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.

 

[Maxperson]

I think they consider the existence of the game an affront to the novels.

Considering he blocked me for assuming that he was running a game, I'd say yes to that.

 

[Azzy]

I think they consider the existence of the game an affront to the novels.

Personally, going by quality, the existence of the novels an affront to the game.

 

[SothFan]

You also have to accept that in the ttrpg community...canon is flexible

Again, I do not care about the game or how it works. I asked questions in several threads about the game and was ignored. People take for granted everyone here plays the games. I did play Magic long ago, but it is a different beast.

They're not arguing over combat rules, the rules are used to adjudicate the results of the combat.

They did twice. Elion in episode 1. Zora/Nora in Side Quest. Not to mention Max arguing over the "snacks" house rule. Nobody has mentioned the "rules lawing" in the episodes, nor discussed the combats in this chat.

you don't seem to actually like the production as a viewer?

I do not like the post production. It is not on screen long enough to read, and there seem to be too few.

commonplace and expected in a home game (which this is acting as)

It is NOT a home game. It is a professionally produced commercial for an upcoming product by the manufacturer (Hasbro) and the chosen marketing company (Fly on the Wall).

Novel continuities are mostly kept separate from the TTRPG, and WotC takes from them what they believe is relevant to their campaign setting or adventure.

This is where the major conflict is coming from and did originally. Maybe this Wes guy is blind to it, or hates Hickman's revolution. Whatever that it, it was a long night of research and the term came up.

But it is coming from the company which should have brand cohesion. If Transformers did this and made Soundwave an Autobot for no reason, and given no explaination, except New Guy wanted to, you would see an uproar.

There was similar controvesry about a book of Dragons with Fizban on it that trued to Marvel all worlds or something thst people did not like. From the discussions I have had about the novels:
Ravenloft, Spellhammer, and Planescape are the ones you can (does not mean you should), stick anything in.
Dark Sun lets nothing in or out.
Realms, Dragonlance, and Grayhawk are semi-protected by their gods.

So why are people not allowed to have their own opinions and MUST agree with the Marveling?

 

[Imaro]

So why are people not allowed to have their own opinions and MUST agree with the Marveling?

People can have an opinion...and opinions can be wrong.

Playing D&D is a hobby and this AP is an example of said hobby... Your opinion is based on the fact its not something else... it's akin to judging a painting for not producing music that pleases you.

 

[Mort]

They did twice. Elion in episode 1. Zora/Nora in Side Quest. Not to mention Max arguing over "snacks" house rule.

When it's quick and the DM adjudicates immediately, I tend to think of that more as rules advocacy vs. argument. But that's a bit of semantics - that I don't think you're interested in perusing.

I do not like the post production. It is not on screen long enough to read, and there seem to be too few.

Interesting, I found it pretty clear. and I suspect it was a quick overlay to not cause distraction, but knowing full well that anyone who was interested can pause it and read it properly. I found that a decent way to handle rules interjections etc., Obviously your millage may vary.

It is NOT a home game. It is a professionally produced commercial for an upcoming product by the manufacturer (Hasbro) and the chosen marketing company (Fly on the Wall).

That's why I say ACTING as a home game. There are quite a few house rules and the DM seems to be encouraged to go her own way on canon etc. - That's what you do in a home game.

So why are people not allowed to have their own opinions and MUST agree with the Marveling?

People certainly are entitled to their own opinions. But since this goes for multiple opinions, disagreement will naturally occur. It's one of the main functions/features of message boards like this one. As long as the disagreements are civil - things are working as intended.

 

[SothFan]

That's why I say ACTING as a home game. There are quite a few house rules and the DM seems to be encouraged to go her own way on canon etc. - That's what you do in a home game.

Yes, you did, but others have stated throughout that this is a home game, not a profession commercial.

I think this one part is wrong. So far from Inza Magdova Kulchevich being a child, "face drawn on the ceiling like a child would draw", to Nedragaard Keep, to Sithicus itself; she is using what is in the new product. The problem I think is Wes is the D&D version of Dan Frasier and Fay Dalton from Magic.

He copied and pasted, or as lead designer allowed his team to do so, earlier content from Knight of the Black Rose, rather than creating a new Domain. This seems to not be his first time with this problem as he was als lead designer when those space monkeys were in that product. He may be a fan of Ravenloft, the novels, but seems not to understand why James Lowder tried to protect Soth as a loan from Dragonlance when he took over from the initial author that wrote a horrible manuscript. Then Lowder later helped fix it by returning Soth to Krynn in Spectre to compliment Summer Flame, 27 years ago to stop this nonsense.

I understand those monkeys were not even from D&D? It seems to be a recurring problem he has, and a failure to design, if all he is doing is copy and pasting others work and just touching up the paint job.

Post production also includes the manual transcript, or if allowed to automated closed captioning, a professional show like this should check it for corrections. Do not leave in name changes that alter the meanings. Solus -> Solace, especially when Solace is a word Soth should have directly reacted to given his background.

 

[Dire Bare]

Personally, going by quality, the existence of the novels an affront to the game.

Grrrrr. I know you are being a bit snarky, but . . . this is one of my pet peeves.

TSR and WotC didn't publish literally hundreds of D&D novels because they were all terrible quality.

Like all fiction, some of them were terrible, some of them were great, and most were . . . okay. Fun, but okay.

 

[bedir than]

He copied and pasted, or as lead designer allowed his team to do so, earlier content from Knight of the Black Rose, rather than creating a new Domain.

You haven't read the material and you're accusing him of plagarism.
Maybe interact with the unreleased book before you accuse someone of an afront.

This seems to not be his first time with this problem as he was als lead designer when those space monkeys were in that product

D&D was very clear about how the space monkeys happened, and it wasn't Wes -- it was Chris Perkins doing final adjustments rather than their standard process.
Your vile hatred of Wes Schneider without reading his material nor studying the issues you accuse him of racism and plagarism.

 

[SothFan]

Maybe interact with the unreleased book before you accuse someone of an afront.

I am interacting with it.

Do you see the logos right there on screen?

 

[nyvinter]

If one is going to accuse Wes Schneider of plagiarism for developing and updating the setting that company own and can do whatever with — Dragonlance and Ravenloft was work for hire, TSR and then WotC own all of it no matter how precious some people might be about it — that would shine some unfortunate light on the initial lifting from the Book of Mormon that's present in DL. Far more so than whatever Wes is doing here, especially when shared world has always been used to describe all of it.