Wizards of the Coast launches official Dungeons & Dragons Actual Play show

Wizards of the Coast is getting back into the Actual Play game. Today, Wizards announced via Variety that they are launching a new Actual Play show called Dungeon Masters, starring Jasmine Bhullar as the Dungeon Master along with players Mayanna Berrin, Christian Navarro, Neil Newbon and Devora Wilde. Wilde and Newbon are veterans of Baldur's Gate 3, a smash hit for the Dungeons & Dragons IP. However, both actors will be playing new characters and not their Baldur's Gate 3 characters.

Of note is that the show will feature "official, unreleased D&D content" which will be put up for sale on D&D Beyond following every episode. The first arc takes place in Ravenloft and will feature content from Ravenloft: The Horrors Within. New episodes will be released weekly on YouTube, starting on April 22nd.

Wizards of the Coast previously produced several official D&D Actual Play series, including Dice, Camera, Action and Force Grey. Dice, Camera, Action was their flagship D&D program for years until it unceremoniously ended due to a scandal involving two of its players.

 

[M.L. Martin]

Soth was the highest of the knights. He is being "punished" by Ravenloft and tormented. (This should have been done by the Gods of Krynn, not some upstart novelist who wanted a cool looking piece of artwork who later had to retcon his entire book.)

Here's what happened with Soth: He was essentially written out of the DL line with the Dargaard Keep adventure in DL16 World of Krynn, although that adventure has been ignored by nearly everyone since its publication. When the Ravenloft setting was being launched, a couple of bits and pieces from other settings were incorporated into it--notably Gondegal from the Forgotten Realms, and Lord Soth. (The way things are written in the original Ravenloft box suggest that they might have been just as interested in using the Hot New Setting to pique interest in Dragonlance, which has never been as successful as TSR/WotC needs to justify an ongoing gameline.) When they launched a Ravenloft novel line, Soth's story was a natural choice.

If memory serves, James Lowder did approach Weis & Hickman about getting their input on Knight of the Black Rose, although I don't know many of the details. I do know that Lowder was originally only the editor of the book, and took over when the original author's manuscript was judged unacceptable. He has made it clear that he intended to leave room for Soth to eventually return to Krynn without his Ravenloft presence ever having much impact on Dragonlance, since the Mists play with time and he could have arrived shortly after he left.

The Dragonlance: Fifth Age team did have plans for using Soth in the new age of Krynn; he was intended to play a major role in their draft of what became the War of Souls. When WotC bought TSR, Peter Adkison more or less gave Krynn back to Weis & Hickman and gave them carte blanche, and part of that was Soth's explicit removal from Ravenloft. Unfortunately, as the War of Souls underwent changes, it seems that Soth's role got cut out.

 

[SothFan]

most liked things by almost all that has seen the show, regardless of whether they like it or not

What?

 

[SothFan]

When WotC bought TSR, Peter Adkison more or less gave Krynn back to Weis & Hickman and gave them carte blanche, and part of that was Soth's explicit removal from Ravenloft.

But Dragons of Summer Flame, which removed Soth from Ravenloft and returned him the exact moment he left Krynn was released in 1995.

As I understand it Hasbro bought Wizards in 2000, and Wizards bought TSR in 1998.

Spectre of the Black Rose, 1999, may have been a direct WotC removal, but Hickman and Weis had already removed him 4 years prior.

 

[SothFan]

The fact that you admit you don't play DnD and are a novel-only fan explains a lot about your criticism of the show and why you're so inflexible to others viewpoints

This seems to say that one who does not play the game is not allowed to watch. That would be very silly for a company using this series as an introduction to new potential players, as the Ted tie-in has proven it to be.

I do not have to be flexible in my views of what I watch or do not, based on other people's views of it. I am a free woman with the right to think for myself without having to be given my "approved" opinion by ANY man.

Did you even read either of my reviews of the show to know what my views on it are?

 

[Selas]

This seems to say that one who does not play the game is not allowed to watch. That would be very silly for a company using this series as an introduction to new potential players, as the Ted tie-in has proven it to be.

Not what I said. Anyone is welcomed to watch it--it's why they made it, but you're being overtly critical of every little perceived mistake and are dismissing others opinion when they don't see it the same way.

I do not have to be flexible in my views of what I watch or do not, based on other people's views of it. I am a free woman with the right to think for myself without having to be given my "approved" opinion by ANY man.

Why make this comment? No one even brought this up until now, so please avoid it. We don't need to go down that route.
And for the record, everyone has the right to think for themselves and to their opinion, but that doesn't give them the right to dismiss or belittle others for not having the same...hence, inflexibility.

Did you even read either of my reviews of the show to know what my views on it are?

Yes I did; it's the reason I commented in the first place.

 

[plecostomus]

The prequel episode is a win for enjoyers of Neil Newbon's Doc Brown voice. You can almost hear it evolve throughout the episode towards what it sounds like in the regular show.

 

[SothFan]

Why make this comment? No one even brought this up until now, so please avoid it.

I dismissed no one, but it seems several, more than a few have dismissed my right to an opinion, while few responded to my points about the show, others like yourself have tried to tell me I like Soth to much or am invested in a story I like too much. Seems exactly like telling me the opinion I am approved to have by others.

Where did you respond to my 2 reviews, as opposed to my discussion defending my right to like Soth or review it?

One was on April 25th for the premiere, the other on April 29 or 30 for episode 3. I think I reviewed the Side Quest as well, but its even more advertisement that barely connects to the rest of the show. What points from my reviews did you didagree with?

 

[SothFan]

The prequel episode is a win for enjoyers of Neil Newbon's Doc Brown voice. You can almost hear it evolve throughout the episode towards what it sounds like in the regular show.

Is that who he is doing? I thought it was Jim Carrey.

Yes, you do hear him change it. Maybe 5 minutes of information in it connect to the first episode, but we are still missing the "months" in between. Also Wesly changed and became more, uh, pronounced in her vocalization of her beliefs. Elion it seems was an existung character from another game. Not sure if that is where the Nora thing carries over from or not, because I can not find that game.

 

[Chaltab]

No. It is not the type of thing I enjoy. If I had wanted to do improv theater then I would have taken it in college.

Now who is being dismissive.

And my blank stare at you over this admission has nothing to do with me looking down on you for not playing D&D; I just want you to understand that you are on a D&D forum full of people who play TTRPGs and interact with them in that way. We all have our own table canon may have little or nothing to do with actual canon. If you're approaching this as a book fan, where there is one official storyline and deviation is not brokered, then you're never going to get anywhere. That's not how the TTRPG community interacts with canon.

The official WOTC Actual Play of Curse of Strahd ended with Ireena being accidentally killed by one of the heroes when Strahd tried to take her away on her horse, one PC slowing her aging to watch over her friends graves for 50 years until she could gather the components to resurrect them, and Strahd got turned into a puppet

 

[Selas]

I just want you to understand that you are on a D&D forum full of people who play TTRPGs and interact with them in that way. We all have our own table canon may have little or nothing to do with actual canon. If you're approaching this as a book fan, where there is one official storyline and deviation is not brokered, then you're never going to get anywhere. That's not how the TTRPG community interacts with canon.

That is the crux of the problem; thank you for making it clear