Colin Meloy and Chris Funk from The Decemberists to stream their weekly Dungeons & Dragons games
Music Features Meloy
Hey, it’s 2021 and liking nerdy stuff is cool, right? Superhero movies are still the biggest thing in the world? More people are doing puzzles than at any time in history since Herman T. Jigsaw invented the modern puzzle? Everyone still has an opinion and wholly imaginary digital currencies that simultaneously mean nothing and everything? Okay, good. Otherwise, we’d feel a little self-conscious about discussing something as crushingly nerdy as Colin Meloy and Chris Funk from The Decemberists announcing that they’re going to start streaming their weekly Dungeons & Dragons game on Twitch, because holy cow, a thing like that is just pocket protectors and calculator watches from top to bottom. (And we say that with nothing but love, because The Decemberists are cool, Dungeons & Dragons is cool, and streaming things on Twitch is cool.)
Meloy and Funk’s campaign also features game designer Keith Baker, Charlie Chu from indie comic book publisher Oni Press, and Dungeon Master Han Duong, and each episode will involve a call for donations to a rotating selection of organizations and charities (starting with the Autistic Self Advocacy Network). Called Fugue State, Meloy says the campaign involves his party trekking across “the frozen wastelands of Icewind Dale to undo Auril’s cursed rime” while also working to “expand Northern Lights Hospitality LLC’s franchise of exclusive inns, hotels, and adventure experiences.” The first thing is some D&D lore stuff, but that second part sounds like pure wacky fun—though we should point out that the Northern Light is the name of an an actual in-universe inn in the town of Caer-Konig, located in the frigid realm known as Icewind Dale. So that’s also some lore stuff, which actually makes it cooler because nerdy stuff is cool now.
You’ll be able to watch the Fugue State streams at this link, and if you’re eager to see what this whole thing is all about, there’s already a multi-hour test stream you can watch where they give some backstory about how long they’ve been playing together and make self-deprecating comments about how nobody is going to watch or care about what they’re doing. (Which seems unlikely.)
19 Comments
I’m glad that streams of D&D are getting more people into it but it’s just one of those things I love to do but have no interest in watching other people do.
100% agreed. I love 5E and I like that D&D is cooler than it’s ever been but, even if I’m watching master storytellers, I’ve got no interest in other peoples’ campaigns.
I feel like they work for me as podcasts because it keeps me entertained on my drive to work. But yea, as cool as the idea is, I’ve yet to find a video stream of D&D that I’ve enjoyed enough to stick with.
I participate in enough video conferences where people just sit around a table and talk. I don’t need to watch more.
Harmonquest was funny enough to watch, but that was well edited with animation and a stacked comedy roster. I agree with you though, I’ve listened to a ton of NADDPOD, but haven’t been able to watch more than two episodes of any of the video real plays.
The podcast real plays are perfect for when I’m doing other things. It’s the right level of light storyline, entertaining enough when I’m paying attention but simple enough that I can tune out for several minutes and not miss anything (especially if it’s a fight scene).
It’s good background pod cast material, and as a regular DM, it’s always nice to see other people’s takes on certain material or situations.
Back in 2017, after not playing D&D regularly for about fifteen years, I started flirting a bit with Critical Role and Nerd Poker. It was fine, but ultimately all it did was make me want to go out and find another group and start playing again (which I did). I think the best use for these things is allowing people to dip their toes in if they’ve never played before and want to see what it’s all about. I can’t imagine becoming a dedicated listener for more then 3 or 4 episodes, and that’s being generous.
Nerd Poker is what led me to joining a live Meet-Up group and doing Lost Mine of Phandelver back in 2016. I’ve been playing online ever since that campaign ended and our group went their separate ways due to IRL stuff.
Very similar stories. I found a crew via Meet Up too, and we played IRL until the pandemic. We lost a couple folks along the way, but still had a core group of 3 or 4. Augmented that with a couple old friends from my D&D days back in high school. Now have a weekly Thursday group on Roll20, mix of old friends and new, and everyone gets along great – they actually started a second Sunday campaign that they play without me, since I’m a new parent and only have the bandwidth for one session a week. I really miss face-to-face play, but I don’t know if I want to walk away from this, even once the pandemic is in the rear view mirror.
Yeah, I’ve watched Matt Mercer and Vorpahl’s sessions and I love them but I couldn’t watch more than 15 minutes. It’s just not interesting and the pacing is too slow if I’m not participating in it.
I’d argue it’s getting more people into watching D&D, not playing the games or reading the books. Turns out the secret ingredient table top RPGs needed for mainstream success was passivity.
I love to play AND I love to watch!
A problem with being a grey is folks seeing when I have a question such as this: How does Dungeon and Dragons Online (Standing Stones Games) stack up against other D&D games online or even the arcade game?
It’s a shame about what happened to Tom Hanks.
It’s 2021, guys. Women can be nerds too. Invite them to play, maybe.
I like the Decemberists. I also like D&D. But I don’t like watching other people play it, even if they are good musicians.
I agree with the majority of the comments stating that watching other people playing D&D wouldn’t be all that exciting. However, I will make one exception:
That somehow seems less boring than listening to their music
Oh, God. Now the Decemberists are nerds? Is there one thing nerd culture won’t taint?