I wish i was good at turning such ideas to reality but here was the idea
Dungeons and dragons live on stage
So it involves a dnd table centre rear of the stage with 4 players and an off stage dm (for 4th wall reasons) and each show woukd be an actual one shot game but with improv actors acting the actions etc no speical fxs no sets just costumes and basic props
I imagine to pull such a show off right would take months of prep let's say it's a 5 show run that's 5 lots of pc actors and costumes 5 lots of monster actors and costumes and 5 lots of npc actors snd costumes as well as everyone actor wise knowing there backstory and motivation and knowing how dnd works
You'd also need a great dm with great voice acting
Mabie i just like the idea from my performing arts bbackground tbh
Actual Play is an actual thing. Critical Role is probably the most well known example, it like most Actual Play groups mostly stream, but many also tour their shows live on a variety of stages and venues. Some use varying degrees of props and production values, some don't.
Multiple costume changes and multiple monster costumes and actors to play them (while the PCs are at the table?) would drastically increase production costs and drive massive inefficiency. And what if the game takes a left turn so all these costumes and extras are basically abandoned for something else the party preferred to do.
If you want to see what a lot of people, many who also have performance backgrounds, do to bring D&D to an audience, I'd take a look at the Actual Play scene. Enough work and investment has been done in that space that it's speculated that it's more a matter of time till the more traditional entertainment producers start taking notice, some say they already have and are formulating points of entry.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
My dream cast would be Kevin smith as DM and for players Keenan Mitchel, Seth Mcfarlin, Nancy Cartwright and Dave Gorman although ANY of them would make a good DM Dave would have bring satire,nancy or seth a weallth of voices and keenan just pure comedy with bang on timing
But smith would be like "you walk into a tavern and hear the music of local bard prince he sings about the well known hussy in the area darloin' nikki"
If i knew an am dram group local to me i'd try get them to put on a dnd live with me as dm my style is world building with the odd non dnd refrence
"YOU AWAKE TO FIND YOUR SELF IN A DARK ROOM" "i light a candle" "you find your self in your room at the stonehill in tolben is standing in the door way" etc
I wish i was good at turning such ideas to reality but here was the idea
Dungeons and dragons live on stage
So it involves a dnd table centre rear of the stage with 4 players and an off stage dm (for 4th wall reasons) and each show woukd be an actual one shot game but with improv actors acting the actions etc no speical fxs no sets just costumes and basic props
I imagine to pull such a show off right would take months of prep let's say it's a 5 show run that's 5 lots of pc actors and costumes 5 lots of monster actors and costumes and 5 lots of npc actors snd costumes as well as everyone actor wise knowing there backstory and motivation and knowing how dnd works
You'd also need a great dm with great voice acting
Mabie i just like the idea from my performing arts bbackground tbh
Ummm...yeah. There are D&D movies, and countless actors that post up their concept of what D&D is. But fundamentally, every single one of those "dramatic productions" falls apart because the players/actors can't follow the actual rules of D&D. Imagine when your off-set DM rolls a nat 20 and states "sorry Actor A, but your 15 HP PC just took 30 HP damage, and is dead...I mean dead dead. The show now must go on without you. Please remove yourself from the stage."
You're right it would be silly to budget for a comprehensive amount of "live action props" because of the unpredictable nature in which role playing games play out. Nevertheless actual play is an actual genre of entertain these days with a number of productions becoming a full time endeavor for their participants, many of whom do have acting and entertainment sector backgrounds. Heck one of the earlier 5e supplements Acquisitions Incorporated was an actual play podcast who started doing live events well.
Yes, some productions do occasionally fudge things to mitigate character death and the like, they usually discuss this in terms of professional wrestlings kayfabe. That is, since this is an event performed for an audience, it's more about producing the feeling of a TTRPG than letting the dice decide a three hour show ends in 45 minutes. Others of course play more closely to the rules, and players of dead characters either leave the set or stick around to provide banter / color commentary.
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Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
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I wish i was good at turning such ideas to reality but here was the idea
Dungeons and dragons live on stage
So it involves a dnd table centre rear of the stage with 4 players and an off stage dm (for 4th wall reasons) and each show woukd be an actual one shot game but with improv actors acting the actions etc no speical fxs no sets just costumes and basic props
I imagine to pull such a show off right would take months of prep let's say it's a 5 show run that's 5 lots of pc actors and costumes 5 lots of monster actors and costumes and 5 lots of npc actors snd costumes as well as everyone actor wise knowing there backstory and motivation and knowing how dnd works
You'd also need a great dm with great voice acting
Mabie i just like the idea from my performing arts bbackground tbh
in a hole in the ground you notice a halfling
Actual Play is an actual thing. Critical Role is probably the most well known example, it like most Actual Play groups mostly stream, but many also tour their shows live on a variety of stages and venues. Some use varying degrees of props and production values, some don't.
Multiple costume changes and multiple monster costumes and actors to play them (while the PCs are at the table?) would drastically increase production costs and drive massive inefficiency. And what if the game takes a left turn so all these costumes and extras are basically abandoned for something else the party preferred to do.
If you want to see what a lot of people, many who also have performance backgrounds, do to bring D&D to an audience, I'd take a look at the Actual Play scene. Enough work and investment has been done in that space that it's speculated that it's more a matter of time till the more traditional entertainment producers start taking notice, some say they already have and are formulating points of entry.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
If someon did something like that, (and did it well...) I would TOTALLY watch it. What a great idea!
Penny Arcade has done that, many times.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Yeah critical role was what got me thinking
My dream cast would be Kevin smith as DM and for players Keenan Mitchel, Seth Mcfarlin, Nancy Cartwright and Dave Gorman although ANY of them would make a good DM Dave would have bring satire,nancy or seth a weallth of voices and keenan just pure comedy with bang on timing
But smith would be like "you walk into a tavern and hear the music of local bard prince he sings about the well known hussy in the area darloin' nikki"
If i knew an am dram group local to me i'd try get them to put on a dnd live with me as dm my style is world building with the odd non dnd refrence
"YOU AWAKE TO FIND YOUR SELF IN A DARK ROOM" "i light a candle" "you find your self in your room at the stonehill in tolben is standing in the door way" etc
in a hole in the ground you notice a halfling
Just wanted to say that it's an actual thing already
https://thetwentysidedtavern.com/
It's on Broadway in New York and it costs about $49 dollars!
<---- me irl slow reader, even slower writer easily jumpy thanks for being patient
DM: Drakkenheim Mind and Matter + Blood Secrets + What's in the Here and Now;
Player: Dragonlance
Yeah, there’s also dungeons and drag queens, which does a traveling show. They’re on tour now.
https://dndq.live
I watched a short video on YouTube, it's awesome. I'd love for them to go on tour.
Too bad they don't have Cleveland on the schedule.
Ummm...yeah. There are D&D movies, and countless actors that post up their concept of what D&D is. But fundamentally, every single one of those "dramatic productions" falls apart because the players/actors can't follow the actual rules of D&D. Imagine when your off-set DM rolls a nat 20 and states "sorry Actor A, but your 15 HP PC just took 30 HP damage, and is dead...I mean dead dead. The show now must go on without you. Please remove yourself from the stage."
You're right it would be silly to budget for a comprehensive amount of "live action props" because of the unpredictable nature in which role playing games play out. Nevertheless actual play is an actual genre of entertain these days with a number of productions becoming a full time endeavor for their participants, many of whom do have acting and entertainment sector backgrounds. Heck one of the earlier 5e supplements Acquisitions Incorporated was an actual play podcast who started doing live events well.
Yes, some productions do occasionally fudge things to mitigate character death and the like, they usually discuss this in terms of professional wrestlings kayfabe. That is, since this is an event performed for an audience, it's more about producing the feeling of a TTRPG than letting the dice decide a three hour show ends in 45 minutes. Others of course play more closely to the rules, and players of dead characters either leave the set or stick around to provide banter / color commentary.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.