D&D News: Netflix D&D TV Show | Kickstarter Recovers | Evil Hat Shares Finances (MD 229)

Main Ideas and Lessons

Designing Plot and Intrigue

• Outline longer campaigns, especially those focused on mystery or intrigue. A plan gives the story direction while leaving room for player choices.
• Several approaches can help structure a campaign:
  • Conspyramid: Map the conspiracy’s major players and goals, then trace its layers of agents and events. Start the characters somewhere in the structure and let them uncover the larger scheme through clues.
  • Fronts: Track several developing threats at once. While the characters address one, the others continue to advance, and the characters’ choices affect what happens next.
  • Campaign arcs and backward planning: Decide what the campaign is ultimately about and how it ends, divide it into arcs, then work backward to determine what each arc and adventure must establish. For example, the hosts describe planning a campaign around discovering the cause of a “dragon rage,” with each arc revealing part of the answer.
  • Episodic stories with an overarching mystery: Individual adventures can resolve local problems while recurring clues gradually reveal a larger conspiracy.
• Keep the session and encounter level compelling. A grand plot will not land if players are not engaged by the scenes they actually play. Clues and lore should feel rewarding, and the material should make good use of the game’s strengths, such as exciting encounters in D&D.
• Avoid letting open-ended investigations become aimless clue trails. Use red herrings sparingly, and make sure discoveries point toward meaningful developments.

Character Advancement and Game Complexity

• Level progression is a major part of D&D’s legacy, but not every roleplaying game needs characters to become mechanically stronger over time.
• Games with constant hit points or limited advancement can suit shorter campaigns and keep rules simpler. Advancement can also be conveyed through story, new capabilities, or modest mechanical changes rather than a large level system.
• The design challenge is to match a game’s complexity and growth curve to the experience it is meant to provide. The hosts contrast the relatively steady character power in Savage Worlds with the extensive options involved in building a high-level Draw Steel character.
• Players often want to feel that their characters have grown, so designers should consider how to create that feeling without adding more complexity than the campaign needs.

Using Playtest Feedback

• Treat reports of problems as meaningful, but distinguish what the playtester experienced from the fix they propose.
• Ask about the reasons and circumstances behind the feedback. “This encounter was too hard” is useful as a report of that group’s experience, but the designer needs to know what happened—for example, the party’s composition or how a particular ability affected the encounter.
• Determine whether an issue affects a broad portion of the intended audience or is specific to one play style. Then consider how to address it without damaging other parts of the design.
• Suggested fixes may conflict with other rules, unseen material, or business constraints. Conversely, playtesters can sometimes offer practical solutions, so suggestions should be assessed rather than dismissed automatically.
• The hosts note that a recent Unearthed Arcana survey asked respondents to mark features green, yellow, or red, but only yellow responses allowed detailed feedback. That format can make it harder to explain mixed reactions—for example, liking one part of a feature but disliking another.

News and Other Topics

• Netflix and D&D: Deadline reported that Netflix is developing a live-action Forgotten Realms series. Shawn Levy is attached as a producer, and Drew Crevello wrote the pilot and is the showrunner. Hasbro Entertainment is also involved. The hosts stressed that development is uncertain and projects can stall, while noting that a successful series could lead to a wider D&D universe.
• Baldman Games: The company recognized DMs and community contributors at Winter Fantasy. Awards included Rookie of the Year, Community Contributions, DM of the Year, and a Lifetime Achievement Award. The hosts also reported significant player participation and growth, new partnerships, and a 2024 schedule of 24 events split between in-person and online shows. Baldman Games’ premiere organized-play content is shifting toward Legends of Greyhawk; other organized-play groups will continue producing content. Winter Fantasy seminars covered topics such as DM time management, education, inclusion, and longevity in DMing.
• Evil Hat’s finances: Founder Fred Hicks shared figures covering roughly 2010 through 2025 to date: about $5.4 million in invoiced gross revenue and approximately 545,000 individual product units. The company’s success has come from a broad catalog, with some major hits difficult to predict. The hosts also emphasized that commercial success can involve years of work and personal financial tradeoffs. Evil Hat announced support for streamers, podcasters, reviewers, and others who promote its games.
• Kickstarter: The platform reported growth in 2024. Tabletop projects had their strongest reported success rate in its 15-year history: 6,646 launched, 5,314 funded, an 80% success rate, with $220 million pledged to successful tabletop campaigns. The hosts mentioned the Cosmere RPG, Discworld, and DC20 among the leading tabletop projects. Kickstarter also announced improved pledge-management tools and the ability to pay over time. The hosts criticized the company’s past focus on NFTs and crypto as a damaging detour.
• Dark Sun: Lost Cities of the Trembling Plains, a free 180-page fan project, expands the “Forgotten North” region with its geography, history, cultures, settlements, maps, and player guides. The project’s development reportedly began 25 years ago.
• Monster design: Keith Ammann’s upcoming book Making Enemies was described as a guide to building monsters, from their size and habitat to their motivations, themes, anatomy, and customization. It covers several game systems, including D&D 5e and Pathfinder 2e.
• D&D-themed Horrified: Ravensburger is making a D&D version of its cooperative board game. It will pit players against classic D&D foes and add D&D-inspired mechanics, including a d20. The hosts noted that Peter Lee, known for his work on D&D and other games, is involved.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Speakers: Sean Merwin and Teos Abadia.
• Listener-question contributors: Moonbird (via Patreon Discord), George Prv (via Mastodon, as rendered in the subtitles), and Warmonger Gandhi (via YouTube).
• News and project sources discussed: Deadline; Baldman Games and Winter Fantasy; Fred Hicks and Evil Hat (via Bluesky); Kickstarter’s reports and blog; Athas.org and the Pristine Tower Development Group; Keith Ammann and his book Making Enemies; Ravensburger and Peter Lee.
• Design references mentioned: Justin Alexander, Phil Vecchione, Mike Shea, and Chris Perkins. The hosts also referenced Fate, Powered by the Apocalypse, Blades in the Dark, GUMSHOE, and Night’s Black Agents.