Keith Baker and Jenn Ellis working on a The Adventure Zone Tabletop RPG

Details are sparse, but Eberron's Keith Baker and Jenn Ellis are working on a tabletop RPG of The Adventure Zone, based on the popular podcast by the McElroy family.

We’re excited to share that we’re developing a tabletop game with The McElroys based on their popular podcast and NYT #1 selling graphic novels, The Adventure Zone. The game is still in development, so we’re staying hush on details for now ...

The game will be produced by Twotogther Studios.

The Adventure Zone is a humorous podcast based loosely on Dungeons & Dragons featuring Justin, Travis, and Griffin McElroy, and father Clint McElroy.

 

[Gradine]

They ran a few PbtA games as well as a FATE superhero hack as short sessions before deciding which one to follow full time. I think maybe they felt like they did traditional D&D-esque fantasy and wanted to explore different types of stories.

Though I'll say as a fan of D&D and a fan of PbtA that I cannot stand DW.

 

[timbannock]

Though I'll say as a fan of D&D and a fan of PbtA that I cannot stand DW.

Interesting! Not to derail the thread much, but could you sum up a few reasons why?

I loved a lot of Dungeon World, but when I ran it, I found myself immediately -- almost subconsciously -- houseruling several things. So obviously while I liked some bits, there were others that I simply couldn't run as-is. I'd never say I can't stand it, but there are definitely bits that I would never run RAW: as I recall, much of this surrounded gear and spells, but I can't for the life of me recall what exactly they were.

 

[Gradine]

Interesting! Not to derail the thread much, but could you sum up a few reasons why?

I loved a lot of Dungeon World, but when I ran it, I found myself immediately -- almost subconsciously -- houseruling several things. So obviously while I liked some bits, there were others that I simply couldn't run as-is. I'd never say I can't stand it, but there are definitely bits that I would never run RAW: as I recall, much of this surrounded gear and spells, but I can't for the life of me recall what exactly they were.

For me, DW felt like it was being too... gamey, for lack of a better word... for a proper PbtA hack. Like... there was just too much specificity in the moves, gear, spells, etc. Maybe it plays better than it reads (which to be fair is pretty true of a lot of PbtA hacks) but if I want to play D&D I'll play D&D. I guess I just wanted it to be PbtA Fantasy and it's just... not really that.

 

[Parmandur]

They ran a few PbtA games as well as a FATE superhero hack as short sessions before deciding which one to follow full time. I think maybe they felt like they did traditional D&D-esque fantasy and wanted to explore different types of stories.

Though I'll say as a fan of D&D and a fan of PbtA that I cannot stand DW.

I've really only listened to the opening of their PbtA Monster of the Week game, and based on what they said they found 5E pretty rules intensive for their style of play. Also, their pop culture jokes are less fourth wall breaking in a contemporary world.