So OH MAN have I got some stuff to talk about today!
I recently kicked off Fistful of Platinum, our first AL stream. I’m running Waterdeep: Dragon Heist for some awesome players and we’re using the Platinum Edition by Beadle & Grimm. The core information about the game is over on imgur (mostly because the server gnomes were in full revolt when I tried to post it here). Aside from a couple tech issues early on and the nerve-wracking 30 minute delay we had, the game seemed to go over REALLY well and everyone involved was pretty pumped!
But why are we talking about it today?
Well, the game serves a couple purposes:
- we wanted to demonstrate how a DM might run an AL game using the hardcover
- we wanted to play with a mix of theatre of the mind and tactical combat (I tend to swing towards the former)
- we wanted to mix live play with some educational moments
- we wanted to have a game that mixes props with shared storytelling
In our first episode we saw trolls, Durnan, good ‘ol Volo, and more – and our players took it all in stride. The ever-honest Otter Thrud keeps inadvertently getting the party in trouble with the Watch, Agnus has a journal with 100 Rules of Roguery in it (and she cites them mid-game… because she actually wrote them down), Astrid just wants to hug everything as only a half-orc brawler can, and more shenanigans have begun to unfold. And let’s not forget the mysterious Picklewitz or the fashionista tiefling!
And you know what? It’s organic!
We’re not scripted outside of the fact that we’re running the hardcover adventure. This is a point that I think is especially important to broadcast as we embark upon this streaming journey – that we are normal gamers with day jobs and lives and kids and personal lives and all that jazz, and that D&D is a game and escape for us just the same as it is for so many others. Scripting just isn’t really part of the normal AL experience (though I suppose that a DM could work it out with their players to a certain extent).
We’ve got one episode down, and will be broadcasting our second episode on Saturday the 22nd. I’ll be honest, we actually pre-recorded this episode because it’s the holiday weekend and we just couldn’t all commit to being in the studio due to family obligations – but holy cow are there some pretty awesome things coming (I’m a big fan of the clown demons; I promise this will make sense if you watch).
What do you want to see from us? More obvious focus on rules in the AL? I mean, I could do the whole “pause” thing and make it painfully apparent, I suppose – but I’d like to hear from you all on this topic. Send me a message at community@dndadventurersleague.org or hit me on Twitter at @warfteiner if you have some ideas?
Catch us at 9am PST on twitch.tv/dnd!
PS: yeah, my DM screen? I’m gonna be giving that away at the end of the show. Thing is, you’re gonna have to watch the show to find out how you can win it!