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RollPlay Show Balance

RollPlay: General & Archives
#1

It occurred to me tonight after watching the second episode of RollPlay Blades that there is a very comfortable balance on the channel right now between RollPlay Blades and RollPlay Court of Swords.

For me, CoS has been a wonderfully stressful roller coaster of rules, dice, and dire setting. The episodes have generally been filled with anxiety and a sense of doom, and dare I say some controversy at times. An edge of your seat thriller, of sorts. It’s obviously too early to tell, but Blades seems to be shaping up as a Mirrorshades-esque joyride into these wacky characters. It feels less about nail biting anticipation and more about a comfortable progression. If CoS is a complex, dark brew then Blades is a light summer ale.

With that very personal opinion in mind, I’m hoping to hear what @itmeJP and the community thinks. More directly to JP, is show flavor and balance something that you think about when considering what new show to introduce to your current lineup? And to the community, do you agree with my sentiment that Tuesdays are not only exciting because we get eight hours of RollPlay, but also because CoS and Blades are two very different vibes that balance each other out?

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#2

I don’t think Blades will be like mirrorshades.
Adam hinted that the new show will be reminiscent to mirrorshades a bit

#3

I should clarify that when comparing Blades to a Mirrorshades type vibe, I didn’t mean the silliness or devolution of game mechanics, but more in the sense that the show is easy to digest. To use another silly metaphor, CoS is like reading Tolkien as Blades is to reading Harry Potter. Both extremely enjoyable, but one is far more digestible.

Maybe I’m tired and over thinking things, but simply put, CoS and Blades are both extremely enjoyable for entirely different reasons to me. I enjoy the balance between the two, and was wondering how much thought goes into game system and narrative balance of simultaneous shows on RollPlay.

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#4

My impression is that they have an idea of what they want to play, but things usually change during play, as players feed of each other and such. Mirrorshades is probably the clearest example of this. If we look at Swan Song, how would that show have been if they didn’t break Pi and install them on the Swan Song? In Balance of Power the dark vs light side didn’t work out and was scrapped. In original Rollplay / Solum, Neal’s plans didn’t last very long, the most famous(?) is Tudagub breaking the orb.

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#5

Link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YwBhgbWvpY#t=7m24s

that is never going to stop being funny. :itmejplol::itmejpgg:

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#6

It’s definitely something we think about when looking at shows. We want to try to have something for everyone with the cast we have.

Lot of stuff is just luck, though.

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#7

Echoing what JP said, we tend to start with conversations about the kinds of games we want to see on the channel. Those talks are generally JP and I talking about what kind of stuff (rules, stories, tone) seems like it would be a good fit for the space given what we’ve already got, and then we work with the cast to further hone that. Sometimes we have a system in mind, sometimes that comes later, but there’s definitely forethought to the kind of stuff we want to do, and then…

We just have to let the random nature of RPGs take over. With a improvised media, we can build a particular foundation to support the general ideas we have but ultimately, what the show will become is a synthesis of rules, player desire and sometimes just the chaos of a 1 or a 20. Every long-running show is an evolution, developing into its own thing. We just act to prune and trim it, helping it grow strong, whatever form it takes.

That, to me, is a big part of the excitement! It’s been interesting, embracing the more crunchy, rules-heavy show that’s live right now. It’s been fun to stretch my GM muscles and see what I can do with D&D and I’m super glad y’all are feeling there’s a balance in the kinds of stories and means by which we tell those stories. It’s been really cool having more one-shots as well; Dogs in the Vineyard, Masks and Breakers were all so different and a lot of fun to explore. I know y’all will dig what we’ve got coming up, too, whatever mysterious shape it takes in the end.

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#8

Rollplay, the Bonsai Tree.

#9

I agree with everything except for the show being on Tuesdays after cos. As a European it has been impossible to watch the show live (when the show starts at 3am and you have to wake up at 6am to got to work, its not feasible :confused: ) .
I know I can watch it later on youtube or on Jp’s past streams, but part of the enjoyment, for me at least, is to be able to watch it with the community.
I really hope the show will eventually go back to Saturdays…

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#10

Yeah, it kinda sucks timing wise. Obviously if that’s the best time for the 6 people involved (jp, gm, and cast) then it’s where it should stay but VODs aren’t quite the same , so I kind of hope they can move it to an earlier time