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.

 

[SothFan]

as detailed in the Ben Riggs book,

If that is the same person mentioned here*, who insinuates everyone from back then, includig yourself just for working at TSR, was sexist, racist, etc; because he seemingly failed to do full research as this man did, then I have quite a few explitive nouns for him. He is a worse shock jock that Howard Stern and just trading on lies and a web he can no longer untangle.

But I will take your word for it.

*

 

[mamba]

As I understand, Ravenloft: The Horror's Within, has been in production since early 2025, way before Weis and Hickman announced that they're working again alongside WotC for new Dragonlance material, and before the new trio of novels was announced back in March. I'd be shocked if Soth's inclusion in the new campaign book wasn't part of the talks.

Given that the new DL novels take place way before the cataclysm and Lord Soth’s existence and the campaign book is for Ravenloft rather than DL, I doubt he was much of a topic

 

[Selas]

Given that the new DL novels take place way before the cataclysm and Lord Soth’s existence and the campaign book is for Ravenloft rather than DL, I doubt he was much of a topic

I didn't mean with regards to the new novels, but of Soth's inclusion in the campaign book as a talking point during the discussions.

 

[SothFan]

Few gripes and almost became a Crem fan until he made the pun.

"The Elvish ruin for ask", was not a transcription error, but what the DM actually said. You really should study words before using them. I imagine she meant "rune". As a video game voice actor, she should have known better.

Not much to talk about with an hour of combat. Lot of exposition, similar problems with the overlays being too fast.

Only way I could identify any credit given for the novel contents used was "Special Thanks" section, given to Penguin Random House.

 

[JLowder]

Only way I could identify any credit given for the novel contents used was "Special Thanks" section, given to Penguin Random House.

Unless the original creators are somehow directly involved in a subsidiary work like an actual play, they're unlikely to be named or credited in this type of project. It's too bad game companies don't at least credit folks for characters and elements they created, like you see for some comics movies. WotC has been better in recent years about identifying source works in their own publications. In the other media, not so much.

PRH is not the current publisher for the existing Soth Ravenloft fiction; the books are available as ebooks and audiobooks, both published by WotC itself. The inclusion of Random Penguin in the thanks suggests WotC may already have a new RL novel or something else in the works with them, or that a project WotC/PRH has in development might have been shared or referenced with the actual play team. If WotC is following the Critical Role model, they may be looking to do fiction or other media with the player characters from the show. That is just speculation on my part, though.

Or the PRH mention is just one megacorporation, Hasbro, nodding at a partner megacorp with which they have an active and important current subsidiary media deal.

 

[Echohawk]

PRH is not the current publisher for the existing Soth Ravenloft fiction; the books are available as ebooks and audiobooks, both published by WotC itself. The inclusion of Random Penguin in the thanks suggests WotC may already have a new RL novel or something else in the works with them, or that a project WotC/PRH has in development might have been shared or referenced with the actual play team.

Could it not refer to Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd (Random House Worlds, 2025) despite that novel not specifically referencing Sithicus?

 

[JLowder]

Could it not refer to Ravenloft: Heir of Strahd (Random House Worlds, 2025) despite that novel not specifically referencing Sithicus?

Absolutely. That would be part of the megacorp nodding to a current important partner.

 

[nyvinter]

"The Elvish ruin for ask", was not a transcription error, but what the DM actually said. You really should study words before using them. I imagine she meant "rune". As a video game voice actor, she should have known better.

Nah. Dialects do that to you. Like the crayon/cran/crown pronunciation. Prescriptivist linguistics constantly fails when encountering how people actually use language.

For someone who don't care about rpgs trying to use a video about Gary Gygax that focuses mainly one one of his numerous missteps — and leaving out all of the things he said on forums in the early 2000s — to discredit someone else you've never heard about until today is rather funny.

I will give you some credit for actually finding a video that wasn't reactionary swill.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Really want to read Wake of the Black Rose now!

 

[mamba]

The Elvish ruin for ask", was not a transcription error, but what the DM actually said. You really should study words before using them. I imagine she meant "rune". As a video game voice actor, she should have known better.

I assume it is an accent / dialect, half the time I hear the raven name as Soul-less