Blades is pretty good too; I’m up to date. I just thoroughly enjoy the interactions between Geoff and Adam. 
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If Geoff ever came back to CoS I’d love it if he played a Bard in the style of The King’s Wit from The Stormlight Archive series.
Basically a person who insults people the king wants to insult but cannot due to political circumstances and such.
I want Geoff to go full Brumpo Tungus on people.
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After watching a bunch of for honor streams this weekend, I would really love to see Shortyyguy on the show. (even though idk if he would want to)
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He was on one of the earlier/first Misscliks pirate series for a few episodes, in case you are unaware. Or maybe you just want more I wouldn’t mind since I enjoyed him on Misscliks
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I agree! Sacrial or Fairlight would be cool too!
It might be hard to say this without sounding like a total knob but more than any one person, I would love to see more experienced players!
For starters, I think you guys have done an excellent job so far of building the Rollplay brand with the casting that you’ve done. Your players are funny, charismatic, familiar with speaking in front of large audiences, run in the same circles and best of all, have chemistry! This has all helped cement a strong identity for Rollplay as an entertaining, personality-driven show with a solid community. However, I think there’s a number of ways in which you guys could benefit from casting some folks with more experience and practice telling stories using role-playing games as a medium (aka rpg nerds).
I think there’s a lot of reasons why people watch RPG shows. For me, it’s just the most intriguing and compelling form of storytelling. The way that narration and mechanics intersect - when you take an idea, jam it into this great apparatus of mitigated randomizers and voila, it spits out a refined version of that idea, or a young fictional seedling waiting to be cultivated and grown into a whole new idea… is the coolest shit ever! But it’s not easy. In fact, role-playing games are a form of creative expression that can take a lifetime to master, akin to visual art, literature and film. Sounds a bit pretentious yeah, but I really think the potential is there for RPG shows to become a deep yet accessible and entertaining art medium.
They aren’t perfect, but the two examples I would point to are Roll20 Presents: Apocalypse World and The Bloodletters. Adam, Andrew, Austin, John, Sean and Stras are masterful, thematically-conscious storytellers who are intimately familiar with the cadence of roleplaying conversation and are able to create multifaceted characters that are compelling right from the beginning of the series. What’s more is they’re all incredibly talented at playing a supporting role to the other characters as well as to the narrative itself. I would say that both of these shows still have some issues with pacing but hey, no one’s perfect (except you Canter Haig 
)
If I’m being honest, when I’m trying to get a friend, gamer or otherwise, interested in roleplaying shows purely as entertainment, Rollplay is not where I send them first. It’s not because the shows aren’t entertaining (they are), it’s because it feels like the formula isn’t optimized for accessibility. The #1 complaint I get from new viewers is that the format is “too slow”. Episodes are four hours long and it can often take many episodes before the PCs really hit their stride, and many (many, many) more than that before they actually learn the rules. That can be anywhere from around 16 to 32 hours (!) of invested time before the content gets really good. It’s like sitting through two mediocre seasons of a TV show hoping that the third pays off. For me, it does! But most people can’t stay interested long enough to get invested in the world and the characters, which (just like a TV series) is how you really get people hooked. Here’s a few ways I think that casting more experienced players could give Rollplay a boost in accessibility and content quality.
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Experienced players are better able to engage with the mechanisms in ways that move the narrative forward and create interesting situations in the game. The rules of the game are the tools we have been given by the creator to help us tell more interesting stories and without them, RPGs are basically just kinda shitty improv theater. The quicker the players on a show are able to become fluent in the language of that particular game, the more fluid and dynamic the episodes will become. And having even a couple players with system knowledge that can lead by example will drastically reduce the amount of time wasted with rules clarification and poorly understood mechanisms.
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Veteran story gamers have an arsenal of storytelling devices and techniques that allow them to hit their stride much earlier in a series. They can quickly recognize themes and motifs and create thematically potent characters with clearly defined character arcs that emerge during play. They’ve had the “Play Unsafe” mantras thoroughly drilled into their brains and when presented with a choice, they will always choose or create the most interesting option possible, often sacrificing character success for player and audience entertainment.
Not only that, but they’re able to apply these techniques to the other characters too! Sharing the spotlight, establishing relationships, playing the foil or mirror and setting the other characters up for success are just some of the things I see experienced players doing constantly, and on a deeper level than most games I’ve watched or played in. -
Experienced players have a higher coolness density. Basically, they say more cool shit on average than a less-experienced player. Part of the reason watching RPGs is so entertaining is that the players and the audience share in the same fictive space that grows and develops over the course of the show. Naturally, the best kind of person to play a creative role in this environment is one who is quick to populate this space with interesting, novel and exciting ideas and one who treats others’ contributions with the same level of enthusiasm as they do their own. Of course these qualities aren’t unique to experienced gamers, but they are definitely part of the skill set.
This comes largely from having experience as a player, a GM and often a designer. A history of running (and especially designing) role-playing games gives you a deep, fundamental understanding of the GM-player authority structure and how much authorship each player can comfortably have in a healthy group environment. This is part of what makes the Bloodletters so incredible to watch (beware: geek out ahead), it feels like watching a full group of co-GMs. They trust each other to frame scenes and support each other’s ideas and subplots. They inject colorful details and vivid imagery into every scene and every action they take, sometimes narrating their own vignettes just to fictionally justify an advance! There’s no hand-holding, no stonewalling, and no flat suggestions, just a constant back-and-forth exchange of ideas that gives birth to this incredible positive feedback loop of badassery and exciting shit that never fails to create incredible, captivating moments, every single episode. THAT is what makes role-playing games amazing to watch and THAT is why these folks are masters of their craft.
There’s a few things I should clarify, one being that I realize that not everyone enjoys watching role-playing games the same way I do. Some folks just tune in for the jokes, the crits and the chemistry between the amazing people they’ve gotten to know over the last few months or years, and that’s rad. But those people are the junkies, and if you want to get the skeptics hooked on your product, you’ve got to peddle to the masses. Even if that’s not the end goal, I still think that Rollplay would find success in diversifying their content a little and covering the full tonal spectrum, from popcorn entertainment (Nebula Jazz is PRIMO for this) to the high-investment, dramatic stuff.
Secondly, I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to down on any of the current cast or say that they’re not capable of doing this stuff, I’ve enjoyed a lot of Rollplay content. I just really believe that your shows could reach their fullest potential with the addition of a few more people who have invested many hours into mastering what can only be described as an artform.
I think the best way I can put it is that it feels like you’re producing an improv show with a good format, great production value and an accomplished, experienced host - but the whole cast is made up of celebrity guests. Talented celebrity guests, yes, with many of the skills required to succeed in this unfamiliar medium. But supported by even one or two veteran improvisers with years of experience and techniques to draw from, the guests could truly flourish and the entire show would be more polished, cohesive and entertaining for everyone involved.
and… that’s it! Apologies for the lack of brevity, and for the exaggeration and hyperbole for the sake of making my point. If anyone gets through this fucking essay please HMU with your thoughts, insights or cutting remarks, I’m easy! pce OUT 
P.S. If I have to pick a name… SCION OF WEIRD SHIT & PC ABUSE INCARNATE, ANDREW MOTHAFUCKIN GILLIS BIIIITCH, aight im out
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Moved to the RollPlay category. sorry I did not do this before
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+1, featuring players that come from the hobby itself is something I would love to see more of, too!
And as Adam prompted on his stream, here are some people whose contributions to the hobby I’ve enjoyed and would be excited to see on RollPlay:
Sarah Richardson @Scorcha79
Shaun Hayworth @SCHayworth
Alex Roberts @ muscularpikachu
Judd Karlman @ Judd_of_Kryos
Todd Nicholas and Megan Pedersen @ wheeltreemegan from the @ JankCast
Kat Kuhl @ wolvesarekuhl
James D’Amato @ OneShotRPG
Whitney Beltrán @ the_strix
All of the above have experience with exposure through streams or podcasts, as well. Also, I can’t help but think back to Allegra, Troll, CJ, Jen and Kevin of the Walking Eye podcast – voices I miss and were a gateway to indie games for me, a certain award winning fantasy rpg among them.
(Apologies for bypassing the name dropping rule–first time poster)
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These are fantastic points, and I appreciate that you took the time to give examples of what you’d suggest in addition to critique. I believe featuring experienced GM’s in games to introduce opportunities for roleplaying and the narrative to creatively advance would have a positive effect in most shows. I think most of us can agree that Swansong wouldn’t be what it is without Steven’s characters and input. We can even look back recently to when Adam made an appearance in Blades, and all the positive feedback that brought in. This is a great idea; I’d love to see what an extremely practiced roleplayer could bring to the mix. I think we’ll all be pleasantly surprised in the same way with the coming livestream of Swansong, having Mercer join in the insanity.
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Adam said I could suggest anyone, so I’m gonna say Arnold Delgado AKA Murder of Birds. He’s quite a small youtuber/streamer but he’s known for displaying emotion very vividly and I think it’d be really interesting to see him play a character on rollplay.
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I mean, if we’re suggesting anyone, I’d definitely go with myself. I’m sure I’d be great. I’m a big fan of myself lol.
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lol I guess in a way
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Thumbs up for judd, whitney and the Jank Cast folks! The one shot crew is a little too improv-centric and loose with the rules for my taste but maybe I just haven’t given them a fair shot. Unfamiliar with the other names but I’ll definitely check out their work, I’m excited to dig into backstory cast!
I’m pretty young blood when it comes to this hobby so that second group of names just went straight over my head and I don’t really have a lot of names to drop. However, I watched John Harper’s design hangouts on YouTube and totally loved everything Jonathan Walton had to say. Dude has an amazing creative brain and is working on his PhD in Communications, which I can only imagine would be useful on an actual play series.
Also my heart aches for more Austin Walker but since he can barely scheduled time for himself to sleep, I’d like to throw in Jack De Quidt from Friends at the Table in his stead. Jack and Austin are kindred spirits and are equally incredible storytellers, both with a rich understanding of allegory and theme. He’s got a solid understanding of mechanisms with a bit of design history, good improvising/acting skills and a fantastic sense of humor. His characters are vibrant and colorful and his worldbuilding contributions are always fascinating. AND he’s a talented clarinetist and writes all the music for the show. Dude is seriously good.
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I’d love to have Tristarae join the show, and some of the cast of Friends at the Table, like Austin Walker, Ali Acampora, Janine Hawkins, Art Tebbel, Jack de Quidt…
Also, why not some folks from Waypoint, like Danielle Riendeau, Patrick Klepek, Danika Harrod… So many great and friendly peeps! 
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JP did say in one of the earlier court of swords episodes that it’d be cool if one of the fan games took place in one of the shows and was used to influence it or even create future plot points. I just can’t manage the donation lol. CoS and NJ would be cool to get in on.
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Haha I feel like Nebula Jazz needs to stay in it’s own area of containment. That shit is too nuts for just anyone 
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Haha a jar could work…as long as Qin doesn’t see it!
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Dude, it’s like the lovechild between Cowboy Bepop and Farscape. I want in lol,
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This is a great idea - Danika, Patrick and Danielle were hilarious in the Dungeon World one-shot we did.
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Would love to see any of the Roosterteeth guys on the show, Also a Ryan “Ass” Moore guest appearance would be fantastico for us OG RollPlay fans.
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