Dreaddisease
First Post
On TV we have Xena, we have Herucles, we have the whole Gene Roddenberry spin-offs, we have Smallville, we have the Beastmaster, we have Buffy, we have Lost World, we have Charmed, we have plenty of others that I cannot think of. So why are we still missing a D&D based show? I ask this question seriously.
Technology is at a high enough level to do a show of this proportion, and even if it wasn't there can be enough other stuff to make it interesting. There are cheap places to film, plenty of actors out there and story lines galore. So what would it take to make it succeed? I hope by answering some questions here, maybe, just maybe there will be a spark out there and we, our community, can make this happen.
A story non-RPG people will appreciate & still based on generic D&D information.
The idea here is to have something that is watchable even without knowledge of the game. Use a story line that is common enough through the gaming community so that people can relate (i.e. stay away from templates, psionics, unfamiliar monsters, etc.). The promotion of the show can easily keep away from referencing to the sub-culture that we are apart of, as well as keeping the title of the show ambiguous such as "The Campaigns" or "An Adventure". Attract both sexes with romantic sub-plots for women (keep it clean and very slow paced) and action for men and have a mixed group of male and females, with a common respect for both sides, even if the world is male dominated. Stick to the core rules, if only to keep the behind the scenes aspect something that all D&D fans can easily relate to. Keep an online character sheet of all the main characters, show level advancements and skill & feats & spells used in each episode. Keep the world simple, maybe a frontier type adventure to start with just so its easy to relate to.
Cheap & Easy
Xena and Hercules were both filmed in New Zealand for budget purposes. A cheap location, open location is essential. The best reason to start in a frontier setting is to use small sets and few extras. Hire No-name actors, use lots of cheap extras. Stick with costume monsters at the beginning of the show before moving on to digital or animatronics. Battles should be simple, but don't skimp on showing the intensity. Remember, 1 - 5 levels are very simple. Stick with that and the audience won't feel to overwhelmed. Spend time explaining things to the audience, as the characters explain it to each other. Simplify each concept (just not the Star Trek:TNG way) for the intended audience.
aside - My wife and I always joke about the Star Trek: TNG Far Point Station episode when they explain a technological and hypothetic subject and they have to simplify it down, Riker says: Like giving a baby sour milk, he will stop sucking.
Know What we Want
Harder and harder every year is the expectation of audiences. When you think they want more thought provoking TV, they will turn around and watch some stupid show instead. and vice versa. The key is to stradle the line.
Help the audience relate
Use a character to narrate what is happening. Use the wizard. Why? The wizard is the hardest class to straight out accept for the audience, so force them to see it through his eyes, and use the narration to explain the more difficult subjects. I hope that made sense. Narrate at the beginning and end of the episode, even if there seems to be no point, just to catch the viewers up. Andromeda and Stargate SG1 are both notorious for getting very confusing quickly in their storylines, yet they make little effort to explain what is going on. Don't punish the audience for missing the key episode where the plot suddenly changed.
Party size, party organization
7, why seven? Well you can introduce seven individuals in one show, sitcoms do it all the time. Base classes for the organization? Bard, Rogue, Cleric, Ranger, Fighter (or Paladin) Wizard & Barbarian. Two women, five men. No multiclassing & stick to the most common spells (at least to start). The one variant rule I would use for the show would be spell points. Unless someone can come up with a usable explanation as to why a Wizard who just cast Magic Missile has to cast a different 1st level spell than because he didn't memorize it twice. Believe me this will seem odd to an audience.
Cheese
Keep the cheese. Spread it around in the right areas, and acknowledge it accordingly. It is impossible to have a potential cult favorite without it. Just keep it out of the intense moments, even if it means the characters don't speak. Cheese can be used to lighten the mood in the program as well as a inside joke type thing.
Everything else I left out
Special effects are a hard thing to get down, just start imagining the various spells. Color spray, Silent Image, Fireball (how do you show fire for a split second without blinding the audience or violating reason when a rogue evades and has no damage even though they are within the blast radius?), magic weapon. Spend the money here and everyone will appreciate it, especially me. Use old English. Use old fashioned values. Stay away from political issues. Like when a bear that attacks the party and dies it can be 'appreciated' by the ranger in a native-American way, but don't berate the audience with some sappy ritual or long message about animal rights. If a decision or course of the campaign has a morale issue, don't make it the highlight, and don't have it directly relational to ethical and morale issue we have today (i.e. abortion). I think whether or not you believe in 'old fashion' values or social norms, you should have a show based in a medieval setting, use medieval values.
Well that is all I have to say now. I have a storyline already in mind but I am still unsure how universal it could be.
If any studio execs read this and are very very interested, just ICQ me how much I would make and my budget. My family and I are willing to relocate to New Zealand. hehe.
Technology is at a high enough level to do a show of this proportion, and even if it wasn't there can be enough other stuff to make it interesting. There are cheap places to film, plenty of actors out there and story lines galore. So what would it take to make it succeed? I hope by answering some questions here, maybe, just maybe there will be a spark out there and we, our community, can make this happen.
A story non-RPG people will appreciate & still based on generic D&D information.
The idea here is to have something that is watchable even without knowledge of the game. Use a story line that is common enough through the gaming community so that people can relate (i.e. stay away from templates, psionics, unfamiliar monsters, etc.). The promotion of the show can easily keep away from referencing to the sub-culture that we are apart of, as well as keeping the title of the show ambiguous such as "The Campaigns" or "An Adventure". Attract both sexes with romantic sub-plots for women (keep it clean and very slow paced) and action for men and have a mixed group of male and females, with a common respect for both sides, even if the world is male dominated. Stick to the core rules, if only to keep the behind the scenes aspect something that all D&D fans can easily relate to. Keep an online character sheet of all the main characters, show level advancements and skill & feats & spells used in each episode. Keep the world simple, maybe a frontier type adventure to start with just so its easy to relate to.
Cheap & Easy
Xena and Hercules were both filmed in New Zealand for budget purposes. A cheap location, open location is essential. The best reason to start in a frontier setting is to use small sets and few extras. Hire No-name actors, use lots of cheap extras. Stick with costume monsters at the beginning of the show before moving on to digital or animatronics. Battles should be simple, but don't skimp on showing the intensity. Remember, 1 - 5 levels are very simple. Stick with that and the audience won't feel to overwhelmed. Spend time explaining things to the audience, as the characters explain it to each other. Simplify each concept (just not the Star Trek:TNG way) for the intended audience.
aside - My wife and I always joke about the Star Trek: TNG Far Point Station episode when they explain a technological and hypothetic subject and they have to simplify it down, Riker says: Like giving a baby sour milk, he will stop sucking.
Know What we Want
Harder and harder every year is the expectation of audiences. When you think they want more thought provoking TV, they will turn around and watch some stupid show instead. and vice versa. The key is to stradle the line.
Help the audience relate
Use a character to narrate what is happening. Use the wizard. Why? The wizard is the hardest class to straight out accept for the audience, so force them to see it through his eyes, and use the narration to explain the more difficult subjects. I hope that made sense. Narrate at the beginning and end of the episode, even if there seems to be no point, just to catch the viewers up. Andromeda and Stargate SG1 are both notorious for getting very confusing quickly in their storylines, yet they make little effort to explain what is going on. Don't punish the audience for missing the key episode where the plot suddenly changed.
Party size, party organization
7, why seven? Well you can introduce seven individuals in one show, sitcoms do it all the time. Base classes for the organization? Bard, Rogue, Cleric, Ranger, Fighter (or Paladin) Wizard & Barbarian. Two women, five men. No multiclassing & stick to the most common spells (at least to start). The one variant rule I would use for the show would be spell points. Unless someone can come up with a usable explanation as to why a Wizard who just cast Magic Missile has to cast a different 1st level spell than because he didn't memorize it twice. Believe me this will seem odd to an audience.
Cheese
Keep the cheese. Spread it around in the right areas, and acknowledge it accordingly. It is impossible to have a potential cult favorite without it. Just keep it out of the intense moments, even if it means the characters don't speak. Cheese can be used to lighten the mood in the program as well as a inside joke type thing.
Everything else I left out
Special effects are a hard thing to get down, just start imagining the various spells. Color spray, Silent Image, Fireball (how do you show fire for a split second without blinding the audience or violating reason when a rogue evades and has no damage even though they are within the blast radius?), magic weapon. Spend the money here and everyone will appreciate it, especially me. Use old English. Use old fashioned values. Stay away from political issues. Like when a bear that attacks the party and dies it can be 'appreciated' by the ranger in a native-American way, but don't berate the audience with some sappy ritual or long message about animal rights. If a decision or course of the campaign has a morale issue, don't make it the highlight, and don't have it directly relational to ethical and morale issue we have today (i.e. abortion). I think whether or not you believe in 'old fashion' values or social norms, you should have a show based in a medieval setting, use medieval values.
Well that is all I have to say now. I have a storyline already in mind but I am still unsure how universal it could be.
If any studio execs read this and are very very interested, just ICQ me how much I would make and my budget. My family and I are willing to relocate to New Zealand. hehe.
