Dungeons and Dragons Celebrates 50 Years of 'Critical Hits’

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 16 August 2024

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

You are walking down a dark dungeon hallway lit by torches and covered in cobwebs. You hear ominous squelching sounds. Wait! It’s the GIBBERING MOUTHER. Do you pull out a sword or cast a spell? If this is a scenario you have faced, it’s likely you have been playing Dungeons & Dragons, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The goal of the tabletop game is not to win, but for players to immerse themselves in a fantasy world and go on a heroic adventure. In a time when video games and screen time have proliferated, D&D offers the opportunity to gather with friends in real life to play an immersive and collaborative game that is always changing. We talk about D&D with expert dungeon masters and fans and hear from you: what draws you to D&D? Guests: Brennan Lee Mulligan, actor and writer; executive producer, writer and Game Master of the web-series "Dimension 20" Danielle Radford, standup comedian, Radford has appeared in "Dimension 20," a web-based Dungeons and Dragons series. She is also the co-host of "Tights n Fights," a wrestling podcast. Jon Peterson, author, "Playing at the World 2E: The Invention of Dungeons & Dragons," "The Elusive Shift" and "Game Wizards"; co-author, "Dungeons & Dragons: Art & Arcana" Gwendolyn Reza, co-owner, Games of Berkeley Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, forum listeners, it's Mina. I have exciting news. We're taking forum beyond the airwaves,
0:05.5	beyond podcasts, to your screens. Now you can watch the forum conversations you love and be in the
0:11.3	room with me, Alexis, and our guests as we talk about the Bay Area, California, and beyond. Check it out
0:17.2	at YouTube.com slash KQED News. YouTube.com slash KQED News.
0:24.1	Support for forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:32.0	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank, a newlywed Jewish couple
0:39.7	struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an unspeakable crime, it propels them
0:46.2	into an unimaginable test of faith, humanity, justice, and devotion. The riveting and gloriously
0:53.8	hopeful parade plays the Orpheum Theater for three weeks only, May 20th through June 8th.
1:00.4	Tickets on sale now at Broadway, sf.com.
1:05.9	From KQED.
1:10.7	Music From KQED. From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
1:22.4	Dungeons and dragons.
1:24.5	50 years after the game was created, even in a time when so much entertainment
1:29.6	occurs on screens, D&D has surged in popularity, picking up younger players while retaining
1:36.2	the dice and lore core of the role-playing game. Today, we talk with Dungeon Masters and
1:41.9	fans about the game today, as well as the impact the D&D has had in the broader culture as its mechanics, ideas, and players have infiltrated other genres.
1:52.1	So come with us, down a long hallway of history, lit by torches, covered in cobwebs and requiring many, many dice.
1:59.5	That's all coming up next after this news.
2:08.2	Welcome to Forum.
2:09.6	I'm Alexis Madrigal.
2:11.4	You know, for a time, one of my kids played in a local D&D game,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from KQED, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of KQED and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.