I decided to be resilient. This links to the second episode for Arliss and Bertrand's adventure into Grimstone Hollow, a hobgoblin lair. No spoilers.
The original plan remains unchanged. Create a random dungeon generation, use it to create a dungeon for a fictional party, video tape the combats and post them on youtube, provide a link to the Authentic Wiki to the transcript of the video, so that links can be provided to rules for anything that happens during that combat ... and then progress the party further along using the forementioned generation process.
Nor does this generation have to be dungeon-oriented. I'm certain I can make a reasonably interesting wilderness/civilisation hex-crawling generator that, with imagination, can produce practical outdoor scenarios and set-ups to combats as well. I haven't attempted something like that since the late 1980s, but I'm way, way smarter than my 20-something self, so I'm willing to give that a try.
Meanwhile, I think I've found a way to kick that football.
Here are the downsides of my plan.
1. Work. Lots of work. Work to make the generator, work to update the self-play tutorial, frequent work to build unmade rule sets to compliment the other work being done, work to run the combats for myself, work to edit the combats, work to write up the transcript of the combat, work to keep updating things across several different medias and webpages.
2. Errors. Lots of errors. Errors running the combats and forgetting rules, errors in mixing up numbers and errors in the generation tables, errors in the editing, errors with youtube posting, errors that have to be explained in the transcripts ... and a certain amount of shame in having to admit that even though I'm responsible for all these rules, I fuck up all the time because there are a lot of rules.
Here's the thing about that, though. It's more important that I be authentic than that I be right. I'd rather mess up the rule, and admit I messed up the rule, and either retcon or move on after the screw up, and take the shame-slash-embarrassment for that, than pose as some creature by pretending that I don't make mistakes or that anyone watching me should think they ought not to make mistakes. DMing is complicated, it's self-distracting, and half the time we're paying so much attention to getting one thing right we get two other things wrong. In the combat posted, I forgot to run Kragthar's attack at one point. I didn't realise it until I was writing the transcript. But I was concentrating so hard on explaining what was going on, especially with Grimgor, that I just forgot to make the attack. I authentically fucked up. And I authentically admitted it. The wiki isn't called the Perfect Wiki.
3. Less room for other things. The Streetvendor's Guide is a priority. And now this is a priority, as I'll explain below. Paid work, obviously, is a priority. This blog is not. Sorry. People can watch for my content on the Wiki's recent changes page, or they can watch for updates on my patreon (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=3015466), where I will be posting. If you want to know what I'm doing on some Tuesday, when you don't see a blog post, I suggest bookmarking these pages so you can see what I'm working on. If you're coming to this blog everyday, or every few days, to see what's "new," please understand, this blog is going to chase what I'm doing. It's no longer the tip of the spear.
I'm always a writer, so I'll play catch up here, and throw out things that matter to me here, but this just isn't where my head's going to be.
Okay, let's talk about the upsides of this feature.
A. It's animated. Unlike the finished maps, which don't move, and unlike the videos I did earlier this year that featured me making maps, these videos are instantly accessible to anyone who's played D&D, even if they don't understand the modified AD&D rules. Combatants are fighting each other in a dungeon. This is instantly comprehensible. There's more talking than movement, but point in fact, that's how D&D works also.
I've been searching around for something that's dynamic without my having to be on camera, because I don't want the problems that are associated with trying to edit my movements in coordination with my space. My den at present is fairly cramped, and will remain as such, and I just don't want to deal with trying to remake my background, nor with worrying about how my 60-y.o. self looks on camera. I don't need that judgment. I'm self conscious enough about my voice. So this gives me a lively, effective way to express that voice, to get excited about combat, while moving things around so the viewer doesn't get bored. Win-win.
B. It's narrative. Since the events that take place are part of a continuing "story," one that hasn't been predetermined, I can benefit from the building of an audience that knows what's happened before and is ready to learn what happens next. Moreover, because I'm going to get better as the series progresses, for the viewer, it will feel as though the idea is growing and strengthening, especially as the characters gain levels, additional allies, friends and other elements of the overall structure changes.
In effect, it's putting a harness around Dungeons & Dragons itself, using the elements of that game to build a real life audience for myself. All the aspects of D&D that make it great, that it's ongoing, that players grow and improve, that the dangers increase, that the elements of the game are instantly recognisable and have a pre-made audience, are all things that work in my favour as my little group of adventurers survive or die, succeed or not, gain levels, gain power, gain status and seek new obstacles to overcome. It's so obvious, I have no idea why I failed to stumble into this before.
C. It's educational. Dungeon masters everywhere are always looking for new ideas, new ways of looking at things, not just events that can take place in the characters' lives, but fixes for rules and other problems that come up all the time. This gives me an opportunity to showcase elements of the game that I support, making a solid argument for their inclusion, through demonstration rather than argument. As far as what this blog can do to convince people, a practical, ongoing experiment that shows the rules work, and that they make for interesting and ideal situations for future players, is too good an opportunity to pass up. And, I think, it's bound to attract an fresher, differently thinking audience.
D. It's interactive. I've already established a tier on my patreon for anyone who wishes to give $1 per month, if they'd like to vote on what the party does next. Here, for example, is the pole following the above linked combat:
