yoursdearlyeve

[yoursdearlyeve]

Midst: the beach episode

[yoursdearlyeve]

This is only half a thought so far, but maybe other people want to chime in.

I’m doing Watch Machina (currently at episode 15) and Nein Again (currently at episode 21) while I also keep up with current Critical Role content (Age of Umbra episode 4) and something that bothers me a little is Matt’s current method of narration.

In C1, Matt’s style is very informal with regard to the narration. There’s little added drama via his tone, pace, or choice of words. “Toothy maw” became a meme pretty quickly, but the point of every description was to efficiently set the scene so the players could start their RP and choose what to do. There wasn’t as much precision with his descriptions, and of course that is a talent that takes a long time to hone when you’re describing lots of different things over the course of several hours. However, the narration was far less formal and calculated than his NPC dialogue, so (in combination with voice acting) it was very easy to determine when Matt was in character or not. It wasn’t a bad thing; Matt’s very casual narration and formal dialogue leading up to the Chroma Conclave’s attack on Emon was excellent because it was so sudden, leading the players and the audience to experience the exact same shock the NPCs would have. It’s not a bad way to narrate. If anything, it made the heartfelt moments so poignant, especially at the end of the campaign. That description of snow drops would not have been nearly as impactful if Matt had narrated that way all the time.

In C2, Matt started getting more descriptive and slowed down his narration to match. As Aabria would put it, he “paints a word picture” and includes more environmental storytelling for the setting itself, not just things for the characters to expressly interact with. I think this is part of what led to the Nein interacting with the set dressing more: Matt mentioned it, so it must be important! This led to some fun hijinks as time went on, and it gave Wildemount a different feeling than Tal’dorei. I couldn’t tell you that Emon had a particular vibe to it other than it being a big city, but howdy do we know that Berleben is full of nosy, bored people in a smelly swamp, and we sure know that Zadash is a bustling city with stark class segregation while Nicodranas is a beautiful trade hub with a mixture of different cultures. I think part of that may have come from working on the source books (they have similar language for the plot hooks and location entries). However, that method of narration was mostly limited to first descriptions of a new place or events (“cutscenes” like the attack in Zadash). Within a scene, Matt was still fairly casual in his discussions with the players.

But currently in Age of Umbra, and with a good chunk of C3, Matt’s narration is far more deliberate. There is a consistently slower pace compared to earlier campaigns, usually only speeding up in combat. Part of that may be for production purposes (easier for transcriptions and closed captioning), but it also impacts the pacing of the game itself. There’s also that presence of a new character: the narrator himself has a voice, and that is now part of the story. It’s extremely noticeable when the cast gets Matt to “break character” as the narrator to only be a DM. It requires a baseline level of formality for that to happen, and Matt committed to it in nearly every scene, regardless of the context of the scene. While that doesn’t feel all that strange for Age of Umbra (it fits well with the soulsborne style of game), it does make me realize that it’s part of why C3 felt incongruous. Like, sorry about the dead horse, but I was expecting C3 to be pulpy, which very much benefits from the narration style of C1 rather than the formal narration style Matt prefers currently. Punchy, informal narration sets a player expectation of “you’re here to get something done and I’ll tell you if it works,” while the current style instead lends itself to “you’re part of my story and this is the tone.” The former is great for fast-paced roleplay and the latter is suited to unhurried storytelling—which wouldn’t feel as mismatched if C3 hadn’t been a story where the PCs needed to prevent a second calamity within the course of a few weeks.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that this was a mistake. Matt clearly enjoys how he narrates currently, and every DM is entitled to their preference. However, I think there’s a lesson in here that varying the narration style to match the purpose of the scene and story would benefit the players and the audience.

To be fair here, Matt is not the only DM who doesn’t mix it up very often. Brennan Lee Mulligan (Dimension 20) is far closer to the C1 style of fast, informal narration with very limited, specific instances where he would slow down for drama; there is no “narrator” character in his players’ story. D20 has a far more casual tone to its seasons than CR does in its campaigns. Luis Carazo (Tales Unrolled) narrates similarly to Matt, with a focus on instilling an emotional reaction for the players to deal with, and the players collaboratively join Luis as the narrator for their own characters; it’s a back and forth where the DM and players contribute to that additional presence. Tales Unrolled is on the opposite end of the spectrum from D20, with a clear feeling that it is a storytelling experience.

Again, choosing one narration style over another isn’t necessarily a flaw. However, I think varied narration is a tool that most DMs underutilize. If used carefully, adjusting narration styles within sessions on the fly could enhance the experience of an Actual Play campaign for everyone involved. It could be used as a signal to the players for what type of scene this will be or when a scene is shifting. It could also signal to performers in a show for pacing within an episode (hijinks are over, time for some drama; time to cool down from the tension).

But, as always, it’s easier to point stuff out like this than it is to do it in practice.

[yoursdearlyeve]

Thinking fondly of Candela Obscura today. I know CR is working on a lot at the moment and there are other things to watch but I *will* catch the next Circle in my open jaws like a beach dog catching a frisbee.

[yoursdearlyeve]

"Why is it a problem if students use AI to get through college"

Because if you demonstrate to me that you're willing to set aside concern for truth, evidence, and verifying things with your own eyes whenever it happens to be inconvenient for you, I have a solemn responsibility to make sure you don't get into medical school.

[yoursdearlyeve]

so when the mighty nein participate in a premeditated, treasonous act against the governance in their nation and exonerate themselves by framing innocents for the crime, they are lauded as underground heroes, but when I, essek thelyss-

[yoursdearlyeve]

“I asked chatGPT” well I asked my friend Tao Yang and he is standing about 10 seconds away and is going to run at you screaming

[yoursdearlyeve]

I've read some of the latest "discourse" about Fearne on Xitter...

Yeah, now I can believe some of dem kids are too puritanical

[yoursdearlyeve]

It is actually kinda funny Chris Perkins becoming creative director of Darrington Press, because Travis has been creative director since Queen by Midnight

Travis, emailing Perkins: do you want my job

[yoursdearlyeve]

Big fan of characters realizing they don't get to die. They have to live. And grow. And be a person. And deal with shit they thought they'd never have to. And be fucked up about it. I would like more of this. Enough dying for honor or as redemption. It ain't. You're just a corpse. There is no moral value in dirt time.

[yoursdearlyeve]

MEET THE CREW 🚀

Hailing from the renowned Verdurian Zoological Society, Tzila Guthrie is a natural fit for the naturalist position aboard the Ship. After an unusually eventful childhood, there’s very little that Tzila can’t handle...

#UNEND Season 2 is out RIGHT NOW!

[yoursdearlyeve]

Superman desperately scanning the street during a fight to find the most morally acceptable car to throw at his opponent, knowing that not everybody has insurance, and loss of transportation can ruin a life -

A wave of incredible relief washes over him as he spots the hard geometric lines and silver paintless sheen of a Cybertruck.

[yoursdearlyeve]

I feel like the root problem of american tankies' shallow ideals is redirected american exceptionalism. Internet and globalization has caused them to realize that that they're not in fact the best country in the world as school etc has told them. But instead of understanding that they have problems just like the rest of us (though tbf, their ability to cause other nations harm is unmatched) they now flipped to saying that the us must be the worst country in the entire world and the source of all evil. They cannot comprehend that non-americans are perfectly capable of doing the most heinous shit and thus assume that behind every war or conflict lies a us conspiracy and influence - because surely non-americans are just so innocent, naive and primitive and unlike americans lack the cunning to advance their political goals without help by the US. The fact that not only the US government but also its enemies can be vile at the same time and that sometimes they can even be on the good side is completely beyond them which is why they are never truly against imperialism, genocide or opression unless it is done by americans or their allies.

[yoursdearlyeve]

I support the "fiction isn't real so nothing matters" mindset but tbf at a certain point it can tip over into "the curtains are just blue" territory

[yoursdearlyeve]

crossposting here bc this tactic needs to spread like wildfire

[yoursdearlyeve]

i have a ttrpg opinion that feels gauche to share on bsky and like hitting an angry hornets nest if i share it on reddit, so instead i’ll say it here:

there’s a bunch of folks bent out of shape over critical role/darrington press’s new game, daggerheart, because they’re convinced that CR is about to abandon D&D in favor of it for campaign 4. if it were up to me i’d say DO IT because i’m sick of hasbro’s shit specifically even as WotC tries really hard to clean up the messes it and its parent company create. realistically, though?? i doubt they’ll jump into that until they can prove that daggerheart has a bit more staying power. also, remember that these people like d&d! a lot! legally it kinda sucks to have your brand so heavily built in someone else’s sandbox, but they’re ultimately still having fun there!

putting the speculation aside, i just hate this attitude of “ugh i watch for dnd! why would i watch if they’re playing something i’m not even familiar with?!!” you are weak like little baby. do you have any idea how many people watch CR who have never played dnd and have no idea about the rules beyond what the mention on stream? the real reason you watch CR, i’d venture, has a lot more to do with the cast and the types of stories they tell—2 things that are not at all dependent on a single game system! dimension 20 gets that which is why they aren’t afraid to shake things up from season to season with different systems including heavy use of modifying existing systems for their own genre! CR moving to a similar model wouldn’t suddenly shatter everything about their brand or stories!

thus, those people complaining are stupid and should feel bad and embarrassed about their opinions. if CR did make the switch, their viewership might take a hit, but not because daggerheart is worse than dnd. it’s just that the ttrpg world and especially the CR fandom is full of petty, self-righteous babies who want to complain.

[yoursdearlyeve]

"I hope Age of Umbra bombs because if it succeeds, I don't want to learn DH rules in C4"

we don't bully D&D-onlys enough

[yoursdearlyeve]

'you are not immune to propaganda' is true but sometimes the way people deploy this particular soundbite reveals a complete unwillingness to attribute any agency or ideology to people who espouse some pretty heinous bigotry.

like there was a post going around recently talking about people whose parents became increasingly radicalized by fox news and it had one of those tumblr style comments on it along the lines of "REMEMBER! THIS COULD BE YOU! You are not immune to propaganda either. STAY VIGILANT" and the implication here is always that right wing radicalization is something that somehow happens to otherwise pleasant people without their consent or knowledge. But perhaps some of you guys just need to grapple with the fact that your parents might be more bigoted and reactionary than you want to believe.

nobody is immune to bad information ecosystems or groupthink or poor science or anything else that makes radicalization possible, but i do think the idea that anyone is just a bad news pipeline away from supporting white supremacy does a lot to let white supremacists off the hook. it's the same kind of line of thought that gets people to talk about how bad things in fiction shouldn't be 'romanticized'. its a kind of worldview that operates under the implicit belief that a human being is a vessel being uncritically filled with whatever you pour into it and does nothing to grapple with what the actual appeal of these far right talking points is to the sort of otherwise ""normal"" seeming people that can be sold on them.