Category: Streaming Reviews

Video and audio livestreams of actual play TTRPGs

  • The Willow trailer is more proof that there’s never been a better time to be a fan of fantasy

    The Willow trailer is more proof that there’s never been a better time to be a fan of fantasy

    Back in the 1980s there was a cute little movie called Willow. Featuring Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer and others, the film opened well and then petered out. But among certain fans it maintained this legacy and appeal. There’s a little person (Davis), even littler people (two Brownies), Kilmer with a sword! and extraordinary effects. The story is quite a traditional tale of people without anything in common trying to save the world.

    Eventually when it was on video tape it developed a reputation as a grand adventure and we all loved it.

    Now, there’s a new Willow — with the same message, better effects and even more of everything. The cast is wider and the story more grand. It looks like an epic Dungeons & Dragons tale.

    That trailer shows every member of the party featured in the spotlight. Some are noble. Others are urchins. There are sorcerers and fighters. Davis is back and so are the Brownies. The princess is now longer a baby. Where the original Willow explores just a single continent in the world the new series explores the world and more.

    It’s an epic fantasy tale and another example of the wide variety of fantasy that is available in the 2020s. Sword & Sorcery, Epics, Grim dark, Magipunk, comedy and more subgenres of fantasy are available. Every streaming platform is hoping for a tentpole series, with none dominating right now.

    Like, there’s a lot of fantasy and there’s more to come.

    Honor Among Thieves looks like it will great. Wheel of Time is still in the Top 10 for Prime Video Streams. House of the Dragon and Rings of Power are battling every week to be the most watched non-sports/awards show. Legends of Vox Machina season two is still to come. Witcher season three. Shadow and Bone.

    Outlander, Last Kingdom and Black Sails are genre adjacent in that they are period shows that people who play D&D think of when they play D&D.

    All of this isn’t powered by franchises like Marvel, DC, Star Wars or Star Trek.

    Fantasy is capturing global imaginations and our dreams. We’re watching. We’re playing. We’re creating new stories with the old tropes seen a right angle so as to capture the people who we’ve always been. Fantasy is built around tales of cooperation among those with different backgrounds, skill sets and races. Fantasy is built around the authentic statement that the diverse group is the strong group — it’s been true for the millennia of myths about dragons and the people who fight them.

  • Reblogging — TV Series Review: The Legend of Vox Machina (2022)

    Source The first three episodes of The Legend of Vox Machina were just released on Amazon Prime Video. The show is based on the first campaign of “Critical Role”; a Dungeons and Dragons live play podcast and twitch stream. So far three episodes have been released; it is difficult to judge whether or not the […]

    TV Series Review: The Legend of Vox Machina (2022)
  • The Black Dice Society is more than an introduction to the Domains of Dread

    The Black Dice Society is more than an introduction to the Domains of Dread

    Unfamiliar with the Domains of Dread, besides a short dip into Barovia back in my original gaming group’s Interview with a Vampire phase, I’ve been drinking up the recent Lore You Should Know segments in Dragontalk, which helps. But, as a pandemic-retired DM and current player it helps to see the different angles to horror. The Black Dice Society does that.

    The show involves an intricate plot, with dream sequences and appearances by various Darklords who are pushing the characters through the mists, using them as pawns in the struggles between various Domains. Those Lords of Dread are ever present, even if merely as shadowy figures that the characters know could interfere with their lives and hopes. Sometimes they are much more than that.

    Within BDS is a group of characters who have grown up within the Domains and those who are from “normal” places. This dynamic leads to some characters having powers that are a bit creepy for the normies. This twist helps immerse the viewer or listener in the Mists. You are made as uncomfortable as the characters, who roleplay this quite well. As the group bands together these outsiders will become familiar with each other, but until then there will be a bit more creepy factor that is unusual within streamed shows. This dynamic is perfect for the story and genre of Black Dice Society.

    The whole thing is horror, PG-13 horror. Fear is ever present. Death and afterlife are significant themes. B.Dave Walters has crafted a tale that is much more complex than my other listens (NADDPod, D20 Dames). The buy-in from the players helps create a tale that is full of apprehension and unease.

    Then he spins another story over the PCs, creating a dizzying disquiet Walters has the Darklords observing. Their plots and treatment of the PCs as potential minions keeps a watcher-listener worried about betrayal. There is a sense of cosmic horror because they are all just so puny against those that rule the Domains. So far, the balance has allowed success with a constant fear of failure. That delicate string could break at any time.

    And that’s why I keep watching. What started as a desire for me to learn more about Ravenloft became an attachment to the story. What started as background audio is now foreground audio – no longer my second screen, but my first.

    How to Watch: Playlist of The Black Dice Society on YouTube

    It’s live on Twitch.TV/DnD on Thursday, without interfering with your Critical Role schedule. You can also catch up on the D&D YouTube channel.

    That’s their session 0.5 at GaryCon and a link to the full official D&D playlist for The Black Dice Society.

    Cast of Characters

    • B.Dave Walters – DM
    • Deejay Knight – Desmond, a human Ranger or light Fighter
    • Tanya DePass – Fen, a Bloodhunter dhampir drow
    • Becca Scott – Tatyana, a genasi Barbarian
    • Saige Ryan – Valentine, a reborn abberant mind Sorcerer
    • Mark Meer – Brother Uriah, a Cleric of the Grave
    • Nora Ibrahim – Nahara, a reborn fallen aasimar Warlock
    via their twitter

    How to Follow The Black Dice Society on Social

    Their billboard with Patreon, social links, and a way to buy dice inspired by the show.