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RPG Evolution: What Makes a Show "D&D"?
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<blockquote data-quote="jgsugden" data-source="post: 8584031" data-attributes="member: 2629"><p>To me, the elements of a <strong><em><u>D&D</u></em></strong> show are really only three things - but they have never been met in my mind:</p><p></p><p><strong>A Fantasy Setting</strong> - There is a lot of room for interpretation here, but swords and sorcery, without a focus on technology, need to be at the heart of it. </p><p></p><p><strong>Storylines and resolutions that would fit a D&D game - </strong>The storytelling has to feel like it could come from a D&D game. That means it can't have that feeling of a single hand crafting the tale, but it has to have the feel that each main character is contributing to the creativity, and that the whims of the dice guide the story as well. There are a lot of things that take place in traditional novels, movies, tv shows, etc... that only work because the writer controls all the puzzle pieces. Those contrivances and controlled circumstances can't be the norm for a D&D show because in D&D, the DM doesn't control everything. Players and the luck of the dice have a large say. While there are going to be storylines, they have to feel like they're resolved organically and that the storyline itself is sometimes scrambling to keep up with the 'luck of the dice' ortheunexpected actions of a PC. </p><p></p><p>This would preclude a lot of cliche storylines that are often relied upon. Or, to be more accurate, it would preclude them resolving in line with the traditional cliche resolutions. </p><p></p><p>The old D&D cartoon lacked this element. Most things like GoT, LotR, WoT, Witcher, etc... also fail this element. They use traditional storytelling techniques to tell traditional well scripted stories. A good D&D or RPG show could not, in my eyes, rely upon these elements and still be an RPG/D&D show.</p><p></p><p>Legand of Vox Machina fails in this regard to a bit, despite being based upon actual RPG sessions, because they translated the game to work better as a TV show. They, in essence, reduced the 'RPG-ness' of the stories they had created to make them 'work better'on TV. I understand why they did it. I do not think it was a bad choice. However, it reduced the RPG-ness of the tale and made it more traditional storytelling.</p><p></p><p>OBVIOUSLY - this is highly problematic for good storytelling. However, there are a lot of examples of great TV where there wasn't great storytelling. Seinfeld, for example, is about as thin at storytelling as you can get. Despite the lack of story, the strength of the presentation still made for a great show.</p><p></p><p><strong>IP - </strong>It needs to have access to D&D IP to really be a D&D, as opposed to just an RPG, show. Legends of Vox Machina fails this element. They do not have access to the copyrighted God names, we have not seen creatures like Illithid and Beholders that are not open, and we see them avoiding the use of some of the controlled IP names in ppells, etc... (Bigby's Hand, for example). While this element is necessary for me to truly consider it a D&D show, it is absolutely not necessary to make a great fantasy RPG show (like LoVM is).</p><p></p><p>To me, the only realish D&D shows, to date, have been the actual RPG sessions on shows like Critical Role, where they were allowed to use the IP and actually played the games. However, I do not think that is what we mean by a D&D show in this thread. </p><p></p><p>A fabracited example of a good D&D show would be a group of Heroes come together in Waterdeep and are hired to escort a merchant along the Sword Coast, down to Calimsham, then across the land to Cormyr and then on to Thay. As they go, they uncover storyline elements, but they also go off and do side quests. There would be hints they overlook, bad decisions they make, and failures. They would not overcome obstacles because the story demands it - as the story would be more mecurial and random due to luck of the dice and the insanity of the 'players'. The show would have to rely upon great personality and acting to carry the show given the chaotic nature of the storytelling.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="jgsugden, post: 8584031, member: 2629"] To me, the elements of a [B][I][U]D&D[/U][/I][/B] show are really only three things - but they have never been met in my mind: [B]A Fantasy Setting[/B] - There is a lot of room for interpretation here, but swords and sorcery, without a focus on technology, need to be at the heart of it. [B]Storylines and resolutions that would fit a D&D game - [/B]The storytelling has to feel like it could come from a D&D game. That means it can't have that feeling of a single hand crafting the tale, but it has to have the feel that each main character is contributing to the creativity, and that the whims of the dice guide the story as well. There are a lot of things that take place in traditional novels, movies, tv shows, etc... that only work because the writer controls all the puzzle pieces. Those contrivances and controlled circumstances can't be the norm for a D&D show because in D&D, the DM doesn't control everything. Players and the luck of the dice have a large say. While there are going to be storylines, they have to feel like they're resolved organically and that the storyline itself is sometimes scrambling to keep up with the 'luck of the dice' ortheunexpected actions of a PC. This would preclude a lot of cliche storylines that are often relied upon. Or, to be more accurate, it would preclude them resolving in line with the traditional cliche resolutions. The old D&D cartoon lacked this element. Most things like GoT, LotR, WoT, Witcher, etc... also fail this element. They use traditional storytelling techniques to tell traditional well scripted stories. A good D&D or RPG show could not, in my eyes, rely upon these elements and still be an RPG/D&D show. Legand of Vox Machina fails in this regard to a bit, despite being based upon actual RPG sessions, because they translated the game to work better as a TV show. They, in essence, reduced the 'RPG-ness' of the stories they had created to make them 'work better'on TV. I understand why they did it. I do not think it was a bad choice. However, it reduced the RPG-ness of the tale and made it more traditional storytelling. OBVIOUSLY - this is highly problematic for good storytelling. However, there are a lot of examples of great TV where there wasn't great storytelling. Seinfeld, for example, is about as thin at storytelling as you can get. Despite the lack of story, the strength of the presentation still made for a great show. [B]IP - [/B]It needs to have access to D&D IP to really be a D&D, as opposed to just an RPG, show. Legends of Vox Machina fails this element. They do not have access to the copyrighted God names, we have not seen creatures like Illithid and Beholders that are not open, and we see them avoiding the use of some of the controlled IP names in ppells, etc... (Bigby's Hand, for example). While this element is necessary for me to truly consider it a D&D show, it is absolutely not necessary to make a great fantasy RPG show (like LoVM is). To me, the only realish D&D shows, to date, have been the actual RPG sessions on shows like Critical Role, where they were allowed to use the IP and actually played the games. However, I do not think that is what we mean by a D&D show in this thread. A fabracited example of a good D&D show would be a group of Heroes come together in Waterdeep and are hired to escort a merchant along the Sword Coast, down to Calimsham, then across the land to Cormyr and then on to Thay. As they go, they uncover storyline elements, but they also go off and do side quests. There would be hints they overlook, bad decisions they make, and failures. They would not overcome obstacles because the story demands it - as the story would be more mecurial and random due to luck of the dice and the insanity of the 'players'. The show would have to rely upon great personality and acting to carry the show given the chaotic nature of the storytelling. [/QUOTE]
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