How would you remake the D&D cartoon?

[GreatLemur]

Okay, so I caught a brainworm from a post by Klaus (the bit at the bottom, anyway), and now I think that what RPGs need right now is a new incarnation of the old Dungeons & Dragons cartoon to lure new blood into the hobby. Between anime, Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings movies, and (of course) World of Warcraft, I think younger teens are primed for fantasy action cartoons. Hell, I'm sure there are loads of them on right now, but this thread is about one particular show: A new Dungeons & Dragons cartoon.

So I'm posing the question to you lot: With an eye towards grabbing the attention of a new generation of gamers--rather than simply making a series you'd think was awesome--how would you create such a show? Would you take the characters and concept of the original show and just update them? Would you create a whole new cast? What kind of D&D setting would it showcase? Would the protagonists be natives of that setting, or a bunch of kids from earth? If they're from earth, would they be searching for a way back home, or would they be going back and forth at will? Which D&D classes would they represent, if any? Would they have game-derived skills and abilities of their own, or would they just wield an array of magic items? Would it be 2D, 3D, or not a cartoon at all?

I've been thinking about this for a while, and I've got some ideas. I'll post them in a little bit. For now, what do you folks think?

 

[Wystan]

I would base a cartoon on the exploits of Karl Cullinan. Earth College Students (RPG Players) tricked by a mage (that was banished to our realm) into transporting themselves ,via a ritual, into the characters they had been playing.

 

[Particle_Man]

If you are trying to attract new players, the "kids from Earth" theme works pretty darn well. I would keep things simple (no multi-classed characters, for example).

Actually, I just had a possibly better idea. You could do the "one kid from Earth" whose spirit gets slammed into Redgar's body, and have him meet and adventure with the D&D Iconics (hey might as well work that IP, baby!).

 

[DM_Jeff]

Individual episodes, set in Greyhawk.

I'd feature new stories with every 22-minute show, and pick 4 of the base PHB iconic characters to tackle the quest.

The next show might feature one or two from the last show, or a whole new set of 4, whatever would help tell a good story.

You'd eventually get to know all the iconic characters and know their quirks and the like.

-DM Jeff

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

I like the "one kid from Earth" idea, with the rest of the main cast being stereotypical members of the PHB races and classes. Have the "one kid" wind up in Greyhawk and, because he is the focus of some sort of prophecy, the iconic types are tasked with protecting him as he makes his way toward some place of great significance (that happens to be a location from one of the great 1e adventures), with side treks, mishaps and adventures along the way.

Make the kid old enough to have an awkward romantic interest, and have him learn how to be one of the base classes (and simulating leveling as he gains more power throughout the show's run).

Make sure the show hits a few of the iconic Greyhawk dungeon locations (for the Dungeons) and have at least one BBEG be a chromatic dragon, and one ally be a metallic dragon (for the Dragons).

Each episode gets the "one kid" and his allies closer to their goal, but they have little side adventures and encounters that are resolved within the episode's 22 minutes, with a few episodes focusing entirely on "continuity" stories until the big cliffhanger at the end of the 1st season, where-in our hero must choose between defeating the BBEG or going home.

That's my take.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

My main rework would be to not have each character be a one-trick pony based on a single magic item with one effect. Heck, I probably wouldn't start them with magical items at all, let them discover some as they go along, just like PCs do. Let them use some skills that they surprise themselves by suddenly having, and use those skills and creativity to overcome the obstacles in their way.

If the target audience is still kids in the 10-year old range, then I would continue to avoid having them kill (no sense in getting people all crazy about that in a cartoon for kids), but I would have them have to actually fight a little more than they did in the original, just with subdual, rather than death being the consequence.

 

[bento]

I'd use the three kids from the Knights of the Silver Dragon series that WoTC owns. I think the "gotta get home" shtick gets real old. Having the kids at home in the setting would help ground them in the world.

One goal of the show would be to show how similar the characters are to kids today. Look at the popularity of Avatar - those kids are at home in their setting, and if anything, helps create new sub-plots.

 

[LoneWolf23]

I agree with Thornir's ideas. Perhaps the young heroes could be equipped with magic "Merciful" weapons which only stun living creatures. Or go the Samurai Jack route and make all of the Evil Overlord's legions Undead and Constructs, or Outsiders that fade away when "killed". Although having the occasional Goblin and Orc Hordes getting defeated nonlethally would go a long way towards making D&D look less sociopathic, since it would mean victory doesn't always mean slaughtering your enemies, just defeating them.

 

[Obrysii]

I think Dungeons and Dragons could also warrant a more mature show--probably an anime--as well. Harder moral decisions, and more mature characters, too.

There's a lot of potential with the key concepts of D&D for animation.

 

[Keldryn]

The most cost-effective solution: license and re-dub (with better voice actors) Record of Lodoss War and call it Dungeons & Dragons: Record of Lodoss War or something like that.

Come on, like Parn in the first few episodes doesn't just scream "I'm a first-level Fighter!!!"