the most significant change i think D&D needs to make it really work for RPG-as-show is a way to maintain character throughout a campaign without taking the fangs out of the system. an alternate-to-death failure state. I’d start by looking at how the audience tilts things. What are viewers after? How does that alter what players are after?
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) January 2, 2018
It’s like in D&D-as-Show there’s an additional reward structure. Experience, Gold and Viewer Engagement and the game needs adjusting accordingly. That’s a really interesting way to look at it, because you could argue that if the players are miserable by the audience is huge and having fun than it’s working on one level. Don’t think RPGs have ever been in that kind of position before.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) January 2, 2018
Yup, absolutely. So weird, right? Definitely possible the other way – players having a ball, audience miserable.Which probably makes the game more of a miss than the opposite.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) January 2, 2018
Ironically, I think you could absolutely have a fun game to watch that sucks to play. I mean, shit, game shows are often that. Maybe character death is actually something interesting as it sits in this context? Like, half a 10th-level party dies, how does the group cope with three 1st-level characters while still pursuing their objectives?
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) January 2, 2018
In a traditional game focused on the narrative, it sucks because you just lost half your story lines. As a viewer, though, that might make for an intriguing thing to watch. Build up to the next session would be crazy interesting.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) January 2, 2018
Man, we should do another round table on character death in D&D and RPGs. To me, it’s an incredibly interesting topic because it sits dead center in what makes RPGs distinct.
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) January 2, 2018