D&D General Check Out This D&D Documentary Courtesy of TIME Studios

Courtesy of TIME Studios you can watch a 40-minute documentary about the history of Dungeons & Dragons. Adventure Never Ends, which supports the charities Game to Grow and Aspiring Youth, looks at the tabletop roleplaying community, the stigma that has historically been associated with D&D, along with programs which use roleplaying for therapeutic purposes.

The documentary features Matthew Lillard (Scream, Scooby Doo), Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood, Daredevil) and Liam O'Brien (Critical Role).

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[Dire Bare]

A nice, short documentary.

If you are a long-term and/or hardcore D&D player . . . probably not much new here. This was not meant for you, but rather for a more general audience. But, as a long-term, hardcore D&D fan, there was plenty new for me, and plenty to enjoy.

I appreciated the focus on GaryCon, which is a corner of the hobby I don't know much about. I appreciated hearing Luke Gygax talk about the impact of his father's work, on his own life, and on the lives of others. I got a kick of seeing lots of familiar faces in the background during the GaryCon scenes, but who were not featured in the documentary.

I also appreciated the focus on using D&D as therapy for troubled teens on the spectrum. I really enjoyed this part and learning about how this group of therapists were having success using D&D as therapy for kids. I enjoyed not just hearing from the therapists, but also from the kids themselves!! This was a nice contrast to the various artists who talked about their experiences when younger with the "Satanic Panic", something I experienced as well.

I enjoyed how the film discussed the very recent history of the game and hobby, post-pandemic and the rise of streaming. I enjoyed listening to the stories of the various streaming artists, some of whom I was familiar with, some of whom I was not. I enjoyed not only their discussions about their streaming, but how D&D has impacted their lives and families outside of what gets live-streamed.

The complaints above that this documentary isn't a real documentary, or is an advertisement for the actors featured . . . . . I'm having a hard time believing you actually watched the video! Or paid any attention while you did! Different strokes and all, I suppose. But the toxic negativity rife in this fandom does get tiring at times.

 

[bedir than]

This introduction to D&D documentary doesn't add anything to my extensive knowledge of D&D that I've built reading about and playing the game for decades.

Yes, of course not. Time, the news and magazine company, isn't presenting this doc to inform us. It's created the documentary to inform the 90%+ of their audience that have never experienced the game

 

[CM]

Not sure what's with the hostility... it seems like a quite good explainer for people who aren't familiar with the game or its history.

 

[Neal Freeman]

I tend to be hostile towards marketing materials posing as documentaries.

 

[GiantKitteness]

It's clearly aimed at people who aren't already into D&D or RPGs. But if I was a newcomer, I'd be curious about how RPGs actually work, and the video never demystifies that (basic stuff like what are the dice for, what are the participants supposed to do...?). After watching that, I'd probably think it's a game where you have to wear a costume...

They spend time promoting the idea that watching actual plays demystifies rpgs. I suppose that is true a bit.

 

[GiantKitteness]

Courtesy of TIME Studios you can watch a 40-minute documentary about the history of Dungeons & Dragons. Adventure Never Ends, which supports the charities Game to Grow and Aspiring Youth, looks at the tabletop roleplaying community, the stigma that has historically been associated with D&D, along with programs which use roleplaying for therapeutic purposes.

The documentary features Matthew Lillard (Scream, Scooby Doo), Deborah Ann Woll (True Blood, Daredevil) and Liam O'Brien (Critical Role).

​

There is a very obvious storyline to this short and very social-facing doco that some posters here are missing: the very strong message of inclusivity for erstwhile misfits, paralleling with a gentle biography of Mr. Gygax, which paint him as a patron saint of shy awkward geeks.

Highlighted by growing games (I think that’s the name), a single example of the many groups oriented towards enriching the lives of young people and especially neurodivergent kids.

As others have pointed out, this is Time mag, they probably pushed the satanic (praise him) panic in the ‘80’s; now it’s fashionable to puff piece on D&D as a social good. They are not interested in explaining complex elements of any of the things they touch on. It’s not that style of documentary.