Dungeons & Dragons moves from the dining table to the Sydney Opera House

October 16, 2024 8:31 PM

Dungeons & Dragons moves from the dining table to the Sydney Opera House. Dungeons & Dragons games are being played live to packed theatre audiences, including at the Sydney Opera House, as the pastime becomes mainstream.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (15 comments total)

If you have, uh, about 12 hours to spare you can watch Deborah Ann Woll DM a game for a group of 4 players, plus a different celebrity guest in each chapter. I have to be careful about this kind of live D&D stuff because it can give me the vicarious cringe, but not Relics & Rarities, which is why I recommend it.
posted by axiom at 8:51 PM on October 16 [2 favorites]

I was around when D&D was being demonized in the 80s and 90s. Never in a million years would I have expected to hear "D&D" and "Sydney Opera House" in the same sentence. The world turns in mysterious and wondrous ways.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:10 PM on October 16 [14 favorites]

It’s the 50th anniversary so Hasbro/Wizards are pumping a lot of press pieces about D&D it seems. Not complaining, but was not expecting to see Dimension 20 in a time magazine feature.

D20 has also just announced shows in Hollywood, Seattle, and Vegas, after selling out Madison Square Garden in hours earlier this year.
posted by mrzarquon at 10:58 PM on October 16 [1 favorite]

The Glee Gal played her first game of D&D last week, and enjoyed it. I haven't played since college, although I was in an Ars Magica (now in 5th edition!) troupe for a couple of decades. After that I played Scion, and now Tales of the Iron League.
I thought that after the OGL mess from a year or two ago a lot of the people that play performatively were going to switch to other systems. Did that not happen?
posted by Spike Glee at 6:54 AM on October 17 [1 favorite]

I played D&D starting back in the fifth grade. I love RPGs, but I cannot get into watching other people play. The above mentioned "vicarious cringe" is too great.
posted by pattern juggler at 7:00 AM on October 17 [1 favorite]

I thought that after the OGL mess from a year or two ago a lot of the people that play performatively were going to switch to other systems

WotC walked it back heavily. New licenses are more liberal than before the error if anything.

A number of alternative systems where spun up, but D&D as a brand still has value, so...
posted by NotAYakk at 7:07 AM on October 17

My issue with actual play D&D campaigns is that my tolerance for watching combat is about half an hour. I'm fine with long combats *I'm* playing in, I just had one that ran from one session through all of the next and didn't quite wrap until the third, but not watching other people. So I tend to enjoy systems that have less combat like Kids on Bikes, or DMs that are less combat orientated like Aabria Iyengar. Or one-shots. But there are some really fun ones out there -- for Dimension 20, Burrow's End and a Court of Fey and Flowers were great, as was Mentopolis.
posted by tavella at 8:53 AM on October 17 [1 favorite]

Saw Critical Role with 12,500 other nerds in London at Wembley arena. Went from the airport to the gig and back to the airport. Paid stupid amounts for the seats, let alone the flight. Was worth every penny, what a fantastic experience, amazing crowd, all hanging out in the local pre-gig venue, playing d'n'd, trading little gifts, singing together to the various related songs, stuffing our faces, very tavern, not very demure.
posted by Iteki at 9:30 AM on October 17 [5 favorites]

I can't stand watching other people play for very long-- as a little "aw that's nice, look at them having fun" yes, but anytime I actually try to follow along, I end up simmering with "I would have done it differently, and BETTER, why do these people get to be on TV and get paid for this, when me and my friends were so much funnier and more original and that time with the kobolds and--"
posted by The otter lady at 10:15 AM on October 17 [1 favorite]

Anybody remember the Chronicles of Naverro the cleric? It was on Usenet in the late 80s or early 80s. Naverro was a sad-sack cleric whose player couldn't roll well to save his life. The only other thing I remember was the party mage sought training with the Purple Polka Dot wizards, which turned out to be a mistake. They weren't evil, just comedians.
I think that it scratched the same sort of itch as watching some of these campaigns.
posted by Spike Glee at 12:14 PM on October 17

I was around when D&D was being demonized in the 80s and 90s. Never in a million years would I have expected to hear "D&D" and "Sydney Opera House" in the same sentence.

For me, it's the fact that 'professional GM' is a valid career path now, and not just the big famous ones that play on Youtube and Twitch.
posted by tavella at 1:33 PM on October 17

Also, if we are recommending stuff, the actual play that felt the most like a real life game was the extremely amusing D&D Chaos series, one two and three. Not that I haven't had more serious games, but the way everyone is joking around and ends up derailing the official plot half the time definitely felt like sessions I've been in.
posted by tavella at 1:43 PM on October 17

Glass Cannon Network are very good, some superb improv actors. Their two seasons of Masks of Nyarlathotep (Time for Chaos) and the brilliant Delta Green campaign Impossible Landscapes (Get in the Trunk seasons 4-6) are very worth watching.

The benefit of those games is there's a lot more talking than fighting. I'm not sure I could be bothered with the combats in a D&D game, but tbf I haven't watched one since penny arcade kicked the whole thing off back in 4e with Acquisitions Incorporated, so maybe they're ok.
posted by Sebmojo at 3:40 PM on October 17

A D&D opera would be awesome.
posted by Pallas Athena at 3:51 PM on October 17 [2 favorites]

Travelled for both Critical Role and Glass Cannon. Sad we couldn't swing High Rollers in London a fortnight ago. It's been fun to watch an entirely new form of entertainment be invented.

Also, we do still play 5e, but I sneak in Shadowdark whenever possible. It's D&D without all the fiddly bits and it makes my old gamer heart sing. Combats, for instance, take 10-15 minutes, not 45 to 60.
posted by bonehead at 4:12 PM on October 17