[S2] Season 2: Session Zero

Okay.

First up, let's go over some lessons learned from season one and how we're going to adapt them into season two.

When James and I first began writing and playing the show, Dungeons & Dragons 2024 edition had just come out.

We wanted to use this show as an actual play that could be used to instruct and teach the game to newer players.

Now, we've been running it for a year and a half, and we're expecting listeners at this point to have listened to some of the story, so we're going to heavily restrict the rule explanations and fill all that time with juicy story instead.

We'll still explain new concepts as they arrive, such as new spells, abilities, magical items, et cetera.

Another thing that's going to change is how we manage combat.

Rather than narrating every single moment for every roll, we're going to turn the dial, so to speak, on our pacing.

For some rolls, that might mean abbreviating and summarizing results, while other more cinematic or climactic moments, we'll dive in and soak up the granular details.

Let's give an example from our previous season to clarify how this will work.

Of course.

Remember that carrion crawler chase scene in the tunnels? The one where Bolgan nearly got paralyzed and the crew ran for their lives.

In season one, we went through every single turn in detail as if we were at the table playing.

Kelvin moves 60 feet, throws his magical chakram, misses.

Lenara takes a bonus action to dash further.

Now she's 90 feet away, et cetera, et cetera.

If we're being honest and taking some listener feedback to heart, that part of the fight isn't very exciting, and it's also difficult to envision without a board right in front of you.

Our show lives in the theater of the mind, after all.

The part of that combat scene that really mattered was when the carrion crawler caught up to Bolgan as the others waited by the entrance to the next chamber The creature struck him, attempting to inflict paralysis, and Bolgan failed his first roll.

Then, and only then, due to Bolgan's poison advantage for being a dwarf, did he get to roll again and succeeded in resisting.

When specific dice rolls really matter, that's when we're getting into the nitty-gritty with the action breaks.

Right [laughs].

Sometimes it's really, really juicy and fun to zoom into the specific rolls, to feel the tension of the moment, to feel the uncertainty, the stakes, the sheer luck and heroism of the dice.

That's when D&D shines.

But not every roll needs to wear that same focus, and not every turn needs to be narrated with every game detail.