Ready To Roll | Ep 01 | A Climb, A Quest, A Quarrel | D&D
Midsummer in the country of Kymond, a freshly formed band of adventurers head to a clandestine meeting on a remote hilltop. Amidst some ancient ruins they greet a noble from the nearby city of Elurinn who tasks them with a quest. What dangers lurk within the mysterious ruins? Will the journey end before it really begins? We’ve poured almost two years of our creativity, energy, blood, sweat and tears, so we’re so thrilled to be able to share Ready To Roll with all of you! We’ve got 27 episodes of Ready To Roll to release over the next year, so join us for this epic adventure! Ready To Roll would not have been possible without so many wonderful people, so first off we want to thank everyone who’s helped us along the bring Ready To Roll to life! Cast & Crew: Roz Young as our illustrious, amazing, world-building Dungeon Master. Alain Williams as El’Undar the Silent – Wood elf monk from Telgha’s dense forest, The Lightless Vale. The monks there practice the Way of the Shadow, and El’Undar searches for the missing spear of their greatest warrior. Bev Rapley as Arrin Sareth – Half-elf paladin, born in Lhantir and raised to become a warrior for Edan’Alastra, the Goddess of Justice. Her temple worshipped balance, but a great betrayal left Arrin alone, at the bottom of a bottle, searching for redemption. Chris Livingston as Ahloni – Half-orc ranger of the hunter archetype, he left behind a life on the run, from piracy and his past. His favoured enemy is humanoids and he’s most at home in the forest with his bow. Matt Baker as Senno Vestuu-Essan – Human warlock, a published scholar and far travelled archeologist, Senno lost his chance at a normal life when he discovered an ancient medallion. Filled with mysterious abilities from the elder god, Senno left the world of nobles to understand this power, and why he was chosen. Shay Lea as Sanguina – Half vampire, human rogue, a charlatan from Quilim whose blood lust and curiosity create chaos wherever she goes. She collects stories, and the ears that heard them. Trevor Gemma as Rurik Krynn – Hill dwarf cleric, a blacksmith with powers from the Goddess of War, Torvaralla. Raised by an elf and fascinated with the fey, he searches for where he comes from and where he belongs. Altero Created by: Roz Young & Matt Baker Ready To Roll Created by: Trevor Gemma Tech Directors: Marshall Axani, N.A. Razzak, Nadav Santo Producer: Trevor Gemma Director of Photography: Naim Sutherland Production Designer: Jeremy Andruschak Editor: Matt Baker Music by: Scott Davidson Executive Producers: Chris Livingston & Holly Brydson
Making Your NPCs Memorable
As a Dungeon Master (DM) you might be wondering, how do I make my NPCs memorable? Every game of D&D has players, and non player characters. You might have richly detailed NPCs with intense backstories and strong names like Ilithi Nox Vellani or throw away guards that you haven’t named (of course the party asks you a thousand questions the one time you don’t name them). But how do you engage your party and give them experiences they will find endearing and memorable? It all starts with getting to know your table. What kind of characters are they playing? Do you have a serious group or one driven towards impulse or are they chaotic funny? An NPC will stand out if you give them a few things as a foundation. Accents and specific voices. You don’t have to be a master voice actor to pull this off. As an English speaker, you can try pitching your voice up and down. But if you really want them to be interesting, use body language to change how your players perceive you. By sticking your nose high in the air, you immediately give off a feeling of being superior and haughtiness. Lean forward in a hunch and web your fingers to become a little more sinister, or using that same stance, give a kind smile with your eyes and you’ll be an endearing elderly person. Practice these in advance and you’ll never be caught off guard, just remember to take down notes so you’ll remember what you did for that NPC. Phrasing (BOOM). Voices aren’t everything, give life to your NPCs with a set of words. A character can have a certain vocabulary or way of talking that only slightly alters your voice and still have great effect! A tinkerer or wizard might use the largest words possible in context to make them sound more intelligent, “it is time for our bi-annual recalibration of the periodic temporal displacement dials for adequate delineation of the diurnal cycle,” simply means that they are changing the clock twice a year, perhaps for daylight savings time. You can also alter the grammar of an NPC to make them seem a little on the slow side or give them a dialect that adds a plural S for no grammatical reason: “whens is the hour that we’s bes getting ours due?” Finally, consider some background work. Maybe the NPC can hyperfixate on something like gambling or have intense conspiracy theories like the 5 giants who preside over this world and periodically roll giant boarders across our lands. A kid that models themselves after one of your players can be equally endearing. And if all else fails, be ridiculous! Try to evoke strong emotions in your players and listen to their reactions so they too can share in the story. Hope these tips can help you take your NPCs to the next level! If you want to see me using these techniques, pop on over to Questline on YouTube where I bring a whole cast of characters to life in our Limited Series: Strixhaven! Contributed by Sam Cargnelli
Being a DM & Filmmaker
I was a guest on the lovely Hook & Chance podcast recently, to talk about packing like a Producer. You can listen to it here: https://hookandchance.com/episodes/2022/5/2/pacing-like-a-producer-ft-roz-young Since then, I’ve been reflecting on storytelling and tabletop gaming. Humans love to tell each other stories. Even more than that, we need to. It’s a key part of how we connect and experience the world. It’s therapeutic. It’s educational. It’s fun! And some formats for stories just work. From writing and film, we call it act structure, and bringing that to my tabletop games is always a goal. Stories start, they grow and change, and then they end. It’s a lot of pressure to want your players to go on a meaningful and impactful journey, but how can you set yourself up for success? When I get stuck, I keep it simple. My story structure is LAUGH – CRY – CHEER. We break the ice and get to know each other, enjoy the company, and then drop the emotional bombs. Then, we’re in combat and all looks lost, we kill a player or witness loss for an NPC. But, the party pulls out all the stops, and clutch heals, and against all odds, prevails. We celebrate, and it’s so much sweeter on the other side of peril. We can mix up our acts and structure, as storytellers around the table, and feel out the journey as the players push the narrative forward. In the end, it comes down to them. The choices they make and how we collaborate to create this adventure, together. The best stories stay with you. And the best part about tabletop games? We did this, we were there. It wasn’t a passive, audience experience, like going to see a movie. I made choices, you made choices, and it mattered. I love D&D! Message me your thoughts about collaborative storytelling or let me know about your favourite moments from games. Because when you roll the dice, you make the magic happen! ❤️ Contributed by Roz Young
Impact of TTRPGs on Mental Health & The Queer Community
Tabletop roleplaying games, known as TTRPGs, are a very influential form of escapism. Games like dungeons and dragons allow people to explore within a persona other than their own and with limits much farther than the world in front of them. This creates a perspective that if anything can be done in that world, the brick walls seem more possible to break through in reality. When looking at entering a new persona, with different emotions, friends and experiences in life one can really leave behind their own worries. When it comes to mental health, it is very difficult to deal with constantly and becoming a fantasy character who is either an exaggerated version of some part of oneself, completely different or really anything, makes a few hours of time where that illness can fade away. It is a break of quiet in the chaos of one’s brain. Having these breaks are so important in feeling okay, and being able to relate back to that feeling. I have noticed this so much myself as someone with Major Depressive Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder and more. It is hard to feel stuck with a brain that feels out to get you but when you get to either use that or just pretend to be someone completely different that you can embrace your mind into it makes such a difference in opening up. Then furthermore being able to channel parts of those characters and become comfortable in groups because of that. I DM a lot of games and therefore have seen in my players as well as people have come out of their shell in the game and outside of it simultaneously and helped them past their anxiety through letting loose in an environment where they can just be silly and wonderful without any judgement. Adding onto this, people in the LGBTQ community are also commonly associated with the TTRPG community because of that same form of escapism. As a queer, non-binary person myself I found that often when the world seemed so difficult and figuring out who I am, being able to just be someone other than myself and not have to worry about whoever I may be and only them was so helpful in making me feel grounded and calming my self and thoughts. It also allows one to explore so many different personas and find something that makes you feel so comfortable in that skin. Whether that is a mix of different aspects of characters or you have created the character that you aspire to become. Contributed by Capri Smith
