

I never believed wrestling was "real" except maybe as a little kid who barely even understood what i was seeing.
As a middle schooler? Undertaker does magic. point being, it being real doesnt matter to me at all. If APs were scripted they would still be just as fun, just as great stories, and just as good for showing potential players how the game works.

I mean a literal tutorial is heavily scripted. Does thst make it a bad introduction? Very obviously not.

The Players of these headliner AP's barely know the rules. I haven't watched one except for the 1st season of Vox Machina in the last 4 years. Maybe they changed, but I'm not about to suggest that AP's are a good source for new players to understand how the game works.

I mean this with respect. You are speaking from ignorance. This isnt true of any AP i can think of except campaign 1 of critical roll.

Season 1 of dimension20 has multiple players with limited experience and one complete newbie, but even they actively get the rules down over the course of the show to the point of now pulling off wild hijinks the DM doesnt see coming. Ya know...like a home game.

 

[AlViking]

Not speaking any specific AP, but I would not be surprised if some of them have "scripted" moments -- in the same way, some campaigns have "scripted" moments because players and GMs decide they want to hit certain beats or explore certain stories. is it "scripted" if I ask my Gm to include my estranged father as an NPC in the game because I think that would make for a fun and interesting thing to explore in game? Is it "scripted" if the GM puts the McGuffin in a dungeon and the PCs have to go there to get it?

If I'm running a linear module that assumes specific decision points and events, is that scripted? Is it scripted if a player comes to me and says "I'd like X to happen to my character, can you introduce something to the game to justify it?" I've had people that wanted to do a different character but wanted to go out in a blaze of glory, I've had players who wanted to have reasons to multi-class. These things happen in home games but I'm not telling people what to say, I don't have pre-written dialog for the PCs.

 

[Mournblade94]

So why doesn't a single script exist?
How hasn't a single script been left behind at a venue similar how to musician contracts with absurd riders get made public?
How hasn't a single disgruntled former employee not leaked a single script?

I didn't look not did I care enough to look. I'm not combing the internet to find things like this. I didn't know that musicians contracts were left behind at any venue nor do I see how its vaguely a problem if someone found one. You know how much someone is being paid? Okeydoke. It seemed obvious to me and I'm not looking to take down some institution by proving the fraud of AP's or something. Lack of evidence is not evidence. And I know how secrets work, I was a cryptologist with the navy.

 

[AlViking]

I never viewed as if they were hiding it at all. Its like an open secret that nobody cares about. If they're making millions and selling out stadiums it DOESN'T matter if its scripted. Its making money like any other performace. I honestly didn't think people that watched it even cared if it was scripted one way or the other, they're there for the show not the game. There's no crime in it being scripted. I don't get into it because it very much looked scripted to me and I see nothing to convince me otherwise.

So when they claim that their show is not scripted or when some player talks about being surprised at some event that happened, they're just lying?

 

[bedir than]

I didn't look not did I care enough to look. I'm not combing the internet to find things like this. I didn't know that musicians contracts were left behind at any venue nor do I see how its vaguely a problem if someone found one. You know how much someone is being paid? Okeydoke. It seemed obvious to me and I'm not looking to take down some institution by proving the fraud of AP's or something. Lack of evidence is not evidence. And I know how secrets work, I was a cryptologist with the navy.

98G here! Hello.

So you know that the absence of evidence doesn't prove something -- like claiming that all APs are scripted without showing evidence.

I am surprised that you have never heard the tales of musicians who demand M&Ms with no brown or only brown. Or Diet Pepsi at a Coke venue. Or the morning paper from that city. These are common tales that have been told and proven with evidence for decades.

 

[Mournblade94]

I never believed wrestling was "real" except maybe as a little kid who barely even understood what i was seeing.
As a middle schooler? Undertaker does magic. point being, it being real doesnt matter to me at all. If APs were scripted they would still be just as fun, just as great stories, and just as good for showing potential players how the game works.

I mean a literal tutorial is heavily scripted. Does thst make it a bad introduction? Very obviously not.

As I said above it doesn't matter to me if it is scripted. If people think its fun that's the purpose of the thing.
Its my opinion from what I've seen that I wouldn't send a new player to an AP for information on how the game is played. I very well may be coming from a point of ignorance but I'm not going around blasting AP's in venues where it even matters. As it often happens this sight is pretty much the only place this sort of topic even comes up in my life so I talk about my feelings on the matter. A few of the people I game with are into it and they know I'm not so they don't talk about it with me. They do agree with me though they wouldn't send new players to learn a game there. Others are obviously going to disagree.

 

[Mournblade94]

98G here! Hello.

Nice! I wasn't a linguist I was a wave tech than my job was phased out after the soviet collapse and I became a code receiver. In navy terms it was CTT then CTR. 98G I think would be CTL in Navy rating. I was actually stationed on an Army Base in Okinawa. Or that's where my barracks were, we worked in the Navy Elephant cage about a mile away. Its no longer there

So you know that the absence of evidence doesn't prove something -- like claiming that all APs are scripted without showing evidence.

I gave an opinion. I did not claim a fact. You claimed a fact and used lack of evidence as a reasoning. I just simply replied that's not enough to change my opinion on the matter. Everyone's telling me I'm wrong, maybe I am. But I'm not going to dedicate 3 hours of my time per episode too go and try to prove myself right by trying to watch something that doesn't really entertain me. So I'll concede. I'm not convinced but I'll shut up about it here.

I am surprised that you have never heard the tales of musicians who demand M&Ms with no brown or only brown. Or Diet Pepsi at a Coke venue. Or the morning paper from that city. These are common tales that have been told and proven with evidence for decades.

100% honest I never heard of these situations. They don't sound that scandalous though.

 

[Mournblade94]

So when they claim that their show is not scripted or when some player talks about being surprised at some event that happened, they're just lying?

I didn't know that claim was even made. Honestly I would EXPECT them to say it wasn't scripted to maintain the audience. That doesn't seem far fetched to me. Sony lied about Toby MacGuire being in No Way Home. He turned up in the movie. I don't think Sony was immoral for it. Entertainment businesses lie all the time to keep things under wraps. I don't see the harm.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

If they're making millions and selling out stadiums it DOESN'T matter if its scripted

It doesn’t need to be scripted either. Improv is something all actors do all the time. It’s easier than learning a script.

Learning lines is hard work. Getting into character and staying there is why we pay for those expensive lessons (yes I’ve done a little acting).

 

[nyvinter]

Considering that some new player characters don't get introduced for weeks or guest players don't show up at all because the player's went to a different empire, scripted is highly unlikely. And that's before one take no leaks into consideration or the awful pacing or learning four hours of script every week is not something I've heard anyone doing.

But also I kinda want to know what people think about playing the first Dragonlance modules then? Because those are more scripted than any AP I've seen/heard by parsecs.