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.

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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]​

 

[Jhaelen]

Cool! This definitely has the potential to be awesome.

 

[dbm]

Well, we made it to post 7 until someone made this about a woman playing D&D.

I suppose that's something.

Given that the official press release says: “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” I think that it’s at least part of the point for the creators...

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Sounds exciting! Though, I hope the show length is two hours or under. I really can't spare the time for those dang four hour streaming shows.

 

[Henry]

It's bad that I'm happy it's become common for women to play? Or that I wish we had some women playing in our group?

Nothing wrong with being happy that females are increasingly part of the hobby -- The more different people of all walks of life join the hobby, the more I find out the cool perspectives that I have been missing. The article people were touting this year that talk about the phenomenal growth of the player base for D&D to ~15 million people, also had figures that 40% of the total player base is now women. That is an ENORMOUS change from even back in D&D's heyday in the early 80s, when maybe 10% of the player base was female (if that). Lisa Stevens in her con chats tells of being treated like someone spotted a cryptid during her first GenCon. "Is that... a GIRL??"

Much as I want it to be the "new normal", by which I mean so pervasive that people forget it in conversation, it takes at least a generation or two to become "normal", and it's only been 5 or 6 years that the numbers have increased this dramatically, so people are going to comment on it. Now once it stays this way for a good 10 years more, I doubt it will barely register. Ask a 25 year old frequent flyer versus a 50-year old frequent flyer to describe their plane flights and see what I mean.

 

[Jester David]

She was amazing on Critical Role last night, which certainly made me more excited for this.

 

[jaycrockett]

For whatever reason I can't watch live role playing games on video. I do enjoy the occasional podcast. I'll be interested to see if this brings any innovations to the format.

 

[pogre]

Although I do not enjoy watching other people play D&D - even talented actors like this - I recognize its importance to the game.

I am a high school teacher and run an after school D&D club. We have around 30 kids who show up consistently. Almost half of the kids are girls. Most of those girls came to the game from streamed content. I think it is particularly important to have female role models in these shows.

 

[Mercurius]

Well, we made it to post 7 until someone made this about a woman playing D&D.

I suppose that's something.

And we made it to post 8 until someone negatively spun something rather innocuous that someone else said.

 

[Stilvan]

Although I do not enjoy watching other people play D&D - even talented actors like this - I recognize its importance to the game.

Yup same here - in my case I can't get past ancient social conditioning around the RPG hobby. So I'll never watch but I'm super glad she's doing this.

 

[schnee]

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.