My question is in the title: Swan Song is among the most beloved Rollplay Series, and I’m curious if there are any other Rollplay Shows that are equally loved. I’m eager to branch out to more shows.
1 Like
Dark Heresy has always been one of my favorites it’s short but a lot of fun and also Horkenfriend.
Personally, I find Mirrorshades hard to beat as a series. Part of that are the players, part of that are their characters, and part of that is the game mastering, but I just find that series a ton of fun.
Of the R&D series, I think Apocalypse World is the overall best one. I also have some fondness for Dark Heresy, Numenera, and Dungeon World, but that is heavily because of TotalBiscuit, Jesse Cox and Day[9]. The Saga of the Icelanders arc I felt wasn’t my type of game, and Pendragon didn’t have the sillyness I like.
West Marches, it was a very on and off series. Balance of Powers I haven’t watched through the light side yet, so I withhold my comments on that one.
I’m not that into the original series, maybe simply because I never watched that until after Steven first DMed, and I didn’t find myself liking the way Neal did that as much as Steven’s shows. In fact, I find Neal a much more compelling DM on other shows that he’s done elsewhere and not on RollPlay.
I liked R&D Dungeon World and The West Marches a lot.
Balance of Power is a really interesting experience considering the “adversarial” aspect of the two teams on different sides of the war. A big part of the appeal IMO is that we’ve never really had a blatantly evil party in Rollplay before, so that’s a ton of fun to watch. Also, the Live Live Dark Side show for that was an amazing end to their side of the story.
West Marches is a wonderful series of contained adventures with a rotating set of recurring cast members. Follow colorful bands of rejects and ruffians as they venture out into the weird and deadly wild, experiencing horror, gods, and DOOOOM. (Also, if you have any interest in game design stuff, a lot of the show is a flowing experiment on the part of Steven to build a weird exploration-adventure game out of D&D).
Dark Heresy is a classic that brought in a lot of Rollplay’s old audience, myself included. Whether you’re a fan of Warhammer 40k or not, it’s definitely a fun and wild romp through the grimdark, however unfortunately brief it ended up being (due to some unfortunate and unavoidable health complications).
Do you like Higgs? Then you’ll love Apocalypse World! Experience Bubba, a long-lost relative of Wilbur Higgins III, as he cons his way through a post-apocalyptic Earth.*
*Debatably non-canon.
And more! Experience legacy, tragedy, and intrigue with Rollplay R&D: Pendragon! Unravel the techno-magical secrets and mysterious histories of our heroes in Numenera! Have a colorful romp through dungeons of ice and fire in Dungeon World! Check out JP’s journey into DM-ing with Ehbon and Vigil! And last, but not least, go back in time to Rollplay’s first steps with Rollplay: Legacy (Rollplay: D&D), the original grand campaign that continued on in Solum.
Or, catch up on… The deadly and unique world of the Court of Swords, following a party of ill-fated agents of the Court! And bear witness to the first forays of a band of murderous criminals in the dark and mysterious industrial-punk world of Blades!
**Forgot to mention Mirrorshades somehow - it’s a lovely campaign in a dreary setting, ending up as something of an endearing little “cyberpunk dating sim”, as Adam often puts it. Follow a lovable bunch of arguably-incompetent tryhards in the fantasy cyberpunk 80s vision of the Mayan-predicted future.
I should also say, different groups of people in the community have different levels of love for each of the shows. A lot of that comes down to how they were introduced, like the old Dark Heresy viewers that came in from TB’s audience. Legacy, being the original show, is definitely an old favorite among the oldest fans, but it might not be your cup of tea if you came in much more recently in Rollplay’s history and favor someone like Adam’s more flexible GM-ing style as opposed to Neal’s semi-simulationist hardcore world narrative.
1 Like
Mirrorshades is a really great show, as other’s previously mentioned. I think a very appealing part of it is that it has an ending, so the show really feels complete.
West Marches was another really fun one, but if you’re not into a rotating cast or more inexperienced roleplayers then it may not be for you.
R&D Apocalypse World & Dungeon World, much like Mirrorshades, have a general story arc with an ending that brings a lot more satisfaction to the entire experience (for me at least). These are both very short as well, so they serve as a great bit-size show to watch while you consider your other options.