D&D 5E What is up with the popularity of watching other D&D groups play the game?

[MGibster]

I don't quite get it either. I've watched some Vampire 5th edition games being played but mostly because I wanted to see the rules in action. I suspect part of this might be my age. Not being part of the Youtube generation means I have different preferences when it comes to entertainment. While I'd like to make fun of all the whippersnappers for having different tastes than me, my heart just isn't in it as a lot of the stuff I like is just stupid as hell.

 

[prabe]

Can’t relate to an apology over a game like this. Wtf?

I think apologizing to the fans, who'd come to relate to and identify with the character who died, isn't really different from the showrunner on a TV show doing it. It's plausible that someone only exposed to gaming through CR might not be aware that the characters could die if the players erred (or rolled) badly enough.

It's different from the GM apologizing to the player/s when a character dies, which I agree might not be necessary, especially at a long-term table.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

BTW people watching these things might appreciate if the discussion wouldn't contain spoilers about specific events...

 

[Rikka66]

So I watched relatively little of this stuff.

how much die rolling combat is actually going on in these things? Seemed to be mostly narratives. Surely did not see anyone have to be revived...

As I understand it death was more common in the first campaign. I believe every party member died at some point.

The death requiring the apology occured in the 2nd campaign, at early levels, so you can see how the casual CR fan was a bit more shocked when they didn't have raise dead ready.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I think apologizing to the fans, who'd come to relate to and identify with the character who died, isn't really different from the showrunner on a TV show doing it. It's plausible that someone only exposed to gaming through CR might not be aware that the characters could die if the players erred (or rolled) badly enough.

It's different from the GM apologizing to the player/s when a character dies, which I agree might not be necessary, especially at a long-term table.

I think it speaks to different expectations and cultural factors.

in my mind, live by the sword die by the sword. Things are different now, that’s all.

this is not D&D for me—-personally. Others feel differently. Seems like a Show or story. Which is fine. Just not for me or people I play with.

 

[prabe]

I think it speaks to different expectations and cultural factors.

in my mind, live by the sword die by the sword. Things are different now, that’s all.

this is not D&D for me—-personally. Others feel differently. Seems like a Show or story. Which is fine. Just not for me or people I play with.

Well, as I said, apologizing to the show's fans--who apparently lit him up but good--is different from apologizing to the players.

While I don't apologize when PCs die, I do make an effort to make it clear that it's the NPCs who are out to kill them, not the DM.

 

[not-so-newguy]

The only 'actual play' podcast that I've really enjoyed was Nerd Poker when it was DMed by Sark (first 100 episodes or so). What separated this show from others, IMO, was that the group was mostly professional entertainers and the DM did not pull his punches. There was plenty of humor, character death, and I really did not know what would happen next.

Unfortunately, I can't find those episodes now They're worth a re-listen.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Well, as I said, apologizing to the show's fans--who apparently lit him up but good--is different from apologizing to the players.

While I don't apologize when PCs die, I do make an effort to make it clear that it's the NPCs who are out to kill them, not the DM.

Well, yeah. As dm I root for my players. As player, my friend roots for me. But sh*t happens in a dangerous world story.

the folks lighting Mercer up are not people I would want to play with. They sound like people who want participation trophies.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

D&D voyeurism has gone through the roof, and it's a complete mystery to me. Now for perspective I'm 51 years old and have played D&D for over 40 years, almost exclusively as a DM, so it may be a generational or even an issue of my role in games, but I'm just not sure. I've tried to watch some of these different and inexplicably popular shows and it's quite difficult for me to think of a more insanely boring activity. Why are these so popular? What is entertaining about them? I can't help but feel as though I'm missing something interesting about this activity due to all the attention they have been getting. I LOVE running D&D games, but watching one being run that I'm not involved in is like watching a golf match. Fun to play, abysmal to watch (yet many do to my continued astonishment).

What's up with the popularity of watching sports teams play the game? I honestly don't get why it's so popular, and it seems like everyone besides me shares the opinion that watching sports is something I should care about. I've been forced to watch countless football. basketball, and soccer games, with absolutely no interest in the outcome of any of the games. I truly cannot think of any activity more boring, to the extent that it feels like I'm going mad every minute I sit watching a game. However, it seems like no matter how much I dislike sports, the world doesn't care about my opinion, because they like sports and enjoy watching them so much that they will readily throw money at anything that has the name of their favorite team on it.

The same thing applies to you and the others in the thread expressing the same viewpoint. You don't care for it as much as I don't care for watching sports.

 

[prabe]

the folks lighting Mercer up are not people I would want to play with. They sound like people who want participation trophies.

I think lots of the people lighting him up were people who were fans of the show but not gamers, so I wouldn't expect them to understand how gaming tables work.

The gamers I know who are CR fans tend to react to stuff that happens more as if it were happening at a table they were gaming at.